2011 NHL All-Star Game: Patrick Sharp Named MVP; Team Lidstrom Squeaks Past Team Staal, 11-10

RALEIGH -- It’s safe to say that Nicklas Lidstrom had a good weekend. He hand-selected a hockey team made up of the best players in the world, and in the only game that team will ever play in together, they came back from a 4-0 deficit in the first period en route to an entertaining 11-10 win over Team Eric Staal.

Oh, and in that game that features 21 goals, Lidstrom put in an unbelievable defensive performance, finishing the game with a plus-seven rating. That’s not a typo. He was on the ice for 13 total goals, including 10 of his team’s 11. His partner, Shea Weber, reaped those same benefits, finishing with a plus-six rating.

But aside from Lidstrom’s unbelievable night, it wasn’t exactly a game full of fantastic defensive play, obviously typical of the NHL All-Star Game. It was an offensive affair as the score will quickly tell you, and 20 players finished the game with two or more points.

Patrick Sharp had three all by himself, and as a result, he’ll be leaving Raleigh with a new ride. Despite being a member of the losing Team Staal side, Sharp picked up the MVP, which was voted on by the fans and the writers in attendance.

It was a quiet night for the hometown heroes, Jeff Skinner and captain Staal. Despite the girlish cheers of many in attendance and the constant efforts by his linemates to get him the puck, Skinner couldn’t bury a goal that would’ve brought the roof off of RBC Center.

Staal, on the other hand, erased a quiet first forty minutes with two goals in the third. His second goal came with an empty net in the final minute and it cut Team Lidstrom’s lead down to just a goal. He couldn’t net the hat trick, however, as his team went down in defeat.