SUNRISE, Fla. -- Finally, an NHL All-Star Game that wasn't just another day at the beach. Well, actually, it was pretty close to the beach, but that's another story.

The league's 53rd All-Star Game -- the best such game in recent memory -- will be remembered for four-goal (five if you include the shootout) MVP Dany Heatley, a frenetic finish, a wild overtime and the first-ever shootout. In the end, the West edged the East, 6-5, thanks to shootout goals by Canucks left winger Markus Naslund, Stars right winger Bill Guerin and Ducks left winger Paul Kariya.

"It was the best All-Star game I've ever been a part of," said Flyers center Jeremy Roenick, who was making his eighth All-Star appearance. "You had Dany Heatley doing his thing, you had some good physical play in the later stages of the game and you had some spectacular goaltending. I would've paid for a ticket today."

One of the youngest All-Stars at age 24, Bruins center Joe Thornton had a simple explanation as to why things got so competitive in the final 10 minutes.

"I don't think anybody wanted to have the winning goal scored against them when they were on the ice," said Thornton, who wasn't among those who took part in the shootout. "Hey, nobody likes to lose."

West captain Mike Modano, playing in his fifth All-Star Game, thought the last several minutes looked a lot like a real hockey game.

"It was funny, you started to see guys backchecking and getting into defensive coverages," said Modano, who almost netted the game-winner in overtime with a nasty backhander that dinged off the post behind East goalie Patrick Lalime. "In the last seven or eight minutes, guys were really going hard on the puck."

The exciting finish, which made for some must-see TV on ABC, might force the league to take another look at the shootout as a way to settle regular season games. If you had taken an exit poll of fans leaving the Office Depot Center on Sunday afternoon, it likely would've been overwhelmingly one-sided in favor of the shootout.

Most of the players, however, weren't as sold on the shootout.

"I don't think it would be a good idea," Modano said. "I think it would be kind of a tough thing to have those valuable points at the end of the season decided in a shootout."

Guerin, who ripped a low, hard shot past Lalime on his shootout chance, agreed with his Stars linemate.

"I think it's great for something like the All-Star game," Guerin said. "But that's where it ends for me. I think it's too gimmicky. You don't see the NBA go to a slam dunk contest to decide a game, do you?"

No, you don't. But, you don't have ties in the NBA, either. Fans that pay top dollar for a basketball ticket get a winner and a loser. They don't leave the building with that just-kissed-your-sister feeling.

Roenick, who thankfully has never been shy about sharing his opinion, isn't crazy about the shootout, but he understands its appeal.

"I don't really like it," Roenick said. "But, if it were good for the game and helped sell tickets and the fans like it, I wouldn't mind it."

Thornton and Heatley -- a two of the league's top young players -- were very open to the shootout.

"It fun," Thornton said. "The fans get into it and they stay right till the end of the game. And the players get pretty excited on the bench. I like it. I think it would make things more interesting."

Heatley also endorsed the shootout, but offered a more cautious approach.

"They should try it in the preseason," said Heatley, who tied the mark for goals in an All-Star game. "It's fun for us and it's fun for the fans. I think they should at least try it then."

The shootout goalies -- Stars stopper Marty Turco and the Senators' Lalime -- had differing opinions on the controversial tie-breaking system.

"I don't like it," said Turco, who faced his share of shootouts during his time in the IHL. "As a goalie, you can have a 40-save game, then give up four of five in the shootout and you start beating yourself up. I think it can be pretty demoralizing for a goalie."

Lalime, who also spent some time in the now-defunct IHL, doesn't mind the shootout as a way to decide things in the regular season.

"As long as it's after the 4-on-4 overtime, it would be okay with me," Lalime said.

While no one knows if the league will ever opt for such a tie-breaking approach, Gary Bettman & Co. will have to spend some time talking about it after the success of Sunday's surprisingly exciting All-Star game.

At least for one sunny day, not too far from the beach, the shootout proved to be a thrilling way to decide a game.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.