Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, the hero of St. Louis' last-place-to-the-Stanley-Cup 2018-19 season, won the Bud Light NHL Save Streak. One shot he stopped came from Justin Bieber, whom the Blues goalie had challenged on social media. Well, it came from San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl in a Justin Bieber mask.
Fans chanted "U-S-A!" as the United States played Canada in the Elite Women's 3-on-3 presented by adidas, displaying speed, skill and goaltending in a 2-1 victory for Canada.
Blues alumni made cameos. Wayne Gretzky opened the night with a few words, drawing a roar by saying, "This is one of the greatest cities in the world." Bernie Federko passed a few pucks to Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Al MacInnis, the seven-time hardest-shot champion, fired a puck before the Enterprise Hardest Shot, and Brett Hull, fourth in NHL history with 741 goals, fired one during the Shooting Stars.
The Shooting Stars was most memorable.
The players came through the stands to the platform. They literally reached out and touched the fans, slapping them five, and the fans returned the favor. Even Kane, booed all night for playing for the rival Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, booed as one of the Blues' foes in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, received pats on the back. They competed in the stands among the fans.
"I don't know how it looks for everyone else, if it's entertaining," Seguin said. "It was entertaining for us. I enjoyed it, yeah."
At one point Keith Tkachuk stepped up on the platform. He played for the Blues from 2001-10 and raised his sons Matthew and Brady in St. Louis. He took them to two All-Star Games as a player. Now here they were, NHL players themselves, each in his first NHL All-Star Weekend, in front of family and friends in their hometown.