National Hockey League
Metropolitan 5, Central 3
When: 5:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 5, 2022
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Steve Kozari
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Matt MacPherson
Attendance: 17419

Claude Giroux scored two goals to lead the Metropolitan Division to a 5-3 win against the Central Division in the finale of the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday at Las Vegas.

Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Chris Kreider scored goals for the Metro. Frederik Andersen made seven saves and Tristan Jarry finished with 14 saves as the Metro goalie duo held off the Central.

Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, while Clayton Keller and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Central. Cam Talbot made nine saves, and Juuse Saros followed with four saves for the Central.

Giroux, who had a goal and an assist in a 6-4 win against the Pacific Division in the first semifinal, scored his third goal of the day on a backhand finish off a rush for a 5-3 lead at 12:42 of the 20-minute final.

Giroux, 34, was playing in his seventh All-Star game, tied with Steven Stamkos for the most among this year's selections. Many expect Giroux will be traded to a playoff contender next month after spending the past 15 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.

"People tend to not expect a lot from you once you get kind of get past 30, but he's proven them wrong again," Stamkos said of Giroux. "I would love to see him get a chance to win, but he's also a proud guy that loves being the captain and wearing that jersey in Philly."

The Central pulled their goalie and Alex DeBrincat scored with 1:45 left, but it was determined he had been offside and the goal was disallowed, keeping it a two-goal deficit the rest of the way.

The Metro scored 13 seconds into their semifinal win, and Kuznetsov scored 27 seconds into the finale against the Central for a 1-0 lead.

Keller came back with a goal at 1:38 to tie it 1-1. He had two assists in the semifinal win.

Giroux scored at 3:33 for a 2-1 lead.

Kreider, who leads the NHL with 33 goals, scored off a feed from Hughes to expand the lead to 3-1 at 4:50.

Kadri cut the lead to 3-2 with a shot off the bar and into the net at 5:27. He also had a goal and an assist in an 8-5 semifinal win against the Atlantic Division.

Kadri, who made the All-Star team after getting voted in as part of the "Last Men In" competition, said he enjoyed spending time with players from other teams.

"That was my favorite part, I think," he said. "I don't think we're going to be as friendly moving forward, but it was a nice little weekend."

Hughes, who scored twice in the semifinal win, scored his third goal of the day for a 4-2 lead at 7:55.

At 20 years, 267 days, Hughes equaled Joe Cirella as the youngest player in team history to score a goal in an All-Star Game.

"It's fun to get on the board and score a few goals," Hughes said. "I had a lot of fun out there. Really enjoyed it."

Pavelski started the second half of the period with a goal to cut the deficit to 4-3 at 11:19.

Jordan Kyrou had two goals and two assists in the semifinal win for the Metro Division.

The quick goal allowed by the Pacific Division in their semifinal loss was the second-fastest to start an All-Star game in the event's history

"We got off to a slow start," Pacific coach Pete DeBoer said. "That was probably due to late-night Vegas activities last night, but we eventually got into the game."

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Metropolitan   Central
Claude Giroux 2 Points Joe Pavelski 2
Claude Giroux 2 Goals Joe Pavelski 1
Zach Werenski 2 Assists Joe Pavelski 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Tristan Jarry .933 Save Percentage Juuse Saros .800
Tristan Jarry 14 Saves Cam Talbot 9
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Metropolitan 18 5 0-0 0-0 0 8
Central 24 3 0-0 0-0 0 7