SUNRISE, Fla. -- Maybe all of these NHL All-Stars are starting to get a little bored with the squeaky-clean play that's usually featured in the just-for-fun events. Or they've all looked up "just for fun" in the Jeremy Roenick Dictionary.

Last season, Roenick showed some sand and slammed Buffalo Sabres defenseman Alexei Zhitnik into the boards, knocking the unsuspecting Ukrainian to the ice. Zhitnik was less than pleased, but shrugged it off.

"It's kind of illegal to hit anybody in an All-Star Game, you don't want to damage anybody," he said. "But, I can take a hit, I'm still a little younger than J.R."

This year, Roenick started things up again, this time with a hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Eric Brewer. Then, he tussled with Dallas Star Bill Guerin. And then, he delivered a less-than-affectionate bear hug to Detroit Red Wing Sergei Fedorov.

"He beats me all the time," Roenick said. "He had the puck and was trying to bang it around me. I'm thinking, if this guy beats me again and scores, I'm going to hear about it. So I had to take him down. I had to WWF him."

Fedorov didn't mind: "I knew Jeremy was somewhere around and I know he likes to do those things. The fans love it, so it's OK with me."

In what actually turned out to be a tight contest, Fedorov wasn't the only one who was game for an actual game. And Roenick wasn't the only one dishing out previously-tabooed body checks. With the score knotted at five midway through the third period and the East-West rivalry restored by the NHL, the pace of the game doubled. There was backchecking. There was forechecking. There was spectacular goaltending from West goalie Marty Turco and East goalie Patrick Lalime. And everyone, not just the defensemen, was playing defense -- and home-ice in the playoffs wasn't even on the line.

"After Olli Jokinen scored the tying goal, things got a little more physical out there," Roenick said. "Guerin and Mathieu Schneider were mixing it up. Jarome Iginla hit me too. We all started backchecking."

Guerin also took a little bit of rough stuff from New Jersey Devils tough guy Scott Stevens, who stood him up along the boards in that span of real hockey late in the third period.

"Scott was going down and blocking shots and rubbing guys out," Guerin said. "I knew the next time out there he was coming after me."

But Roenick, the original instigator, proved to be a little slippery. When Guerin tried to hit him back, he missed.

Said Guerin's linemate and Dallas teammate Mike Modano: "Billy's intentions were good."

Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla couldn't catch Roenick either.

"Jeremy started it. I had him once, but he saw me coming and I didn't get him," Iginla said. "He got me back later."

But the West got the final punch, winning the game 6-5 by virtue of a 3-1 win in the first-ever All-Star shootout.

Body checks. Blocked shots. Bear hugs. All under "just-for-fun" in the Jeremy Roenick Dictionary -- which should be required reading for next year.

The Magazine's Lindsay Berra can be e-mailed at lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.