2022 NHL All-Star Skills Competition adds 2 new, Vegas-inspired events
A heavy helping of Sin City flair will feature in this year's skills competition during NHL All-Star Weekend.
The league announced the addition of two new outdoor events that will take place on the iconic Las Vegas Strip.
The NHL has revealed its two outdoor All-Star Game skills competitions in Las Vegas:
- Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 31, 2022
The NHL Fountain Face-Off, which will take place at the Fountains of Bellagio, and the Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22, which will shut down part of Las Vegas Boulevard. pic.twitter.com/bnbwGUyGvA
In the Fountain Face-Off, players will take a boat out into the city's famous Bellagio fountains. There, they will shoot pucks at a series of targets, and a head-to-head final will determine the victor. The crown will go to whoever accomplishes the feat in the fastest time. The league says it anticipates that the spray coming off the fountain will make this competition more difficult.
All-Stars will also play a game called 21 in '22, which is hockey's take on blackjack, the popular casino card game. A portion of Las Vegas Boulevard will be shut down to make room for a giant rack that holds a full deck of oversized cards. Players must successfully shoot pucks at the cards to achieve a score of 21 in the least amount of shots possible. Whoever wins two rounds will be crowned the "Puck Shark."
The skills competition will also include tried and true events like Fastest Skater, Save Streak, Hardest Shot, Accuracy Shooting, and the Breakaway Challenge, which will make its first appearance since 2016.
Anaheim Ducks rookie Trevor Zegras wasn't selected for the All-Star tournament, but the NHL invited him to compete in the Breakaway Challenge. Retired goaltender Manon Rheaume, the first woman to play in an NHL game, and actor Wyatt Russell will also participate.
Meanwhile, three-time Olympic medalist Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson will take part in the Fountain Face-Off.
The winner of each event will earn $30,000.
The All-Star Skills Competition kicks off on Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The All-Star Game will take place the following day.
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