Rinne, Gibson among four goalies with points

NASHVILLE -- Four goalies did something Sunday that only one other ever had in the history of the NHL All-Star Game.
Cory Schneider, Ben Bishop, Pekka Rinne and John Gibson each had an assist to join Arturs Irbe, who 17 years ago became the only goalie to get a point in an All-Star Game.

The points by Bishop and Gibson contributed to semifinal wins by their teams, and Gibson's Pacific Division won the championship against Bishop's Atlantic Division, 1-0.
"I just passed it up," Gibson said of his primary assist on a goal by Daniel Sedin. "It's on him to score it. It helped me look better, but he has to score it."
The new 3-on-3 format certainly allowed the goalies to contribute offensively. In the previous 60 All-Star Games starting 5-on-5, only Irbe got on the score sheet with an assist on Jan. 24, 1999 in Tampa. Playing for the World, the Carolina Hurricanes goalie had the secondary assist on a goal by Teemu Selanne in an 8-6 loss to North America.
"Part of doing 3-on-3 is the ice is so open, a lot of it is reading and reacting," said P.K. Subban, who scored with an assist to Bishop. "I thought he made a great play there."

Gibson's was the longest, and to some, including his Anaheim Ducks teammate, the most surprising.
"Corey [Perry] said that was the first time he's seen him play the puck that well," Sedin said. "It was an awesome pass for sure."
Gibson saved a backhand by Patrick Kane, who circled in on him alone. Gibson quickly launched the puck to Sedin at the opposite blue line, and he scored on a breakaway to give the Pacific a 4-3 lead 1:49 into the second period of an eventual 9-6 win against the Central.
"I think 3-on-3 when you have a chance to get a breakaway, you have to take it," Sedin said. "Nowadays goalies are so good at passing the puck, it's like having an extra defenseman out there. It was beautiful."
Bishop, of the Tampa Bay Lightning, had the secondary assist on the game-winner for the Atlantic in its 4-3 victory against the Metropolitan in the first semifinal. He made a save on a shot by John Tavares and initially covered it with his catching glove. But Bishop quickly stood up and sent the puck to Subban heading up the right wing in the neutral zone. Subban passed to Dylan Larkin on a 2-on-1 and got a pass back to score at 5:22 of the 10-minute period.
"I was just making sure that Tavares didn't poke it away," Bishop said. "And once he didn't, I was able to make the pass."
Bishop is not one of the 29 NHL goalies to have an assist this season, despite his skill at puck-handling.
"He moves the puck really, really well," Subban said. "Even during the regular season when we're playing, we're always aware that he can move the puck up the ice and he showed it today."
Bishop almost became the first goalie with two assists. Late in the final, far out of his net, he passed to Larkin, who passed to Subban before getting the puck back for a shot that hit the outside of the net instead of going in and tying the game with 2:08 left.
Schneider of the New Jersey Devils was the first to join Irbe, 25 seconds into the second period of the first game.
Jaromir Jagr failed to connect on a pass to Erik Karlsson along the left-wing boards trying to enter the offensive zone. Schneider passed the puck out of the trapezoid behind the net to Brandon Saad, who made a long pass to Evgeni Malkin, who scored on a spin-o-rama at the end of a breakaway to give the Metropolitan a 3-2 lead.
In the second game, Rinne's assist was similar to Bishop's. The Nashville Predators goalie stopped a breakaway by John Scott, stood up, and passed to Jamie Benn in the left-wing neutral zone. Benn passed to Kane, who scored with 33 seconds left in the first period. It allowed the Central to tie the Pacific, 3-3.
The goalies outscored six players in the 2016 Honda All-Star Game, including Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Claude Giroux and Nicklas Backstrom.
"I was looking forward to [the 3-on-3]," Bishop said. "You get to move the puck around, definitely."