Team Jagr Wins KHL All Star Game, 7-6

I can personally attest to the fact that the scene in Chicago at Wrigley Field for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic was something special. But even I have to concede that Wrigley Field isn't Red Square, the location that provided this incredibly dramatic backdrop for the inaugural KHL All Star Game. As dramatic as the setting was, this wasn't the first time hockey came to Red Square. It was back in 2006 that the old Russian Super League, the forerunner of the KHL, also held their All Star Game in Red Square.

Looking to breathe some life into an admittedly lifeless format, the KHL junked the old conference vs. conference model this year and instead iced a game featuring a team of international stars led by KHL millionaire Jaromir Jagr opposed by a team of Russian-born All Stars led by Alexei Yashin on the other. Dynamo Riga's Marcel Hossa, the brother of Detroit Red Wings forward Marian Hossa, scored with just under a minute to go to give Team Jagr a 7-6 victory in front of about 3,000 fans. The goal was Hossa's third of the game.

By all accounts, the conditions in Moscow for the game were rather oppressive, with the temperature clocking in a 10 degrees fahrenheit when the puck was dropped. In fact, after reading some of the player quotes that the KHL distributed through their North American public relations firm, it seems pretty clear most of the players were more concerned with getting through the game in one piece rather than actually winning the game.

From Jagr: "It was a celebration of great hockey. I dreamed to play in Red Square, and now my dream came true. It's Red Square, what can be said more? It was pretty cold, but we managed ok ... There was a threat of stretching limbs and getting hurt. That's why we played with care."

How about this from ex-Philadelphia Flyers player Branko Radivojevic: "Wonderful atmosphere, exciting game. The frost would not stop us. We did not swear to each other to win the game at all cost, but we hoped for a victory, which is not surprising."

And from the game's hero, Hossa: "I expected it would be an outstanding event, but not to that extent. Also I had to fight against a very oppressive frost ... We all realized it was a friendly encounter, although it does not make our victory less significant and less rewarding."

To take a look at the video, and I'd urge you to watch at least a little while, click here to watch on Universal Sports.