What award were the NHL All-Stars and USSR National team competing for in February ,1979?

Held on February, 8 to 11 in 1979, the Soviet National Team played a three-game series against a National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star Team at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was not Canada versus USSR, but a Soviet television feed made it appear that way.

The NHL players had had a short time to prepare and had to fly into New York City from different areas of North America. The Soviets had been practicing for a month in Russia on a rink with Madison Square Garden dimensions. The practice was held during the early morning to simulate game time.

Game one was an action-packed affair dominated by the NHL squad. Guy Lafleur opened the scoring 16 seconds into the first period and they never looked back. Despite playing most of the game with only four defencemen the NHL earned a 4-2 victory.

In game two after a slow start, the Soviets rebounded from a 4-2 deficit and marched to a 5-4 win.The Soviets managed only 16 shots and scored three goals in the second period on five shots. Sergei Kapustin's two goals paced the Soviet comeback.

Game three was full of surprises. The Soviets replaced star goalie Vladislav Tretiak with rookie Vladimir Myshkin. Meanwhile, the NHL squad started Gerry Cheevers over Ken Dryden in the nets. A packed Madison Square Garden was stunned as Myshkin stonewalled the NHL. After a scoreless first period, the Soviets dominated the remainder of the game, winning 6-0 to capture the Challenge Cup.