Stars’ Send Trio to NHL All-Star Weekend

By Travis Atkinson

 

Dallas Stars’ forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn; along with head coach Lindy Ruff took part in the NHL’s All-Star Weekend in Nashville.

 

Benn and Seguin have been vital pieces to the Stars’ success this season under third year head-coach Ruff. Benn, the reigning NHL points’ champion, has 28 goals and 30 assists (58 points) this season, putting him second in the league in total points. Seguin has 25 goal and 28 assists, which lands him third in the NHL with 53 points. Dallas has a 31-14-5 record, which ranks second in the NHL’s Western Conference and third overall.  

 

The Dallas forwards were featured on the All-Star Weekends’ Central Division team, which was also coached by Ruff. Seguin finished the night with two goals and an assist, while Benn contributed an assist as well. Even with the strong play of the Stars’ duo, the Central Division All-Stars were ousted in the first round by a score of 9-6 to the Pacific Division All-Stars. 

 

The Pacific Division team, captained by tournament MVP John Scott, would go on to win the ensuing championship game of the NHL’s first ever 3-on-3 All-Star Tournament. Scott, the social media darling and fan-voted captain, was the central figure of controversy leading up to All-Star Weekend. The journeyman enforcer, who earned a roster spot after being written in by fans, has only five goals and six assists in 285 career NHL games. Scott was under heavy pressure to sit out the game by the league, and some media in the weeks prior to the event, as they viewed his participation as a mockery. Scott made the leagues views clear in his brilliant piece in the NHL Players Tribune. Ironically, Scott’s participation generated a massive amount of positive reaction from players, and fans, and added to the overall excitement of the event.

 

After last years underwhelming All-Star game saw the continuation of a decline in television ratings, the NHL decided this season to change up the 60-year-old exhibition match. The league opted for a 3-on-3 tournament featuring teams composed of the best players from each of the leagues four divisions.

 

This move went hand in hand with the leagues adoption of a 3-on-3 overtime format for regular season games this past off-season. The change from the 4-on-4 format has been widely viewed as a success and since adopted the new format the NHL has seen a 20% increase in games ending before shootouts. This prompted the NHL to make the change to the All-Star game format in hopes of putting a jolt of excitement into the game, which had grown stale and repetitive in recent years.