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Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A bed-ridden Sidney Crosby guided the Metropolitan Division to a 10-5 victory over the Central Division in the NHL All-Star Game final on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Crosby battled a stomach flu over the weekend and remained in his hotel room for much of the trip. He missed the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Friday due to the illness, but returned for the All-Star Game.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins star had two goals and an assist in the Metropolitan's 7-4 victory over the Atlantic Division in the opening game. Crosby followed up that performance with two goals and three assists against the Central team in the final.
Crosby's eight points in the two games earned him Most Valuable Player honors in the All-Star Game following an online fan vote.
"I was just excited to be able to get out there, get out of the room and exercise a bit," Crosby said to reporters after the game. "Once I got out there, I felt better than I thought. [Saturday] morning, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel, but I felt a lot better than I expected. To be honest, it was just nice to get out there. The last few days have been pretty long, sitting around."
Crosby edged New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal, St. Louis Blues center Ryan O'Reilly and Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog in the MVP voting. He joined Mario Lemieux, Syl Apps Jr. and Greg Polis as the fourth Penguins player to earn All-Star Game MVP.
Barzal had two goals and three assists in the All-Star final and Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen had two goals and an assist.
Landeskog and O'Reilly each had a goal and two assists for the Central Division.
