When the long weekend finally wrapped up for Daniel Alfredsson, he acknowledged being more than a little uncomfortable with all the attention showered directly on him.

“From a selfish point of view, it’s going to rank really high,” he said, when asked where the all-star festivities will weigh among his career highlights. “It’s just a whole ego weekend, pretty much.”

Alfredsson did try, however, to share the spotlight with as many people as possible.

What he felt most satisfied about was being able to have three fellow Senators – Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek – play in the All-Star Game with him. A fifth Senator, Colin Greening, also took part in Saturday’s skills competition.

He says he has been allowed to have a “second wind” to his career thanks to the efforts of his teammates.

“It has been great to share this with Jason, Milan and Eric, too,” he said. “The way this year has developed for us has been really good. These guys have really led the way for us as a team this year and we’ve surprised everybody pretty much.”

Alfredsson began to sound like a broken record in repeating how special it is to play in an All-Star Game on home ice. Sunday’s game also allowed him to fulfill a long-time dream of playing together with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, the Vancouver Canucks’ twins who have always had an innate ability to create scoring opportunities.

“We always joke that when we play against them, they have some language that’s almost alien,” Alfredsson joked. “They understand each other and do things (no one else can). We’ve joked that you just have to get the frequency and then you can understand the language, but nobody has figured it out. If you can think the game a little bit, they are so good at anticipating, in knowing what’s going to happen before they get the puck, and that’s what makes them so good. I definitely benefitted from that (Sunday) and it was fun.”

Alfredsson’s first goal was largely an individual effort. The second one, 1:31 later, was effectively a tap-in following a tic-tac-toe passing play involving the twins.

While Alfredsson was the star of the weekend, he desperately tried to make the point that the city of Ottawa was the true winner.

“They put us on a pedestal pretty much the whole weekend and we tried to give back,” he said. “This is a great sports city and we get so much focus because hockey is basically it, especially right now.”

Spezza hit the scoresheet, scoring a goal and an assist, and Michalek also registered a goal following a pretty set up from John Tavares of the New York Islanders. Interestingly enough, in a wide open style of game that should have fit his style perfectly, Karlsson was held off the scoresheet.

In the big picture, though, the players said registering goals and assists was really insignificant.

“For us to have this weekend at home is extremely special,” said Spezza. “Our fans have really been behind us and have been phenomenal this year. The city, the way they’ve embraced it. Just talking to guys in the dressing room, everybody’s had such a good time. Everybody’s received such a warm welcome. The fans are genuinely thrilled to have everyone around.”

Spezza says the weekend will stick with him forever.

“You’re never going to get that opportunity again. It doesn’t matter how long you play. It has been a special weekend and I’ve tried to soak in as much as possible.”

Michalek, the soft-spoken one of the bunch, was wearing a wide smile throughout the weekend.

“It was a great experience for me,” said Michalek, who was playing in his first All-Star Game. “The city put up a great show and everything was great. I will remember this for the rest of my life.”

featured