RALEIGH — Saturday’s SuperSkills competition may have been a bit boring from a Flyers perspective, but tonight’s All-Star Game was anything but that. Danny Briere had two goals to boost Team Lidstrom to an 11-10 victory over Claude Giroux‘s Team Staal.
It wasn’t all bad for Giroux, though. He had a goal of his own and an assist on Patrick Sharp‘s lone goal, which helped the former Flyer and current Chicago Blackhawk win a new car and the MVP award.
“I think I just wanted to go out there and play well,” Sharp said. “I was lucky to be playing with Claude Giroux making passes out there…”
It’s hard not to feel good for Sharp, who’s really come into his own in the last few years. Admittedly, though, I think we can all feel a little jealous and a little irritated that he’s not still here, able to build that chemistry with Giroux on a nightly basis.
Giroux’s presence here at the All-Star Game is something that could really help him down the line this season and beyond. He talked when he was selected to the team about how he didn’t really expect to make the team because there are so many great players, but his play tonight really did prove that he’s one of the best players in the world.
Danny Briere talked about that boost in confidence for Giroux, a guy who you wouldn’t think needs much of a confidence boost.
“Hopefully he uses that to his advantage,” said Briere. “He’s one of the best players in the NHL. We all saw him there. He was confident, he made some plays, just like any of the top players. I hope it makes him realize that he belongs with the best players in the NHL.”
Meanwhile, Briere was in the MVP discussion for a while there. He had several chances to bury a hat trick goal but couldn’t pull the trigger, unfortunately. He definitely would have won if he potted three goals, and it would’ve been his second MVP award.
More from Raleigh after the jump, including video of Briere’s post-game chat.
– Peter Laviolette’s never lost an All-Star Game. 3-0, he said.
– The ovation for Lavi before the game was incredible.
– The Guardian Project is absolutely horrible and that’s the last time I’ll ever think about it.
– Nicklas Lidstrom finished an All-Star Game with a plus-seven rating. Seriously.
Briere’s chat:
