Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1993 TAG: 9302070193
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MONTREAL LENGTH: Medium
NHL ALL-STAR SHOW BELONGS TO GARTNER
Maybe they won't overlook Mike Gartner anymore.A late addition to this year's NHL All-Star Game because of an injury to New York Rangers teammate Mark Messier, Gartner scored four goals to lead the Wales Conference to a record 16-6 rout of the Campbell Conference on Saturday.
Gartner, who also won the fastest-skater title in the skills competition Friday night, had three first-period goals and added a goal in the second.
"I think we all knew it was going to be a high-scoring game, if history was an indication of All-Star games," Gartner said. "But I don't think anyone thought it would be this one-sided."
Gartner's four goals tied an All-Star record shared by Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Vincent Damphousse. In addition, Gartner had an assist to give him five points, one short of Lemieux's six-point effort in 1988 in St. Louis.
Gartner, who scored his four goals on his first four shots, was voted the Most Valuable Player award and won a car.
Lemieux, who missed Saturday's game because of illness, was introduced in an emotional pregame ceremony at the Montreal Forum. Lemieux, who is being treated for Hodgkin's disease, donned a ceremonial Wales Conference jersey and waved to the crowd, which gave him a one-minute ovation.
Gartner, 33, came into the All-Star Game with 34 goals this season and 572 for his career, ranking him seventh on the all-time list.
Despite his notable accomplishments, he has been largely overshadowed by peers such as Lemieux, Gretzky and Messier. Mostly responsible for this has been Gartner's sub-par performances in playoff games and the fact that none of the teams he has played for ever got past the second round.
Gartner and his teammates quickly turned the 44th All-Star game into the biggest blowout in the history of the game, scoring the first nine goals. The Wales team led 6-0 after one period, peppering Chicago goaltender Ed Belfour with 22 shots in the first 20 minutes.
Belfour came into the game leading the NHL in several statistical categories, but he was helpless in a wide-open affair that has become common in recent All-Star play. The Campbell and Wales conferences combined for 65 goals in the previous four All-Star games.
The 22 goals Saturday broke the All-Star record for most goals in a game, established in the Wales Conference's 12-7 blowout of the Campbell Conference in 1990 in Pittsburgh. The 16 Wales goals established a record for most goals by one team.
The Wales stars outshot the Campbell stars 49-41, and the 90 total shots were an All-Star record. That surpassed the 87 shots fired in Pittsburgh.
Calgary goaltender Mike Vernon played the second period for the Campbell Conference and also gave up six goals.
The victory restored the Wales' domination in the series. The Campbell Conference won the previous two games, but the Wales lead 12-5 since the current format was established in 1975. \
see microfilm for box score