Throughout the NHL season, a team plays 82 games. In a sport such as hockey, players are constantly giving it all they’ve got, every single game. They often take one heck of a beating over the course of those 82 games.

However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for many of these players. In the halfway point of the season, they get a break to spend time with their families, relax, and forget about getting slammed against the boards for a week. The best players in the league aren’t so lucky. Or are they?

Those players who were lucky enough to get voted into the All-Star game get treated to a weekend of fun. They get to participate in the entertaining skills competition, where there are events such as fastest skater, hardest shot, and the breakaway challenge. At the end of it all is the all star game, which was on Jan. 31 this year in Nashville.

Perhaps the biggest story going into this year’s All-Star game was the event’s leading vote-getter, John Scott. He’s known for his height at 6 feet, 8 inches, fighting ability, and well, that’s it. He’s not really an all-star caliber player. However, many think this is great for hockey, as a player such as Scott in the all star game would be fun to watch. The game is mainly for entertainment after all.

This year the format was different from years past. It has typically been two teams of five-on-five hockey, which really wasn’t all that entertaining. This year there were four teams, one from each division, in a tournament-style format of three-on-three hockey. There were three 20-minute games of fast-paced, fun-to-watch hockey.

The first semifinal game was between the Atlantic division, captained by 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr (Florida Panthers), and the Metropolitan division, captained by John Tavares (New York Islanders.)

The game was actually a well-fought battle, with the Atlantic division winning 4-3. There were razzle dazzle goals, and some beautiful goaltending by Panther Roberto Luongo and  Braden Holtby from Washington. Jagr, who keeps getting better with age, also put one in the net.

The next semifinal game was between the Central division, captained by the best player in the NHL, Patrick Kane. The Pacific division was captained by John Scott.

This was more of an offensive shootout, with the Pacific winning 9-6. There were smiles all around in this one. After scoring a goal, Kane dropped the gloves jokingly and went after Scott, his former teammate. Scott, who has 11 points in his entire career, tallied two beautiful goals. The crowd was beyond ecstatic, and San Jose Sharks Brent Burns wrapped him up in a hug.

The championship was exhilarating to watch, especially in the first half. Luongo and Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick made save after save. At one point Luongo dove across the goal crease and swatted the puck away with his hand, causing announcer Doc Emrick to exclaim, “What goaltending! That’s something I’ve never said in an All-Star game before.” The half ended at 0-0.

Eventually, Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks broke the tie, making the score 1-0 Pacific.

That would be all it took, as teammate Josh Gibson shut out all of the Atlantic offense. Him and Quick combined for a 17-save shutout. The championship game brought an outstanding level of competitiveness and entertainment, much like a regular season game would. The MVP of the night was, you guessed it, John Scott.

This was his night. This is a man who had never experienced an event such as an all-star game ever before in his career. As the crowd chanted “MVP, MVP, MVP,” the people’s champion was carried off the ice on the shoulders of his Pacific division teammates. It was an incredible sight.

The All-Star this year was undoubtedly a major success. It focused on what arguably matters most, fans and players having fun. The way that the NHL went about this year’s game was a big improvement over the old style of play.

Brent Burns stated in an interview, “It was great. The city of Nashville did themselves proud. It was unbelievable. The NHL did a great job.”

This year there was a new level of intensity, which made this year’s game so much better. Players were given a better opportunity to let their skills shine, and it made for great hockey. As a fellow fan of hockey, I am definitely satisfied with it, and other fans everywhere will be wanting more.