"On his big day, Daniel Alfredsson surrounded himself with Swedes.

But it was a bunch of Slovak buddies, led by New York Rangers winger Marian Gaborik, who drove Team Chara to a 12-9 victory over Team Alfredsson in front of 20,510 in the 57th NHL all-star game Sunday at Scotiabank Place.

While former Senators defenceman Zdeno Chara scored the third-period winner, it was Gaborik, voted the game MVP, who led his club to victory with a hat trick and four-point effort as Team Chara walked away with the bragging rights.

"You could see the guys wanted to win," said Chara when asked if he gave his team any instructions with the score tied 6-6 going into the third period. "I didn't have to say a thing.""