Team Matthews wins a very fun All Star Game in Toronto

After a couple of fun days kicking off All-Star Weekend in Toronto, the event concluded on Sunday with the 3-on-3 Tourney. The teams were selected in the player draft on Thursday night. 

Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Hughes brothers (Jack and Quinn) selected the teams in a snake draft. It was a lot of fun to watch as each team loaded up with talent. 

When the event started on Sunday, Team MacKinnon took on Team McDavid. MacKinnon’s squad had a 3-1 lead late but McDavid’s team pulled the goalie and they tied the game. It went directly to a shootout and McDavid’s team won thanks to a beautiful goal by David Pastrnak. 

The second game featured Team Hughes and Team Matthews. Of course, Matthews had Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander on his team. With the game being in Toronto, we know which team the crowd wanted to win. 

Like the game before it, oddly enough, it went to a shootout. After never having a shootout since going to the 3-on-3 format, they had two in the same year. A sweet goal by Alex DeBrincat gave Team Matthews the lead in the shootout and they won. 

The All-Star Game Final had an incredible amount of skill on display

That left Team Matthews and Team McDavid left for the championship game. Well, the hometown fans got exactly what they wanted as Team Matthews won the final game. It was a great game as the hometown Leafs players played a major role in the 7-4 win. 

After the game was over, Auston Matthews won the MVP award for his performance on the day. He had 2 goals and an assist in the final which led his team to victory in the tournament. 

The great hockey fans in Toronto haven’t seen much postseason success with this Maple Leafs team so it was great to see them enjoy this one with Auston Matthews leading the way. The fact that all of the Leafs involved were on this team made it that much better. 

Hockey is the best game in the world and deserves to be celebrated. The incredible skills that these players have were on display all weekend long. 

Now that the weekend is over, the NHL is set to resume this week with regular season games. There is a lot still left to be decided with the standings as there is a lot of hockey left. 

You know the Maple Leafs will be in the mix with all of this talent. It should be incredibly entertaining to watch down the stretch.

This is the last time we’ll see the All-Star Game for a while with some international competition taking its place in 2025 and 2026. Until it returns, this one will stick out as a great memory. That is especially true for Toronto.