Atlantic wins Skills Competition, will face Metro in 2nd ASG semifinal
Skills Challenge Relay | Four Line Challenge | Accuracy Shooting | Fastest Skater | Hardest Shot | Shootout
We're set for Sunday's 3-on-3 All-Star tournament.
The Atlantic Division won the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday night. It opted to face the Metropolitan Division in the second semifinal Sunday, after defeating the Pacific Division in the Shootout, the competition's final event.
The Pacific and Central divisions will kick off the 3-on-3 festivities:
| Game | Teams | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Semifinal 1 | Central vs. Pacific | 3 p.m. ET |
| Semifinal 2 | Metropolitan vs. Atlantic | 4:30 p.m. ET |
The winners of each semifinal will battle for All-Star supremacy.
On Saturday, the Atlantic advanced to the final event of the Skills Competition after Shea Weber won the Hardest Shot challenge, giving his division the tiebreaker over the Metro. Here were the results after five events:
Pacific 6 | Atlantic 5* | Metro 5 | Central 2
Here's a rundown of each event:
ShootoutWinner: Atlantic Division
Only four of 20 shooters were able to find the back of the net in the shootout as the scoreboard reset for the final event between the Atlantic and Pacific divisions - and one of them was 6 years old.
Brad Marchand, Shea Weber, and Sidney Crosby - as a captain's selection from the Metro, his goal worth two points - scored for the Atlantic, giving the division four points, and Saturday's Skills Competition victory.
Ryker Kesler, Anaheim Ducks center Ryan's son, was the only member of the Pacific Division to beat an Atlantic goalie, going five-hole on Carey Price, who graciously allowed the youngster to score. Other than that, Price and Tuukka Rask were perfect.
Watch: Ryker Kesler goes 5-hole on Price
The shootout's results:
| Atlantic Shooter | Result (Points) | Pacific Goalie |
|---|---|---|
| Brad Marchand | Goal (1) | Mike Smith |
| Nikita Kucherov | Stopped | Smith |
| Victor Hedman | Stopped | Smith |
| Shea Weber | Goal (2) | Smith |
| Frans Nielsen | Stopped | Smith |
| Erik Karlsson | Stopped | Martin Jones |
| Kyle Okposo | Stopped | Jones |
| Sidney Crosby | Goal (4) | Jones |
| Vincent Trochek | Stopped | Jones |
| Auston Matthews | Stopped | Jones |
Brent Burns had the move of the shootout, dropping the puck through his legs and firing upstairs, but he hit the post behind Rask.
| Pacific Shooter | Result (Points) | Atlantic Goalie |
|---|---|---|
| Drew Doughty | Stopped | Carey Price |
| Joe Pavelski | Stopped | Price |
| Bo Horvat | Stopped | Price |
| Cam Fowler | Stopped | Price |
| Ryker Kesler | Goal (1) | Price |
| Connor McDavid | Stopped | Tuukka Rask |
| Johnny Gaudreau | Stopped | Rask |
| Patrick Kane | Stopped | Rask |
| Brent Burns | Stopped | Rask |
| Jeff Carter | Stopped | Rask |
Guess what? Shea Weber has the hardest shot among All-Stars, for the third year running. He hit 102.8 mph on the gun, besting Patrik Laine's 101.7. By getting the Atlantic two points, the division moved on to the final. The Hardest Shot competition was the tiebreaker, with both the Atlantic and Metro finishing with five points.
Watch: Weber blasts his way to another Hardest Shot crown
Results:
Central: Laine, 101.7 mph (1 point)
Pacific: Burns, 97.7 mph
Atlantic: Victor Hedman, 94.2 mph
Metro: Seth Jones, 98.1 mph (1 point)
Central: Nathan MacKinnon, 92.3 mph
Pacific: Drew Doughty, 94.6 mph (1 point)
Atlantic: Weber, 102.8 mph (2 points)
Metro: Alex Ovechkin, 97.8 MPH
Fastest SkaterWinner: Connor McDavid (13.02 seconds)Nothing but love. #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/3vTh8zDhH5
- NHL (@NHL) January 29, 2017
Hardly breaking news: Connor McDavid's the fastest All-Star. The Oilers phenom got the Pacific two points in the fastest skater event. The Atlantic won both of its heats to pick up two points, as well.
Watch: McDavid races around the sheet in 13.02 seconds
Results:
Atlantic: Nikita Kucherov, 13.16 seconds (1 point)
Metro: Cam Atkinson, 13.33 seconds
Atlantic: Trochek, 13.32 seconds (1 point)
Metro: Wayne Simmonds, 13.65 seconds
Central: Laine, 13.42 seconds (1 point)
Pacific: Bo Horvat, 13.43 seconds
Central: Nathan MacKinnon, 13.6 seconds
Pacific: McDavid, 13.02 seconds (2 points)
Chalk another one up for the Metropolitan - this Sidney Crosby guy is good. Crosby stole the show in the accuracy department, going 4-for-5 in an event-best 10.73 seconds. He earned a bonus point for being the fastest to get through four targets. The Pacific won its two heats, earning two points as well.
Results:
Atlantic: Kyle Okposo: 15.9 seconds (1 point)
Metro: John Tavares: 26.81
Pacific: McDavid: 15.64 (1 point)
Central: Laine: 21.82
Atlantic: Auston Matthews: 12.28
Metro: Crosby: 10.73 (2 points)
Watch: Crosby nearly perfect in accuracy shooting win
Pacific: Jeff Carter: 17.66 (1 point)
Central: Patrick Kane: 18.95
Winner: Pacific Division (1 point)With players shooting from the near blue, center, far blue, and far goal line, Burns stole the show for the Pacific in the new Four Line Challenge event:
Brent Burns is ridiculous. Just flip it into the upper left corner from center ice, will ya.
- Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) January 29, 2017
To close out the event, Burns' Pacific teammate Mike Smith, the Coyotes' goaltender, fired one from his own goal line, and it took a fortunate bounce and went through the only opening in the net: five-hole.
Watch: Mike Smith salvages Four Line Challenge with 200-foot snipe
MIKE SMITH! "
- Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 29, 2017
The Pacific won the event, earning the only point available.
Skills RelayWinner: Metropolitan Division (2 points)The Central Division and Pacific Division squared off to open the night, and it was the Central that came out flying. Doughty, representing the hometown Los Angeles Kings, struggled in the passing department.
Central time: 1:44.03 (1 point)
Pacific time: 2:03.12
The Metropolitan bested the Atlantic in the East showdown, thanks to a dominant performance by Crosby (of course), and put up the top time in the event. Hey, best division in hockey.
Watch: Crosby, Metro dominate skills relay
Atlantic time: 1:39.69
Metropolitan: 1:21.70 (2 points)
Give the Metro two points for the win and the fastest time, and the Central one point, in the first event of the night.
All-Star RostersNote: * indicates captain
Atlantic Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Nikita Kucherov (F) | Lightning |
| Brad Marchand (F) | Bruins |
| Auston Matthews (F) | Maple Leafs |
| Frans Nielsen (F) | Red Wings |
| Kyle Okposo (F) | Sabres |
| Vincent Trocheck (F) | Panthers |
| Victor Hedman (D) | Lightning |
| Erik Karlsson (D) | Senators |
| Shea Weber (D) | Canadiens |
| Carey Price* (G) | Canadiens |
| Tuukka Rask (G) | Bruins |
Metropolitan Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Cam Atkinson (F) | Blue Jackets |
| Sidney Crosby* (F) | Penguins |
| Taylor Hall (F) | Devils |
| Alex Ovechkin (F) | Capitals |
| Wayne Simmonds (F) | Flyers |
| John Tavares (F) | Islanders |
| Justin Faulk (D) | Hurricanes |
| Seth Jones (D) | Blue Jackets |
| Ryan McDonagh (D) | Rangers |
| Sergei Bobrovsky (G) | Blue Jackets |
| Braden Holtby (G) | Capitals |
Central Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Patrick Kane (F) | Blackhawks |
| Patrik Laine (F) | Jets |
| Nathan MacKinnon (F) | Avalanche |
| Tyler Seguin (F) | Stars |
| Vladimir Tarasenko (F) | Blues |
| Jonathan Toews (F) | Blackhawks |
| P.K. Subban* (D) | Predators |
| Duncan Keith (D) | Blackhawks |
| Ryan Suter (D) | Wild |
| Corey Crawford (G) | Blackhawks |
| Devan Dubnyk (G) | Wild |
Pacific Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Connor McDavid* (F) | Oilers |
| Jeff Carter (F) | Kings |
| Johnny Gaudreau (F) | Flames |
| Bo Horvat (F) | Canucks |
| Ryan Kesler (F) | Ducks |
| Joe Pavelski (F) | Sharks |
| Brent Burns (D) | Sharks |
| Drew Doughty (D) | Kings |
| Cam Fowler (D) | Ducks |
| Martin Jones (G) | Sharks |
| Mike Smith (G) | Coyotes |
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