Mathew Barzal puts on show with the NHL’s best

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The respect for Mathew Barzal was abundant, to the point the Islanders’ second-year center played on a unit alongside Penguins veterans Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang during the three-on-three All-Star Game on Saturday night.

Barzal scored two goals and notched four assists during two 20-minute games that led to his Metropolitan Division’s victory.

During an interview on the bench, Letang said the strategy was just to get the puck to Barzal because the 21-year-old pivot had “dominated” when the two teams met earlier in the year. It was a flattering remark to hear for the reigning Calder Trophy winner making his first All-Star appearance.

“I was literally laughing on the ice because it was almost too easy,” said Barzal, who picked up two goals and three assists in his team’s 10-5 win over the Central Division in the championship game. “[Crosby] was always open. Just hand it off to him when you’re in trouble. Him and Kris are two of the best players in the league, and I had a blast being out there with them.”

Barzal had the adjacent stall next to Crosby in the dressing room, and that also helped him feel comfortable at this star-studded event.

“Got a chance to skate with him a little bit this summer, so that was just surreal,” Barzal said. “Come in here, he’s such a nice guy and such a good guy for me to learn from. So it’s really cool for me.”

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Crosby, who missed the skills competition Friday night because of illness, won the All-Star Game MVP, which came with a Honda SUV. He had four goals and four assists.


This wasn’t exactly the way Kyle Palmieri wanted to be named to his first All-Star team, but he’ll take it.

The Devils winger got the nod as a late replacement for teammate Taylor Hall, the reigning Hart Trophy winner who was dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out since just before Christmas. Palmieri took advantage, scoring a goal in the championship game on a nice backhand.

“Obviously you never want to see a teammate injured, especially how big a part of our team Hallsy is,” Palmieri said. “But it’s an awesome opportunity for me, and I’m really enjoying it.”


The Central Division dominated the Pacific in the first game of the night, winning 10-4. It sent all of the hometown Sharks — Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Erik Karlsson — out of the competition early. It also had the first Pacific goalie, the Ducks’ John Gibson, suffering the indignity of a stat line wherein he allowed seven goals on nine shots in the first 10 minutes.

When he was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury, the first save was cheered.