Time for some fun

High-scoring All-Star Games all about having a good time

New Orleans isn't the only place to be for sports fans this weekend. If you are into ice hockey, there is no place else to be but the Staples Center in Los Angeles. That is the site of Saturday's NHL All-Star Game and where we caught up with our NHL analyst, Darren Eliot.

CNNSI.com: Darren, a wild month of February kicks off with the All-Star Weekend. From the All-Star Weekend, back to the NHL schedule, then the Olympics later on -- what kind of mindset are these guys in right now?

Darren Eliot: It's pretty individiual. Some guys complain more about the travel than others. But for the most part, the sentiment amongst the players is the fact that the All-Star Game is all about fun. And it's also an obligation and they recognize that. The fans love it and the players know it is for the fans. And, of course, sponsorship interest has to be served as well.

The game is really just one agenda item in a week full of activities.

CNNSI.com: The competition may take a back seat in the All-Star Game, but that's not going to be the case later this month in Salt Lake City. So what is the correlation when many of the same players will be on the Olympic ice a couple of weeks from now?

Eliot: The All-Star Game is more about camaraderie than it is about competition. And if there is any kind of correlation between what's going on here in Los Angeles this weekend and what will transpire in Salt Lake City, it's just that. But there are a lot of players from both the North American side and all the European countries represented here in Los Angeles. It is just camaraderie, getting together. In terms of on-ice strategy -- nada. Nothing is going to be transposed from L.A. to Salt Lake.

CNNSI.com: We are going to see a lot of great young stars in the Olympic Games in a couple of weeks. Can we get a preview of anybody special in the All-Star Game this weekend?

Eliot: A couple of first timers I'm going to look forward to Saturday. First off, Jarome Iginla for the North America will be part of Team Canada in Salt Lake City. And then Alex Zhamnov, who is also a first-time All Star, even though he's a veteran of the NHL. Look for him as well in Salt Lake for Team Russia.

CNNSI.com: The one group of players who won't be having a good time on Saturday is the guys you know well about. As a former goalie, what is it like for these guys to know at the end of the day that the scores might be in double-digits?

Eliot: Tommy Salo has the best attitude about it. He says, "Hey, you come here, have some fun, pull five or six pucks out of the net and you go home." He still says it's an honor to be here. The good news about when I was a player, I never had to worry about it because I was nowehre near an All-Star.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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