All-Star Recap: Hanifin All Smiles as Weekend Wraps Up

TAMPA - The Metropolitan Division's quest for back-to-back NHL All-Star Game titles ended in a 7-4 defeat at the hands of the Atlantic Division, but that's a negligible fact when compared to the experience for Noah Hanifin.
Hanifin, who just celebrated his 21st birthday on Thursday and is in his third NHL season, was all smiles at the podium as his first NHL All-Star Weekend was winding down.
"It's been great. You never know when you can go through this again, so I just tried to cherish the moment," Hanifin said. "It's definitely a weekend I will never forget. I'm happy my family got to come and experience it with me."

Today's 3-on-3 All-Star match-up, which pitted the Metropolitan Division against the Atlantic Division, was one dreams are made of, as Hanifin jumped over the boards with forwards Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
"It was awesome. It was just a great day overall," Hanifin said. "To be able to play with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin out there was an unbelievable experience. Those were two guys I idolized as a kid growing up. Just to be able to go out there and play in the game was a blast. Unfortunately we lost, but it was still a lot of fun."

On Hanifin's first shift, in fact, he became a quick plus-1, as Ovechkin dished to Crosby to give the Metropolitan Division an early lead. Hanifin would notch another plus in the second period when Crosby returned to the favor to Ovechkin.
"I just tried to get the puck to those guys," Hanifin said. "Those are probably two of the best players in the entire world and some of the best players to ever play the game. It was definitely special to be out there and have some fun with them."
Hanifin had a quality scoring chance of his own in the first period when he dangled in front of the net and tried to go backhand on Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made the pad save. Hanifin also made a nice defensive play in the first period, putting his stick down in front of the net to intercept a cross-crease attempt that likely would have resulted in a goal for the Atlantic.
"Guys were just trying to have fun and make some good plays in front of the fan for entertainment," Hanifin said. "There were a lot of cool goals out there, and guys were having a lot of fun with it," Hanifin said. "Any time you get a group like that together, they're all super competitive players. At the end of the day, even though we're all having fun, we still want to win. Unfortunately we weren't able to. There was definitely a line there. You didn't want to come out and try too hard at the beginning, but as the game goes on, the pace picks up."

Hanifin also shared the ice with a number of his USA Hockey National Team Development Program peers: he played alongside Zach Werenski and faced off against Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews.
"All those guys are great players. We've played against each other so much, and it was fun to be able to hang out with them for the weekend," Hanifin said. "I got to play with Zach tonight. That's the first time since we played together at NTDP, so that was a cool experience. It's usually never too fun playing against Auston and Jack. They're great players. It was a good experience."
Among the non-Hanifin-related noteworthy plays in the Eastern Conference match-up: a hat trick for Nikita Kucherov - much to the delight of the hometown fans - and an offside challenge - successful, too, as referee Wes McCauley emphatically ruled the play offside.
"That was a great call by Coach Trotz. I loved that move," Hanifin said. "All the guys were pretty fired up for it."
It was clear from Hanifin's demeanor and smile postgame that he enjoyed the entire All-Star experience from start to finish, even if that finish didn't bring home a little extra spending money and Metropolitan Division bragging rights.
With a memorable weekend soon to be in the rearview mirror, it will be back to work on Monday for Hanifin and the Hurricanes, who will continue their push for a playoff spot with a season-long eight-game homestand that begins on Tuesday against Ottawa.
"When I get back to Raleigh, it's back to business. It was a lot of fun here and a good time, but when everyone goes their separate ways, it's back to how it was," Hanifin said. "We're all competing for playoff spots. It's going to get pretty intense in the last two months of the season. I'm excited to get back with the guys on the team and get to work."