2008 NHL All-Star Game

2008 NHL All-Star Game

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Forty-two of hockey's best descended on Atlanta for the 56th NHL All-Star Game.

Bob Rosato/SI

The Hives opened the festivities in Atlanta with their hit <i>Tick Tick Boom</i>.

Bob Rosato/SI

Atlanta held the event for the first time but it was the third Southeast Division city to host, following Tampa Bay in 1999 and Florida in 2002.

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The West jumped out to a 1-0 lead as the Blue Jackets' Rick Nash (61) scored 12 seconds after the puck was dropped. He finished with three goals.

The East fired back with five unanswered goals to end the first period as the Hurricanes' Eric Staal (12) opened the East scoring.

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The host Thrashers' Marian Hossa (11) assisted on the second East goal and also scored in the third period.

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The Oilers' Shawn Horcoff of the West was one of 15 players making their All-Star debuts, while the Sabres' Brian Campbell made his second appearance.

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The Stars' Mike Ribeiro, also a first-time All-Star, played 16:35 and took two shots on goal.

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Anze Kopitar (11) and the West managed to cut the East's advantage to three after outscoring the East 2-0 in the second period.

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With the East trailing 7-6, Staal tied the game, scoring his second goal with 7:25 remaining.

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The Bruins' Marc Savard, a former member of the host Thrashers, delivered the game-winning goal with 20.9 seconds left.

Bob Rosato/SI

Staal earned MVP honors, finishing with three points. He denied Nash's becoming the fifth straight MVP to come from the losing side.