RALEIGH, N.C. – Sorry Team Staal, Team Lidstrom felt right at home in Carolina.
Eric Staal had the No. 1 pick in the inaugural NHL All-Star fantasy draft, the unconditional support of his hometown Carolina Hurricanes fans behind him, and a four-goal lead in the first period.
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Still, he was left with a loss to a proven winner — Nicklas Lidstrom.
Danny Briere, Jonathan Toews and Martin St. Louis scored during a four-minute span of the third period to lift Team Lidstrom over Team Staal 11-10 on Sunday in the NHL All-Star game.
Lidstrom can add this victory to the four Stanley Cup titles and six Norris trophies he has won with the Detroit Red Wings. In a game not known for defense, the stellar defenseman was a plus-7 and helped his team stage the biggest comeback in All-Star game history.
Fellow defenseman Shea Weber of Nashville had four assists and was plus-6, and Dallas forward Loui Eriksson had two goals and two assists.
Boston’s Tim Thomas stopped 11 of 15 shots in the third period and became the first goalie to earn the win in three consecutive All-Star games.
“I guess he picked the winning team. Pretty good night for Nicklas Lidstrom,” Staal said. “It’s fun to get to know him a little bit more … just doing this whole experience for the first time with him. He played a great game.”
Maybe Staal’s pick of Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward with the No. 1 selection in the fantasy draft wasn’t such a good idea, after all. Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, the league leader with 38 goals, went with the second pick to Lidstrom, and Stamkos scored the goal that made it 6-6 in the second period.
Ward could hardly be blamed for the four goals he gave up in the first. Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury also allowed four in the opening 20 minutes of a typically defenseless All-Star game.
One consolation for the Team Staal: Chicago’s Patrick Sharp claimed MVP honors after posting a goal and two assists.
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