Claude Giroux Wins MVP as Metropolitan Beats Central in 2022 NHL All-Star Game

The Metropolitan Division defeated the Central Division 5-3 to win the 2022 NHL All-Star Game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The win marked the Metropolitan Division's third in the past five All-Star Games, and it netted the Metro Division $1 million to split among its 11 players.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, playing in his seventh NHL All-Star Game, was named All-Star Game MVP by virtue of his three goals and one assist spread across the Metropolitan Division's semifinal and final contests.

Saturday marked the first NHL All-Star Game since 2020, as last year's game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHL retained the format it first used in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, with each of the league's four divisions having its own team and competing in a single-elimination tournament featuring three-on-three play and two 10-minute periods.

Prior to the final matchup, the Metropolitan Division beat the Pacific Division 6-4, and Central Division took down the Atlantic Division 8-5 in the semifinals.

Here is a recap of how each of Saturday's three games played out in Sin City.

Semifinal 1: Metropolitan 6, Pacific 4

The Western Conference's Pacific Division won the last NHL All-Star Game in 2020 and three of the first five All-Star Games under the current format, but it was eliminated in the semifinals Saturday at the hands of the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division.

New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, who was making his NHL All-Star Game debut in his third season, was the star for the Metro Division, scoring twice.

The action started fast and furious, as Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals received a pass from fellow Caps teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov and scored just 13 seconds into the contest:

Wilson replaced Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin in Vegas after Ovechkin tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

Wilson isn't particularly popular across the league due to his history of dangerous hits and plays. David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted the fans were none too pleased to see him open the scoring, though part of the jeering may have stemmed from the fact that the Capitals defeated the Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals:

Although 10 goals were scored in the semifinal matchup, the most impressive play may have actually been a save.

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen shut the door on Edmonton Oilers superstar forward Connor McDavid in the first period and ultimately held McDavid off the score sheet:

San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier answered Wilson's opening goal with one of his own to tie the score at 1-1, but it was all Metropolitan for the remainder of the first period.

Giroux made it 2-1 in favor of the Metro by going coast to coast and beating Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson:

Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho added another goal for the Metropolitan, putting the Pacific in a 3-1 hole halfway through the game.

The Pacific Division made things interesting early in the second period, as goals by Las Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault and Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle tied it up at 3-3.

Hughes broke the tie shortly thereafter by smartly chipping a pass from New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech past Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko:

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel then scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal off a two-on-one feed from Giroux:

The Pacific Division pulled its goalie in an act of desperation, and Hughes put the game away for the Metro Division with an empty-net goal.

That goal effectively knocked the Pacific Division out of contention, and it put the Metropolitan Division in position to win the All-Star Game.

Semifinal 2: Central 8, Atlantic 5

St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou and Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat each scored two goals in the Western Conference Central Division's win over the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division in the second semifinal.

Kyrou, who had a game-high four points, opened the scoring with a breakaway goal that beat Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy just 2:20 into the game:

Florida Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau tied it up for the Atlantic, but the Central followed up with two unanswered goals from DeBrincat and Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri to make it 3-1.

Additionally, Minnesota Wild goalie Cam Talbot stood tall in his All-Star Game debut, making back-to-back saves on Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin:

A late goal by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews pulled the Atlantic to within one of the Central through one period.

The second period was an all-out goal-fest, featuring eight of the game's 13 goals.

The first came courtesy of Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron to tie the game at 3-3, but the Central Division never looked back after that:

It looked as though Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had put the Atlantic on top 4-3, but the goal was wiped after it was determined Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor had scored seconds earlier to make it 4-3 in favor of the Central

Kyrou's second goal of the game extended the Central lead to 5-3, and the Atlantic was never able to net another tying marker.

The game-winning goal officially went to Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, who made it 6-4. Lightning forward Steven Stamkos brought the Atlantic within one with a goal at the 7:33 mark, but DeBrincat scored his second and Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski scored an empty netter to put the game away for the Central.

By virtue of the victory, the Central Division advanced to the finals of the NHL All-Star Game for only the second time since 2016.

Final: Metropolitan 5, Central 3

The Metropolitan Division won the NHL All-Star Game yet again Saturday by surviving a late flurry from the Central Division and holding onto a 5-3 advantage.

Giroux scored twice, and Hughes had two points in the final, but Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was perhaps the biggest reason for the win, as he stopped 10 of the Central Division's 11 shots in the second period.

The Metropolitan Division was aggressive from the onset, as Andersen made a long stretch pass to Kuznetsov, who put the Metro on the board just 27 seconds into the final:

Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller knotted the score at 1-1 just over one minute later, but the Metropolitan division seized the lead again with back-to-back goals.

Giroux scored the first thanks to a deflection off the defenseman, and New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider followed that up by tipping a pass from Hughes past Talbot to make it 3-1:

Kadri cut the lead in half only for Hughes to score his first goal of the game and his third goal of the entire competition to restore the two-goal advantage at 4-2 entering the second period:

Pavelski scored early in the second to pull the Central Division within one, but that margin was short-lived.

Taking a nice feed from Guentzel, Giroux scored his second goal of the final, putting the puck past Predators goalie Juuse Saros to up the Metropolitan lead to 5-3:

After Saros made several big saves to keep the Central Division in it, DeBrincat appeared to score with just under two minutes left to pull the Central within one.

The goal was taken off the board upon further review since it was determined DeBrincat was offsides, however.

Like Saros did previously, Jarry stood tall in the final minutes, staving off a barrage from a Central Division team that pulled its goalie.

Jeff Svoboda of the Columbus Blue Jackets' official website noted that Jarry's efforts were applauded by his teammates once the final horn sounded:

There wasn't much high-level goaltending throughout the day, but Jarry was at his best when it mattered most.

In the end, he helped his team win a $1 million prize pool and helped continue the Metropolitan Division's All-Star Game dominance.