The rivalry between Rangers teammates Gaborik and Lundqvist had grown ever since Marian was drafted by Team Chara to confirm that he would be going up against Hank in the All-Star Game. Between the Twitter war and the in-person trash talking, it was quite an interesting situation to watch unfold from a fan's perspective.
Gabby spoke about what's gone on between him and Lundqvist following the game...
"I tried to get into his mind over the whole weekend," Gaborik told the media (myself included). "I think it was a pretty good challenge against him and it worked out better for me."
Despite Gaborik coming out the victor in the rivalry, he was quick to give Lundqvist much credit and state that the war will not continue beyond this point...
"We always have a good competition, even in practice," he said. "It's a challenge to score on him. He's one of the best."
Gaborik cannot take full credit for his performance tonight, though, as he was teamed up with some pretty talented linemates in Pavel Datsyuk and fellow Slovak Marian Hossa on Team Chara's first offensive line. Gaborik spoke about playing alongside those two following the game...
"With Marian [Hossa], we've played together at the international level," Gaborik said. "And with Pavel [Datsyuk], he's one of the best. He's got it all and is a pure talent. It was a lot of fun."
Datsyuk assisted on Gaborik's first goal of the game, which actually opened the scoring for both teams at ScotiaBank Place. The beautiful passing between the two ended with Gaborik one-timing the puck just over a sprawled Lundqvist to give Team Chara a 1-0 lead. What came after, though, was where the real prize was at.
As Lundqvist lay in his crease after allowing the goal to his teammate, Gaborik skated out to the circle, went down to one knee and replicated Artem Anisimov's 'rifle' celebration in Henrik's direction - a celebration he said he had planned, but acknowledged that he did not do as well as Anisimov did earlier in the year. When asked about that celebration afterwards, Lundqvist jokingly told us that he believes the league should take a look at it.
"I have to think about what kind of penalty that is," Lundqvist said smiling. "I think Anisimov was twenty-five hundred bucks, right?"
But just as Gaborik did he, Lundqvist gave his buddy credit for the points he put up in the contest...
"After he scored the first one I couldn't believe it. He had a good game - unbelievable player and it was fun to see him out there."
Going back to what I was saying before the game, it means a lot for the organization to be so well represented in a league-wide event like this, especially in the midst of such a successful year from several standpoints. And now to have their top offensive player take center stage and win MVP makes it that more special.
That includes head coach John Tortorella, who although was coaching the opposing team, had to be happy to see Marian be acknowledged as the game's best player. Gaborik was asked about Tortorella's thoughts on his celebration, which Torts reportedly (jokingly) told NBC he should be fined for...
"He's just mad that we won the game," said Gaborik.
* Henrik Lundqvist played the first period between the pipes for Team Alfredsson, allowing just three goals on 12 shots against. I say "just" three goals because it's not easy to keep your GAA low in an All-Star game with all of the skill out there and nonchalant defensive play. He made a few impressive pad saves as well, which had the crowd on hand standing on their feet.
* Defenseman Dan Girardi logged 15:20 of ice time on the blue-line for Team Alfredsson, which is about half of what he plays on a nightly basis for the Rangers. Dan picked up an assist when his shot from the point was deflected to the back of the net by Jason Spezza in the first period, and, by no surprise, he was credited with one blocked shot tonight. I guess he just couldn't help himself.
* All in all, it was a great showing for the New York Rangers here in Ottawa this weekend, but now it's back to the grind of the regular season. There's still plenty of work to be done and playoff games to be played. This weekend was a nice break from the intensity of the regular season, but now it's crunch time.
Come back tomorrow as I recap the weekend that was here in Ottawa, and share some pictures I took behind-the-scenes before and after today's game. I had a blast covering the event live, and I hope you enjoyed reading.
Good night from Ottawa.
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