NHL All-Star Game 2018: Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel join forces to reenact 'good goal' celebration

Brandon Schlager

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NHL All-Star Game 2018: Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel join forces to reenact 'good goal' celebration image

TAMPA, Fla. — Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews paired up during Sunday's NHL All-Star Game, to the delight of many. There was instant synergy between the two budding American superstars, and they combined on several highlight-reel goals that almost made us forget we won't get to see them do it in Pyeongchang.

Their best moment came toward the end of the second semifinal matchup, between the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions. 

On the heels of a video review (seriously) that disallowed an Eichel-to-Erik Karlsson goal, Matthews and his Sabres counterpart decided to have a little fun if they scored quickly thereafter. And score they did. Eichel broke a 4-4 tie on a goal with 3:20 to play. And without missing a beat, he and Matthews emphatically pointed to the net, the referee's motion to signal a good goal.

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"Me and Auston talked about it at the faceoff previously," Eichel said after their Atlantic squad lost 5-2 in the finale, "and he was like, 'Hey, if we score here let's both point at the net,' so we kind of had it planned already. ... He said, 'We better score this shift so we can do it.'"

You'll recall less than a week ago, Matthews was none too pleased about a Maple Leafs goal being disallowed by a questionable goalie interference ruling. He responded less than two minutes later with a valid goal, and celebrated by turning and pointing at the net. It was petty and great.

It's a celebration Matthews dubbed "The Referee." He doesn't think it will catch on during the rest of the regular season, but with video review a hotly debated topic around the NHL heading into the All-Star break, there's a good chance other players will adopt the celebration in moments of retribution.

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"A one-time thing, probably," Matthews said. "It's the All-Star Game. Pretty light. Obviously, there's been a lot of talk about the goalie interference calls. Just keeping it light out there." 

The moment, captured in photo by the great Bruce Bennett of Getty Images, is the first Eichel and Matthews have shared in game action since their time with the U.S. National Development Program. 

They played some together in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but a lot has changed for both players since. They're two of the NHL's brightest young talents, and putting them together on a line Sunday was Jon Cooper's ode to their Team USA days.

"Those two were cracking themselves up," the Lightning coach told reporters. "That was a little USA Hockey we were thinking throwing those two guys together. I would have actually liked to have sat between the two of them because they were funny."

Eichel had three points; Matthews two. Earlier in the Eastern Conference showdown against the giants of the Metro, whom the Atlantic beat 7-4, the pair crashed the net for Matthews' first and only goal of the night. Eichel was also involved in an incredible double spin-o-rama goal with Nikita Kucherov.

Watching the two together, it was impossible not to lament what might have been had the NHL allowed its players to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Both would have been first-time Olympians, joining Johnny Gaudreau and possibly Brock Boeser, the All-Star Game's MVP, on a loaded Team USA that long has been Patrick Kane and everyone else. Though Kane will be 33, the 2022 Beijing Games could be a great showcase of Eichel, Matthews and the lot of players in their prime.

Until that if and when, though, American hockey fans have a highlight to hold onto.

Brandon Schlager

Brandon Schlager Photo

Brandon Schlager is an assistant managing editor at The Sporting News. A proud Buffalo, N.Y. native and graduate of SUNY Buffalo State, he joined SN as an intern in 2014 and now oversees editorial content strategy.