10 memorable NHL all-star game moments

The NHL all-star game has been called many things through its 61 years: Boring, a tired spectacle, outdated and high-end pond hockey.

There was a feeling by some (many?) that the NHL should stop holding it before John Scott made it fun last January in Nashville, scoring twice, bringing life to the game and being voted MVP by the fans.

But Scott, who had scored only five times in 285 NHL contests, has since retired and the league has adopted a rule in his name to keep injured or players in the minors — like the journeyman enforcer a year ago — off the active fan ballot.

Still, someone else will probably deliver an unforgettable performance a la Bruins defenceman Ray Bourque in 1996, who scored the winning goal for the Eastern Conference before the home fans at Boston's then-FleetCenter. Or 10 years earlier, when Mike Bossy set up New York Islanders teammate Bryan Trottier for the overtime winner at the Hartford Civic Center.

Here are 10 other great moments/performances from all-star history leading up to Sunday's game in Los Angeles at (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 3:30 p.m. ET):

Gordie Howe, 1980

Representing the Hartford Whalers, the longtime former Red Wing returned to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena for his 23rd and final all-star game and was welcomed with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. Then, the 51-year-old earned an assist on Real Cloutier's third-period goal to help the Wales Conference to a 6-3 doubling of their Campbell counterparts. Mr. Hockey would finish his NHL career with 19 all-star points.

Wayne Gretzky, 1983

Held off the scoresheet for two periods, the Great One took over during a 13-minute span in the third period before 15,230 fans at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., becoming the first player to score four goals at an all-star game, including the game winner for the Campbell Conference. At 22, Gretzky had already set new NHL records for goals (92), assists (120) and points (212) in a season and remains the league's all-time scoring leader with 2,857 points.

Grant Fuhr, 1986

Shutout hockey is rarely seen at an all-star game but Fuhr, representing the Campbell Conference, managed to blank Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux and their Wales teammates on 15 shots in the first period at the Hartford Civic Center. The Edmonton Oilers goalie became just the fourth netminder in history to be named game MVP.

Mario Lemieux, 1988

Considered the greatest all-star performance in NHL history, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain's six-point showing at the St. Louis Arena, including the winning goal in overtime, hasn't been eclipsed and earned Lemieux game MVP honours for the second time in three years. Two years later, he scored three first-period goals in the second four-goal game in all-star history and finished with 23 points in 10 all-star contests.

Mike Richter, 1994

The netminder's career season with the New York Rangers included a spectacular effort at the all-star game in front of the home crowd at Madison Square Garden. Richter turned aside 19 of 21 shots in the second period and three breakaways by Vancouver's Pavel Bure in a come-from-behind 9-8 victory for the Eastern Conference. Richter denied Bure later that season on a penalty shot in the Stanley Cup final, won by the Rangers.

Owen Nolan, 1997

He compiled 885 points and 1,793 penalty minutes in 1,200 NHL regular-season games, but Nolan is perhaps known for one all-star moment, when the San Jose power forward brought the home crowd to its feet in the third period. Skating down the left side, Nolan broke in alone on Dominik Hasek, took his hand off his stick, pointed, a la Babe Ruth, at the top right corner and, from his off-wing, unleashed a shot that beat the Buffalo goalie for his third goal of the game.

Teemu Selanne, 1998

The Finnish Flash wasted little time making his mark, scoring 53 seconds into the game at GM Place in Vancouver, and completed his hat trick at 7:11 of the second period. Selanne went on to become the first European player in all-star history to be named MVP, though his World teammates bowed 8-7 to North America.

Dany Heatley, 2003

In his second NHL season, Heatley made his all-star debut and gave fans in Sunrise, Fla., and across the world a glimpse of things to come. The then-22-year-old scored four goals for the Eastern Conference — only the fifth player to do so at an all-star game — assisted on another, converted his shootout attempt and was game MVP, but the West scored three times in the shootout for a 6-5 win. Heatley scored 41 goals that season and 372 in his NHL career.

Zdeno Chara, 2012

Boston's six-foot-nine, 250-pound defenceman is hard to miss and so too are his blistering shots if you blink an eye. The one-time Senators blue-liner thrilled the fans at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa with a blast that registered 108.8 miles per hour in the all-star skills competition, beating his own record of 105.9 mph set in 2011. In 2009, Chara beat Al Iafrate's 16-year NHL mark (105.2) with a record speed of 105.4 m.p.h.

Dylan Larkin, 2016

It took the Detroit Red Wings forward one trip to the all-star game to shatter Mike Gartner's 20-year mark in the fastest skater competition. The 19-year-old stumbled entering the second turn at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, but regained his footing to finish his lap in 13.172 seconds. Gartner was 36 when he stopped the clock in 13.386 seconds on Feb. 4, 1996 in Boston.