Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk was named the MVP as the Atlantic Division won the 2023 NHL All-Star Game at FLA Live Arena with a 7-5 victory over the Central Division.
Tkachuk had a goal and an assist in the final after getting three goals and two assists in a 10-6 win over the Metropolitan Division in the semifinals.
Cats captain Aleksander Barkov had three assists in the semifinals and set up Rasmus Dahlin’s goal in the final.
Tkachuk’s younger brother, Ottawa Senators forward Brady finished with one goal and five points, with four of those coming in the semifinals.
Dylan Larkin had a hat trick in the final, and finished with a total of five goals, Mitch Marner had three assists, and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist for the Atlantic, which won the All-Star Game for the first time since the NHL adopted the current format in 2016. Linus Ullmark stopped all six shots he faced in the first period, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 11 saves in the second.
In the AHL, the Charlotte Checkers completed a weekend sweep of the Syracuse Crunch with a 5-3 win at Upstate Medical University Arena. The Checkers scored three consecutive unassisted goals in the third period to break open a 2-2 tie.
Goals: Logan Hutsko (8), John Ludvig (2), Justin Sourdif (7 – SHG), Connor Bunnaman (10 – GWG), Matt Kiersted (2 – ENG)
Assists: Santtu Kinnunen (15), Aleski Heponiemi (18), Lucas Carlsson (15)
W: Jean-Francois Berube (30 saves)