Article 6JBHB 2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition roundup

2024 NHL All-Star Skills Competition roundup

by
Kayla Douglas
from on (#6JBHB)

The NHL's bid to make the 2024 All-Star Skills Competition more fun to watch arguably paid off Friday night thanks in part to Connor McDavid's theatrics (though we sorely missed another chaotic appearance from Michael Buble).

The Oilers captain took home the $1-million cash prize after amassing the most points in the revamped, winner-takes-all competition.

Here's how the final standings shook out:

RankPlayerTeamPoints
1Connor McDavidOilers25.00
2Cale MakarAvalanche20.00
3Auston MatthewsMaple Leafs18.00
4William NylanderMaple Leafs16.00
5Mathew BarzalIslanders13.50
6J.T. MillerCanucks12.00
7Elias PetterssonCanucks10.00
8Nathan MacKinnonAvalanche7.00
9David PastrnakBruins4.50
10Leon DraisaitlOilers4.50
11Quinn HughesCanucks4.00
12Nikita KucherovLightning0.50

The league previously consulted McDavid for tips on how to improve the Skills Competition, and it ended up working out quite well for the superstar. He stole the show by winning four events.

"Obviously, he's the epitome of competitiveness on a daily basis, so I'm not surprised," Leon Draisaitl said of his teammate's victory, per The Associated Press.

Here, we run down all of the action below.

Round 1

To kick off the All-Star Skills Competition, all 12 skaters chose four of six events to participate in. The skaters with the top five scores in each event earned points.

McDavid goes turbo mode to win Fastest Skater cropped_GettyImages-1981291285.jpg?ts=17 Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty

McDavid got off to a strong start at the Skills Competition by claiming the Fastest Skater title. It was his fourth time winning this event after pulling off the three-peat from 2017-19.

RankPlayerTime (seconds)Total points
1McDavid13.4085
2Barzal13.5194
3Hughes14.0883
4Makar14.0892
5Nylander14.1641

The Oilers superstar got his revenge on Mathew Barzal, who beat McDavid to take the crown in 2020. Cale Makar, meanwhile, redeemed himself after falling down during his lap at the 2023 All-Star Game. However, he narrowly missed out on reaching the podium thanks to a strong run from Quinn Hughes.

After a review, MacKinnon wins One-Timers cropped_GettyImages-1981337196.jpg?ts=17 Claus Andersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

There was some controversy at one of the Skills Competition's new events.

Participants had to shoot three one-timers from three shot positions, good for nine shots total. Different areas of the net had varying point values. Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard and Pittsburgh Penguins All-Star Sidney Crosby served as the passers for the challenge.

RankPlayerOne-Timer scoreTotal points
1MacKinnon235
T-2Pastrnak223.5
T-2Draisaitl223.5
4Pettersson202
T-5Kucherov180.5
T-5Miller180.5
7Barzal170
8Matthews150

It initially looked as though David Pastrnak won with a score of 24 points. However, Nathan MacKinnon took the title instead because one of Pastrnak's shots was rewarded one point rather than three after video review showed that it hit the crossbar.

Pettersson dishes to win Passing Challenge cropped_GettyImages-1981394566.jpg?ts=17 Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty

Elias Pettersson showed off why he has 37 assists under his belt this season by winning the Passing Challenge.

Participants had 45 seconds to complete 11 passes directed at targets set up around the rink. Some of the targets had different assigned point values.

RankPlayerPassing scoreTotal points
1Pettersson255
2Makar234
3Barzal213
4Matthews192
5Nylander161
6Hughes150
7MacKinnon130
8Draisaitl120
9McDavid100
10Miller70
11Kucherov50

The Canucks star pulled off the victory by nailing a target worth three points with his last pass to beat Makar.

Nikita Kucherov didn't provide the most inspiring performance and was chirped by the Scotiabank Arena crowd, which became a running theme.

Makar hammers one to take Hardest Shot cropped_GettyImages-1981367812.jpg?ts=17 Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Makar claimed the Hardest Shot title after firing off a 102.56-mph bomb to dethrone Pettersson, the reigning champion.

RankPlayerSpeed (mph)Total points
1Makar102.565
2Miller102.344
3Pettersson98.403
4Matthews96.222
5Pastrnak95.271

A blue-liner has won this competition 14 out of 16 times dating back to 2003.

McDavid dazzles to win Stick-Handling Challenge cropped_GettyImages-1981427049.jpg?ts=17 Claus Andersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

McDavid dug deep into his bag of tricks for his second Skills Competition victory.

Participants had to skate through a series of obstacles and toe-drag around a barrier before taking a shot on goal. Once again, McDavid boasted the fastest time to beat Barzal.

RankPlayerTime (seconds)Total points
1McDavid25.7555
2Barzal26.9294
3Nylander27.2723
4MacKinnon27.7152
5Draisaitl28.6771
6Hughes29.0380
7Pettersson29.5260
8Pastrnak38.4880
9Kucherov44.1780

Pastrnak also heard some jeers from the Toronto faithful for a) being a Boston Bruin and b) completely missing the net on his shot attempt.

McDavid snipes his way through Accuracy Shooting cropped_GettyImages-1981440402.jpg?ts=17 Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Surprise surprise, McDavid won this event, too. He went four-for-four, knocking down his targets in less than 10 seconds. Auston Matthews gave him a run for his money, but the Toronto Maple Leafs sniper had to settle for second place.

RankPlayerTime (seconds)Total points
1McDavid9.1585
2Matthews9.3414
3Miller13.5873
4Nylander14.0992
5Hughes14.8151
6MacKinnon15.9580
7Kucherov16.4600
8Makar19.0690
9Pastrnak19.6700
10Draisaitl46.0890

McDavid put up a similarly astounding performance at last year's Accuracy Shooting event with a time of 9.497 seconds in the opening round, but he was eliminated by Nazem Kadri in the semifinal. This year's edition of the competition was only one round.

Round 2

Next, the top eight point-earners from the first round - McDavid, Makar, Barzal, Pettersson, Matthews, MacKinnon, J.T. Miller, and William Nylander - moved on to the seventh event.

Nylander thrills during 1-on-1 event cropped_GettyImages-1981601679.jpg?ts=17 Andre Ringuette / National Hockey League / Getty

Much to the joy of the hometown fans, Nylander won one of the night's more exciting events.

In the new shootout competition, skaters chose an All-Star goalie to take on one-on-one in a one-minute challenge. Goals were either worth one or two points based on where the play started.

RankShooterGoalie1-on-1 pointsTotal points
1NylanderCam Talbot95
2MatthewsThatcher Demko74
T-3MillerJeremy Swayman62.5
T-3BarzalIgor Shesterkin62.5
5MakarConnor Hellebuyck41
6PetterssonJake Oettinger30
7McDavidAlexandar Georgiev30
8MacKinnonSergei Bobrovsky20

Nylander's best goal came on a sickening Forsberg move.

Alexandar Georgiev made the most saves - against McDavid no less - and was awarded a $100,000 cash prize as a result.

Final

Pettersson and MacKinnon were eliminated in the second round, meaning McDavid, Barzal, Nylander, Matthews, Makar, and Miller were left to duke it out in the final where points were doubled.

McDavid ends his night on the Obstacle Course cropped_GettyImages-1981637754.jpg?ts=17 Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty

McDavid capped off his iconic performance by earning his fourth victory of the night on the Obstacle Course. He had some shaky moments but held on to win the competition.

RankPlayerTime (seconds)Total points
1McDavid40.60610
2Makar43.4358
3Matthews47.2716
4Nylander49.0654
5Miller49.3512
6Barzal76.8500

The course involved bridges that players had to guide the puck through, as well as a group of mini nets designed to test their accuracy.

The puck will drop on the All-Star Game on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

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