Predators put up points, don’t get to play on at All-Star Game

Montreal’s P.K. Subban, who could find himself as Scott’s teammate in the future (Scott is now assigned to the Canadiens’ American Hockey League farm team in St. John’s, Newfoundland), said, “We’re happy for him”.

Usually these kinds of campaigns go nowhere.

Not only was Scott voted into the game, but he was also named Team Pacific’s Captain.

The NHL was embarrassed.

And while Scott wasn’t able to finish off his hat trick in the final, it hardly mattered. The NHL ignoring him (again) as an MVP candidate, only to be overruled by fans? The fans of Nashville cheered him on.

Amazingly, Scott’s All-Star jersey outsold everyone else’s in Music City. Not because the skills competition was riveting (it wasn’t) not because the 3 on 3 was so breathtaking (it wasn’t), but because the players and fans alike embraced John Scott and made him the star.

It’s amusing how this joke played out.

Last week, I wrote about John Scott’s selection into the NHL All-Star Game. He seemed a bit stunned as he soaked everything in, from teammates lifting him on their shoulders while fans chanted “MVP!” before Scott was announced as the victor and presented with a Honda Pilot Touring SUV.

Congrats to John Scott on winning the #NHLAllStar game & the #MVP! Wouldn’t you know, the Internet saw an opening for the IceCaps to pay tribute to their most prominent player, and what could they do but acquiesce. “He truly deserves it. That’s the amusing thing; he deserves it”. In it I said, “There’s no real significance to the NHL All-Star game, but that doesn’t mean the NHL and the fan base wouldn’t want the game to have some dignity attached to it, and having Scott be the captain of the Pacific Division certainly does away with any of that”.

“It worked out for everybody”, said Scott, who was named National Hockey League star of the week on Monday. He loved it, too, and celebrated by getting down on one knee and pumping his right arm.

“I’m sure he won over a lot of people, and got even more fans”, Chicago forward Patrick Kane said of Scott.

The NHL got a memorable moment on a major stage, and Scott went from being a relatively unknown hockey player to an athlete who perhaps transcends the sport. What’s going on?’ That’s insane, isn’t it?

Pavelski had one goal and one assist in the two mini-games, while Burns posted three helpers. He deflected a pass from a former teammate, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, and fans roared their approval at Scott’s goal.

Scott scored twice to much delight in the semifinals of the all-star tournament and then fired two shots on goal in the Pacific Division’s 1-0 win in the final. Pacific goalies Jonathan Quick and John Gibson keyed the victory by combining for a 17-save shutout, but Scott was the man of the hour and the player picked by NBC Sports Network’s Pierre McGuire to interview on the ice after the final buzzer. According to a press release from NBCSN, viewership of this year’s NHL All-Star Game (5:03-8:27 p.m. ET) from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., was up 34% vs. last season’s game (1.194 million) in Columbus.

Every Central and Atlantic All-Star lined up near the blue line for the MVP announcement.