Toews restored the West’s edge 15 seconds later and was in line to have the winner until Martin St. Louis tied it again for the East with 6:41 remaining. Toews’ Blackhawks teammate, Patrick Kane, pushed the West on top for the final time 2 minutes later, and Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester forced overtime when he made it 11-11 with 3:39 left.

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, who received a record number of votes this season, wasn’t able to play because of a recent knee injury. He was warmly greeted during pregame introductions as team owner Mario Lemieux looked on from a suite.

Also missing were Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings, the Stanley Cup champions who were represented only by coach Mike Babcock on the West bench

Ovechkin turned his eyes to activity in the crowd and was caught on the mega video screen gazing at a pair of female fans who were dancing together at their seats. He flashed his gapped smile and was cheered as his stare was revealed.

Ovechkin, the reigning NHL MVP and the champion of the breakaway challenge in Saturday’s skill competition, showed exactly why he has become such a fan favorite in his 3½ seasons. He answered Keith Tkachuk’s goal on the West’s first shot with one of his own 5:10 later at 6:26, finishing off a sweet give-and-go with Boston’s Marc Savard — who scored the winning goal in the final minute of last year’s All-Star game.

The sold-out crowd voiced oohs and ahhs at moves such as Evgeni Malkin’s puck-dribbling on his stick and his between-the-legs move that preceded his unassisted goal 7:45 into the second period that made it 7-4 for the East.

But the tradition-loving fans of the Canadiens remained quiet through lulls of action in the game that featured few whistles and a rare cover-up by the beleaguered goalies. They chanted “Let’s Go Habs” and sang “Ole Ole Ole Ole” to add a soundtrack.

Bailey, the lion mascot of the Los Angeles Kings, banged his drum to incite some rhythmic clapping, too.

Kovalev, one of four Canadiens in the starting lineup, scored the first of his goals in the opening period when his team opened a 4-1 lead against Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere — a Montreal native.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said New York Islanders defenseman Mark Streit, a former Canadiens teammate of Kovalev’s. “The stage was set and he had a really great game. Everybody knows he has a lot of skills and he played unbelievable. It was fun to watch.”

Both sides recorded 11 shots in the first period. Canadiens goalie Carey Price held tough after giving up Tkachuk’s early score and allowed only one more to Patrick Marleau with 11.5 seconds left in the frame that brought the West to 4-2.

It got rougher in the second.

The teams combined for eight goals in the opening 10:34, and the West pumped five past New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist to get even at 7. Lundqvist and Finnish counterpart Niklas Backstrom of Minnesota each faced 21 shots and gave up 10 goals combined as the game headed to the third tied 8-8.

Notes: There hadn’t been an All-Star penalty since World D Sandis Ozolinsh went off for hooking in the third period of the 2000 game. There were 441 minutes, 31 seconds of All-Star play between penalties. ... Thomas is the fifth goalie to post consecutive All-Star wins. ... The record for All-Star goals is 26, set in 2001 when the North Americans beat the World 14-12. ... The 10-goal second period tied the mark for a frame. It has happened four times.

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