Tavares Has Strong Showing in Ottawa

John Tavares's star is still rising, but as of right now, he's proven to the National Hockey League that he's worth more than just a passing glance.

The young center was the Islanders' only representative in Ottawa for the NHL's All-Star Weekend, and a member of Team Alfredsson. He took part in three events during the Skills Competition- the Breakaway Challenge, the Skills Relay, and the Elimination Shootout- and did admirably on all of them. You can view video of one of his Breakaway Challenge goals, a nice lacrosse-style shot on Carey Price, here. (By the way, Price's Tebow... one of the best things of the night, just saying.) In the end, Patrick Kane of Team Chara won the popular vote thanks to his Superman costume and trick puck, but Team Alfredsson won the overall competition by a final score of 21-12.

Then came the actual game. Team Chara stormed out to an early lead, 3-0, but JT helped chip away at that lead, ultimately scoring the tying goal in the first period, 3-3. He added an assist on a goal by Milan Michalek, but Team Chara prevailed on a hat trick and an assist by the Rangers' Marian Gaborik, and won 12-9. Gaborik won the All-Star MVP for his efforts.

The best moments:

• Chara obliterating his own record with a 108.8 mph slapper in the Hardest Shot competition.
• All of the goalies' antics, especially Carey Price's. Goalies are certainly a different breed, and thank God for that.
• Daniel Alfredsson's two goals during the game, eliciting an incredible reaction from the Ottawa crowd. They sure love their captain in Canada's capital.

There are many more, but those are just the ones that stood out to me. If you want to have a ball and/or missed any part of All-Star Weekend, just go through NHL.com's video console and have a good time. That is where I grabbed all these videos, btw. ;)

As for JT himself, well, he seemed to have a great time:

“I worked hard to get where I am,” said Tavares. “It’s obviously great playing with such talented players. It’s a special thing. These guys are the best in the world, and to be part of that group is tough to believe. It’s still sinking in.”

(Source: islanders.nhl.com)

Great job, JT! We're proud to call you our All-Star.