Sports

The Revenge of Patrick Sharp

By The Beachwood Blackhawks Bureau

"For Chicago Blackhawks teammates Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, the plane ride home from the NHL All-Star Game figured to feature a debate over bragging rights," the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

"Kane, Toews and Keith were members of Team Lidstrom, which recorded a 12-11 win over Team Staal on Sunday, but Sharp picked up MVP honors with a goal and two assists for Team Staal in the loss.

"Throw in Saturday's accuracy-shooting mix-up, when Toews beat Sharp after requesting a do-over, and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and assistant coach Mike Haviland taking the loss as the coaches of Team Staal, and it's hard to figure who ended up on top among the Chicago contingent."

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"By the end of the weekend, nobody had a better time than Sharp, who was named the MVP of the game after a goal, two assists, five shots and a plus-2 rating," the Sun-Times reports. "It may have been in a losing effort, as Nicklas Lidstrom's team defeated Eric Staal's team 11-10, but Sharp did more than enough to show he belongs among the league's best

"Sharp, the Hawks' leading goal scorer, was one of the most notable omissions on the All-Star ballot when it came out in November. The NHL added him to the All-Star Game this month, but being named MVP is vindication.

'''I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bothered by it,' Sharp said of the ballot. 'It was motivation to play well. . . . I'm proud to be a Blackhawk in the All-Star Game, and things worked out.''"

Here's Sharp in his post-game interview:

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