Savard Scores Game Winner For the East

ATLANTA — Marc Savard made Atlanta feel like home all over again.

With hockey luminaries such as Sidney Crosby sitting at home, Savard stepped on up. The Boston Bruins forward scored the winning goal with 20.9 seconds left last night to lift the Eastern Conference to an 8–7 win over the West.

Real early it looked as though it would be a night for the West when Rick Nash scored the first of his three goals a record-quick 12 seconds into the game. But the East took charge with five straight, including two by Alex Ovechkin — Crosby's rival for top player in the NHL. Yet in the end, after the West erased a 5–1 deficit to go ahead 7-6, Savard — a former star for the host Atlanta Thrashers — brought the local fans out of their seats to cheer for him again.

Leading up to the game, there was much talk about who wouldn't be at the All-Star game. Crosby, the defending MVP and scoring champion pulled out due to a sprained ankle, and starting goalies Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo both withdrew for personal reasons.