Jarry, Guentzel 'got it done' in All-Star Game tournament win

LAS VEGAS -- I asked Jake Guentzel following the conclusion of Saturday's three-on-three All-Star Game tournament what he'll remember most from this weekend here in Vegas.

"Winning," he said, breaking into a big smile.

Guentzel, Tristan Jarry and the rest of the Metropolitan Division All-Stars were crowned the winners of the 2022 edition of the league's All-Star Game, defeating the Pacific Division with a 6-4 win in the semifinal round and clinching the victory with a 5-3 win over the Central Division in the finals.

The 11 members of the Metropolitan Division team will split the $1 million prize pool for their win.

"You get to go home with some money," Guentzel said. "It's just a good event, and a good weekend overall."

Guentzel recorded a combined three points in the tournament, assisting on a Sebastian Aho goal and scoring the game-winner off of a setup from captain Claude Giroux in the opening game:

"To score in the All-Star Game is pretty special," Guentzel said after. "Just a great pass (from Giroux), it landed right on my tape. I just had to put it in the net after that one."

Guentzel also had the primary assist on one of Giroux's goals in the final game:

Guentzel and Giroux were frequently paired together during both games, and had several strong scoring chances over the course of both games, aside from the two goals they teamed up on. Guentzel said the experience of being linemates with the captain of the Penguins' biggest rival was "different."

"That's what's cool about this, you get to be around new people and interact with guys you play against every night," he said of playing with Giroux. "You just take that all in. The rivalry is there, but just to come together here to play together for a few times was pretty fun."

Giroux expressed a similar sentiment about Guentzel, calling the experience "kind of weird" but offering praise.

"He's a good player," Giroux said. "He makes a lot of plays, he's a very smart hockey player. We had a good time together."

Jarry split both games with the Hurricanes' Frederik Andersen, with Jarry playing the final 10 minutes of each of the 20-minute games. He made a combined 19 saves on 23 shots over the two games, and was credited with the win in the first game. Andersen received credit for the win in the second game, but Jarry deserves credit for helping to preserve the win in a tight final game. He faced a flurry of shots in the final minutes as the Central Division fought to tie the game, but held onto the lead with a number of saves on point-blank shots:

Jarry thought the ending of the game felt "like a real game."

"The guys want to try and score, and I think it's just trying to put my best foot forward," he said of those final minutes.

Jarry earned praise from his Metropolitan Division coach, Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour.

"I thought our goaltending was great," said Brind'Amour. "Fun to watch that display at the end there especially."

As far as what they'll do with their cuts of the prize money, Guentzel said that he hadn't given it much thought yet. Jarry's plans for the money sound like that of a typical goaltender.

"Save it," he said with a grin.

Guentzel spoke after Friday's skills competition how this weekend serves as a moment to "recharge" during the grind of the regular season, giving them a "new battery" for the second half of the season. This weekend for Guentzel and Jarry was about having fun, getting that refresh, and getting to spend time getting to know the rest of the league's stars. But that doesn't mean they didn't come into Saturday's tournament just looking to have a good time. They wanted to compete.

"Once you win that first game, you might as well try to win it all," Guentzel said. "Great goaltending, and we got it done."

"It's fun to win," Jarry said. "And being in Pittsburgh, we love winning. I think that's just the culture that we have."

MORE FROM THE EVENT

• Tom Wilson opened the scoring for the Metropolitan Division just 13 seconds into the first game. It's the fastest goal to start an All-Star game since the three-on-three format was introduced in 2016. The previous fastest was Sidney Crosby's time of 15 seconds in 2019.

"He came out and said they were going to score the first shift and did," Brind'Amour said of Wilson.

• Jack Hughes scored twice in the Metropolitan Division's opening 6-4 win over the Pacific.

• The Central Division knocked off the Atlantic Division with an 8-5 win in the second game. The Blues' Jordan Kyrou scored two goals and two assists in the win. He was just a point shy of the record for points in a single game in the All-Star Game tournament. Crosby and Mat Barzal tied for the record with five points each in the 2019 final.

• There was a delay in the final game to review an Alex DeBrincat goal for being offside. It was by what looked like inches, and it was rescinded.

• Giroux was named MVP, scoring a combined three goals and one assist over the two games. He's now scored eight career goals in All-Star Games, tied for the seventh-most in NHL history in any format. He's the third Flyer to ever be named MVP (after Wayne Simmonds in 2017 and Reggie Leach in 1980) and the sixth-oldest player to ever win MVP at 34 years and 24 days.

Gritty bolted onto the ice as soon as Giroux was announced as MVP and was drawing hearts in the air at him from across the rink:

• Steven Stamkos' two-year-old son Carter politely interrupted his postgame media availability to request to drive the Zamboni:

• Penguins athletic trainer Chris Stewart was selected to be an All-Star himself:

• That line Jarry had after yesterday's skills competition about there being hot dogs in the locker room? Part of a fun gag: