Josi Shines Bright as NHL All-Star Weekend Concludes in St. Louis

The stars were out in St. Louis, and Nashville's captain shined bright.
Roman Josi dished out a pair of assists, while skating for the Central Division on Saturday's NHL All-Star 3-on-3 tournament, and although his club dropped a 10-5 decision to the Pacific Division, that was the only disappointment of the weekend.
Starting with his arrival on Thursday to a city where the Predators are usually met with scowls and disdain, Josi was welcomed by the hometown crowd as he sported the Preds logo on the crest of his sweater. He made new fans on Friday afternoon as he walked the red carpet prior to the All-Star Skills, signing autographs, snapping selfies and chatting it up with hockey aficionados from all over the world.

A couple of goals in the Save Streak Challenge, and then two apples in Saturday's contest later, Josi had completed a successful weekend, as he took in everything the three days had to offer.

"It was a great experience, just like the other two All-Star Games that I got to be a part of," Josi said Saturday night at Enterprise Center. "It's so much fun being around the guys at the Skills Competition, and the game tonight was a lot of fun even though we lost."
Josi is used to seeing players like Dallas's Tyler Seguin and Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele as bitter rivals, but those two were the defenseman's linemates during Saturday's 3-on-3, a much different experience than they're used to when on the ice together.
"It was fun," Josi said. "Those are two guys you obviously play a lot during the season, and they're unbelievable players. It was pretty fun with playing with them and not against them for once."
Not only do the festivities afford Josi the opportunity to make some new friends around the League, he relishes the chance to reconnect with some familiar faces too.
"Just seeing guys like [Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones] and [Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber], guys I played with, and became really good friends with, and I haven't seen them in a while, [I enjoy that]," Josi said. "And then it's pretty cool to be to be out there with [Devils forward] Nico Hischier too, a Swiss guy. Those are pretty special moments."
The experiences during weekends like this one are memories Josi will remember long after his career has come to a close.

And just as soon as the weekend began, it's back to Nashville for a
practice Sunday afternoon at Ford Ice Center Bellevue
before the Preds host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night at Bridgestone Arena. There are 10 weeks to go in the regular season, and Josi - as well as the rest of his teammates - know time is of the essence.
The next puck drop can't come soon enough.
"We need to make a push [for the playoffs] here," Josi said. "We should come back really motivated, and I'm really excited. We have one day of practice, and then we get right back at it. I'm excited, and I have a lot of confidence in our group that we're going to make a push."