Last night was the NHL All-Star Skills Competition. Players participated in six challenges testing out players’ speed, strength, and smarts, and for the first time, players from each of the NHL’s 30 teams participated. Here are the results. Each player who participated, which segment they were in, their result, and whether a breakdown of every point each division earned are included.
Skills Challenge Relay
Divisions competed within their conferences. The first team to finish their relay earns a point. There is one bonus point available, awarded to the fastest division overall.
One-Timer Passers
Atlantic: Victor Hedman (D-77-Tampa Bay)
Metropolitan: Ryan McDonagh (D-27-NY Rangers)
Central: Nathan MacKinnon (C-29-Colorado)
Pacific: Bo Horvat (C-53-Vancouver)
One-Timer Shooters
Atlantic: Erik Karlsson (D-65-Ottawa), Vincent Trocheck (C-21-Florida), Kyle Okposo (R-21-Buffalo)
Metropolitan: Seth Jones (D-3-Columbus), Alex Ovechkin (L-8-Washington), Wayne Simmonds (R-17-Philadelphia)
Central: Duncan Keith (D-2-Chicago), Ryan Suter (D-20-MinnesotaN), Vladimir Tarasenko (R-91-St. Louis)
Pacific: Joe Pavelski (R-8-San Jose), Ryan Kesler (C-17-Anaheim), Jeff Carter (C-77-Los Angeles)
Accuracy Passing
Atlantic: Frans Nielsen (C-51-Detroit)
Metropolitan: John Tavares (C-91-NY Islanders)
Central: Jonathan Toews (C-19-Chicago)
Pacific: Drew Doughty (D-8-Los Angeles)
Puck Control
Atlantic: Brad Marchand (L-63-Boston)
Metropolitan: Justin Faulk (D-27-Carolina)
Central: Tyler Seguin (C-91-Dallas)
Pacific: Cam Fowler (D-4-Anaheim)
Stickhandling
Atlantic: Auston Matthews (C-34-Toronto)
Metropolitan: Sidney Crosby (C-87-Pittsburgh)
Central: Patrick Kane (R-88-Chicago)
Pacific: Johnny Gaudreau (L-13-Calgary)
Goalie Goals
Atlantic: Carey Price (G-31-Montreal)
Metropolitan: Braden Holtby (G-70-Washington)
Central: Devan Dubnyk (G-40-Minnesota)
Pacific: Mike Smith (G-41-Arizona)
Results
Atlantic: 1:39.69, zero points; 0
Metropolitan: 1:21.70, two points; 2
Central: 1:44.03, one point; 1
Pacific: 2:03.13, zero points; 0
Four Line Challenge
Each division has four players attempting to score on a shooter tutor-esque target. Each player gets a second attempt if they fail to hit the target. The first shooter shoots from the point, earning one point if he hits an upper corner of the net. The second shooter shoots from centre ice, earning one point if he hits a lower corner and three if he hits an upper corner. The third shooter shoots from the far blue line, earning one point if they hit the five hole and five if he hits an upper corner. The fourth shooter shoots from the opposite goal line, scoring 10 points if he hits the five hole. The fourth shooter can be subbed out for a goaltender, and if he scores, he gets 20 points. The winning team gets a single point in the overall standings.
From the Point
Atlantic: Nikita Kucherov (R-86-Tampa Bay), zero points
Metropolitan: Ryan McDonagh (D-27-NY Rangers), zero points
Central: Ryan Suter (D-20-Minnesota), one point
Pacific: Joe Pavelski (R-8-San Jose), zero points
Centre Ice
Atlantic: Erik Karlsson (D-65-Ottawa), zero points
Metropolitan: Wayne Simmonds (R-17-Philadelphia), one point
Central: Tyler Seguin (C-91-Dallas), zero points
Pacific: Brent Burns (D-88-San Jose), three points
Far Blue Line
Atlantic: Brad Marchand (L-63-Boston), zero points
Metropolitan: Taylor Hall (L-9-New Jersey), zero points
Central: PK Subban (D-76-Nashville), zero points
Pacific: Ryan Kesler (C-17-Anaheim), zero points
Rink Length
Atlantic: Carey Price* (G-31-Montreal), zero points
Metropolitan: Seth Jones (D-3-Columbus), zero points
Central: Nathan MacKinnon (C-29-Colorado), zero points
Pacific: Mike Smith** (G-41-Arizona), 20 points
*Price subbed in for Shea Weber (D-6-Montreal)
**Smith subbed in for Bo Horvat (C-53-Vancouver)
Results
Atlantic: zero points; 0
Metropolitan: one point; 2
Central: one point; 1
Pacific: 23 points, 1
Accuracy Shooting
Each division has two shooters, each of which faces off against a shooter from the conference's other division. Each shooter has to break targets placed at each corner of the net as quickly as possible. The fastest player to do so in each heat gets one point. There are two bonus points at play: one to the division of the fastest shooter overall, and a second if they can beat 7.3 second, the record set by Vancouver's Daniel Sedin at the 2011 competition.
Atlantic: Kyle Okposo (R-21-Buffalo), 15.97s, one point
Auston Matthews (C-34-Toronto), 12.28s, zero points
Metropolitan: John Tavares (C-91-NY Islanders), 26.81s, zero points
Sidney Crosby (C-87-Pittsburgh), 10.73s two points
Central: Patrik Laine (R-29-Winnipeg), 21.82s, zero points
Patrick Kane (R-88-Chicago), 18.95s, zero points
Pacific: Connor McDavid (C-97-Edmonton), 15.64s, one point
Jeff Carter (C-77-Los Angeles), 17.66s, one point
Results
Atlantic: one point, 1
Metropolitan: two points, 4
Central: zero points, 1
Pacific: two points, 3
Fastest Skater
Each division has two skaters, who skate against one of their conference's other division's skaters, on a course starting from centre ice, to the blue line, making an outside turn, skating the length of the ice, making another turn, and skating back to centre ice. The fastest skater in each heat gets a point. There are two bonus points available: one to the division of the fastest skater overall, and a second if that player can skate a full lap of the rink a la the pre-2008 version of this challenge and beat 13.172 seconds, the record set by Detroit's Dylan Larkin at the 2016 competition.
Atlantic: Nikita Kucherov (R-86-Tampa Bay) – 13.16s, one point
Vincent Trocheck (C-21-Florida) – 13.32s, one point
Metropolitan: Cam Atkinson (R-13-Columbus) – 13.33s, zero points
Wayne Simmonds (R-17-Philadelphia) – 13.65s, zero points
Central: Patrik Laine (R-29-Winnipeg) – 13.42s, one point
Nathan MacKinnon (C-29-Colorado) – 13.62s, zero points
Pacific: Bo Horvat (C-53-Vancouver) – 13.43s, zero points
Connor McDavid (C-97-Edmonton) – 13.02s, two point
Results
Atlantic: two points, 3
Metropolitan: zero points, 4
Central: one point, 2
Pacific: one point, 5
Hardest Shot
Each division has two shooters, each of which is matched against one of the shooters from their conference's other division. Each shooter gets two chances to shoot the puck as fast as it can go from 30 feet towards the net, the faster of the two being counted for the competition. The player with the faster shot in his heat earns his team a point. There are two bonus points at play, one for the division whose player has the fastest shot overall, and a second if that player can beat 108.8 miles per hour, set by Boston's Zdeno Chara at the 2012 competition.
Atlantic: Victor Hedman (D-77-Tampa Bay) – 94.2 mph, zero points
Shea Weber (D-6-Montreal) – 102.8 mph, two points
Metropolitan: Seth Jones (D-3-Columbus) – 98.1 mph, one point
Alex Ovechkin (L-8-Washington) – 97.8 mph, zero points
Central: Patrik Laine (R-29-Winnipeg) – 101.7 mph, one point
Nathan MacKinnon (C-29-Colorado) – 92.3 mph, zero points
Pacific: Brent Burns (D-88-San Jose) – 97.7 mph, zero points
Drew Doughty (D-8-Los Angeles) – 94.6 mph, one point
Results
Atlantic: two points, 5
Metropolitan: one point, 5
Central: one point, 3
Pacific: one point, 6
NHL Shootout
Only the higher-scoring of each conference's two divisions participated in this challenge. Each participant makes a single attempt against the opposing team's goalie a la a typical game-ending shootout. While the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions were tied, the Atlantic had the hardest shooter, so they moved on instead of the Metropolitan. Each successful attempt earns their team a point. There are bonus points at play. Each division can denote any player from the other division to play the Discover puck, which is worth two points, rather than one.
Goaltenders
Atlantic: Carey Price (G-31-Montreal) – nine saves
Pacific: Mike Smith (G-41-Arizona) – seven saves
Shooters
Atlantic: Brad Marchand (L-63-Boston) – scored, one point
Nikita Kucherov (R-86-Tampa Bay) – didn't score, zero points
Victor Hedman (D-77-Tampa Bay) – didn't score, zero points
Shea Weber (D-6-Montreal) – scored, one point
Frans Nielsen (C-51-Detroit) – didn't score, zero points
Erik Karlsson (D-65-Ottawa) – didn't score, zero points
Kyle Okposo (R-21-Buffalo) – didn't score, zero points
Sidney Crosby* (C-87-Pittsburgh) – scored, two points
Vincent Trocheck (C-21-Florida) – didn't score, zero points
Auston Matthews (C-34-Toronto) – didn't score, zero points
Pacific: Drew Doughty (D-8-Los Angeles) – didn't score, zero points
Joe Pavelski (R-8-San Jose) – didn't score, zero points
Bo Horvat (C-53-Vancouver) – didn't score, zero points
Cam Fowler (D-4-Anaheim) – didn't score, zero points
Ryan Kesler** (C-17-Anaheim) – scored, one point
Connor McDavid (C-97-Edmonton) – didn't score, zero points
Johnny Gaudreau (L-13-Calgary) – didn't score, zero points
Patrick Kane* (R-88-Chicago) – didn't score, zero points
Brent Burns (D-88-San Jose) – didn't score, zero points
Jeff Carter (C-77-Los Angeles) – didn't score, zero points
* – Other Division, Discover Puck, two potential points
** – Kesler, rather than attempting himself, let his son Ryker attempt for him
Final Result
Atlantic: four points, 9
Metropolitan: didn't play, 5
Central: didn't play, 3
Pacific: one point, 7
Today, the All-Star Game begins at 3:00 PM Central Time. As winners of the Skills Competition, the Atlantic Division was allowed to pick both their semifinal opponent and whether they play the first or second semifinal. They opted to play the Metropolitan Division in the second semifinal.
