Oilers, Flames put feelings on hold to win 2020 NHL All-Star Game

ST. LOUIS -- Leon Draisaitl said the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Saturday was not the place for the Edmonton Oilers forward to display any animosity toward players from the rival Calgary Flames.

"This is not the time to be grumpy about something that happened in the past," Draisaitl said. "Things will settle. Whatever happens, happens, but this is not the time to do it."
Draisaitl had six points (four goals, two assists) in two games for the Pacific Division, helping it win the All-Star Game at Enterprise Center. Edmonton center Connor McDavid had four assists.
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The Oilers were teammates with three Flames (forward Matthew Tkachuk, defenseman Mark Giordano and goalie David Rittich), combining to defeat the Atlantic Division 5-4 to win the event.
"This was fun," McDavid said. "Now we'll have three practices, and then it'll start for real."
Draisaitl told the Edmonton Journal on Jan. 13 that he would "probably get off the ice" if he found himself on the same line as Tkachuk.

In a game between the Oilers and Flames on Jan. 11, Edmonton forward Zack Kassian received a double-minor for roughing Tkachuk, who was criticized for not fighting back. Kassian was suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Jan. 13 and made comments suggesting some kind of retribution in the future.
That also drew the comment from Draisaitl. But it was Tkachuk who skated away after setting up Draisaitl for his first goal during a 10-5 semifinal win against the Central Division. There was no celebration, not even a fist bump.
"I was just changing," Tkachuk said. "I don't think anybody else really celebrated goals tonight, to be honest.
"I don't know, if you guys saw other people celebrating a bunch of goals after, maybe it's something you guys can talk about. But I didn't think anything of it. I just wanted to get off the ice. I was out there for a while."

Giordano, who had an assist on Draisaitl's second goal, laughed when asked if he thought there was any animosity between Flames and Oilers players in the Pacific dressing room.
"No, but it'll be easy to flip," the Flames captain said.
They won't have to wait long. Edmonton hosts Calgary on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SN360, SNE, SNO, SNW, TVAS, NHL.TV) in a five-team race for the division lead.
"It's coming soon, so it's going to be a different story there," Rittich said.