2 new events, other tweaks coming to All-Star Skills Competition

The NHL's annual display of skill will look a little different this time around.

Several changes are on tap for Saturday's All-Star Skill Competition in Tampa Bay.

There will be six events during the skills portion of the All-Star festivities, including two new ones. Here are the descriptions from the league:

Save Streak

"Five goalies and all 36 skaters will participate in the NHL Save Streak, a shootout grouped by division where goalies compete to make the most consecutive saves. Each goalie will face one opposing division and a minimum of nine scoring attempts.

"Each scoring attempt is officiated in accordance with NHL shootout rules and begins on the referee's whistle. Players from each division will shoot in numerical order, lowest to highest, with the divisional captain shooting ninth. A goalie's round at the NHL Save Streak cannot end with a save - if the divisional captain's shot is saved, the goalie will continue to face shooters until a goal is scored.

"If the goalie makes a save on the divisional captain's shot, the order of shooters to follow is the same as at the original order. The goalie with the longest consecutive save streak during his time in net is the winner of the NHL Save Streak. If there is a tie for longest consecutive save streak, the goalie with the highest total saves made during his round will be crowned the winner."

Passing Challenge

"Eight players will compete in the NHL Passing Challenge, which consists of three skills over one round, including (1) Target Passing, where each player must complete four successful passes to targets that light up in a random sequence; (2) Give and Go, where each player must successfully complete the four required passes through a course set up in the neutral zone; and (3) Mini Nets, where each player must complete one pass over a barricade and into each of four mini nets, as well as an additional pass into the game net.

"Each skill must be completed before a player moves on to the next. The referee's whistle signals completion of each skill. The player to complete all three skills in the fastest time is deemed the winner of the NHL Passing Challenge, and if there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner."

Other changes

Back this year are the hardest shot, fastest skater, accuracy shooting, and a relay event, but the latter two contests will be slightly altered:

• In the accuracy event, the targets will now light up randomly for three seconds at a time and players will be required to hit the lit up target before it turns off.
• Targets that are hit will be removed from the random sequencing, and the player that hits all five targets in the fastest time will be declared the winner.
• The Puck Control Relay (formerly the "Skills Challenge Relay") will feature eight players competing in three different activities: stickhandling, cone control, and gates, the latter of which will involve either shooting or guiding a puck through the lit rung of the gate.
• That event will no longer include the goalie goals stage.

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