theScore's guide to the NHL All-Star Skills Competition
2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay, Fla.
When: Saturday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN (U.S.); CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada)
There's more than bragging rights on the line at this year's All-Star Skills Competition.
This time, the winners of each event will take home a cool $25,000. It's the first of many steps taken to move the focus of the competition from the best team back to the best players.
Players were handpicked for each event by the NHL's Department of Player Safety, and it isn't based on what division they play for.
Fans will be treated to a couple of new events and some tweaks to past competitions. Here's a rundown of what you can expect Saturday night, including each event's participants.
Save Streak
This new one is for the goalies.
Five goalies and all 36 skaters will take part in a shootout competition in which goalies will look to make the most consecutive saves.
Each one will face the nine skaters from one division. Players will shoot in order of their numbers from lowest to highest, with team captains shooting last. If the captain fails to score, the shooters will go again in the same order until a goal is scored.
If two or more goalies are tied for the longest streak, the goalie who made the most overall saves will be crowned the winner.
Participants
- Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (Metropolitan) vs. Central Division
- Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets (Central) vs. Pacific Division
- Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators (Central) vs. Metropolitan Division
- Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific) vs. Atlantic Division
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic) vs. Central Division
Who can feather the most accurate saucer pass? That'll be the focus of the newly minted passing challenge.
Eight players will take part in a three-part challenge that will include passes to targets, passes to players as part of four give-and-goes, and passes over a barricade into mini nets. Each part of the challenge must be completed successfully before the player can move on to the next one.
The fastest total time wins.
Participants
- Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
- Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
- Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
- Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
- Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
This year's accuracy contest will be noticeably different from previous editions.
Eight players will take their usual spot (25 feet out from the net), but unlike previous years, they'll have five LED targets that light up randomly for three seconds, instead of the stationary foam targets. The players have to hit the lit-up target before it goes dark. They keep going until all five targets are hit.
The player who hits all five in the fastest time wins.
Participants
- Brian Boyle, New Jersey Devils
- Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
- James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights
- Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
- Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
It's exactly as it sounds.
Eight skaters will race to clock the fastest lap around the rink. Players can decide what direction they want to go in, and have the chance to start a maximum of three feet behind the starting line (center line), with their time starting once they cross the line.
Participants
- Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks
- Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes
- Josh Bailey, New York Islanders
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
The puck control relay is the puckhandling version of the passing challenge.
Eight players will go through three stations: 1) Stickhandling through a series of pucks in a straight line, 2) Stickhandling through a series of pylons in a zig-zag, and 3) Shooting or guiding the puck through a lit-up rung at the gate.
The player to complete the course the fastest wins.
- Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
- Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
- Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
- John Tavares, New York Islanders
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
- Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Participants
Hardest Shot
Six players will have two rounds of two shots each from 30 feet out to muster up their hardest shot.
Following the first round, players will shoot again in order of slowest to fastest shot, with the hardest shot taking all the glory.
With no Shea Weber or Zdeno Chara in attendance this year, the field should be wide open.
Participants
- John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
- Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
- P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators
- Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
- Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
(Note: * indicates team captain)
Atlantic Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Brad Marchand (F) | Bruins |
| Jack Eichel (F) | Sabres |
| Aleksander Barkov (F) | Panthers |
| Steven Stamkos* (F) | Lightning |
| Nikita Kucherov (F) | Lightning |
| Brayden Point (F) | Lightning |
| Auston Matthews (F) | Maple Leafs |
| Erik Karlsson (D) | Senators |
| Mike Green (D) | Red Wings |
| Carey Price (G) | Canadiens |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy (G) | Lightning |
Metropolitan Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Brian Boyle (F) | Devils |
| Josh Bailey (F) | Islanders |
| John Tavares (F) | Islanders |
| Claude Giroux (F) | Flyers |
| Sidney Crosby (F) | Penguins |
| Alex Ovechkin* (F) | Capitals |
| Noah Hanifin (D) | Hurricanes |
| Zach Werenski (D) | Blue Jackets |
| Kris Letang (D) | Penguins |
| Henrik Lundqvist (G) | Rangers |
| Braden Holtby (G) | Capitals |
Central Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Patrick Kane (F) | Blackhawks |
| Nathan MacKinnon (F) | Avalanche |
| Tyler Seguin (F) | Stars |
| Eric Staal (F) | Wild |
| Brayden Schenn (F) | Blues |
| Blake Wheeler (F) | Jets |
| John Klingberg (D) | Stars |
| Alex Pietrangelo (D) | Blues |
| P.K. Subban* (D) | Predators |
| Pekka Rinne (G) | Predators |
| Connor Hellebuyck (G) | Jets |
Pacific Division
| Player (Position) | Team |
|---|---|
| Rickard Rakell (F) | Ducks |
| Johnny Gaudreau (F) | Flames |
| Connor McDavid* (F) | Oilers |
| Anze Kopitar (F) | Kings |
| Brock Boeser (F) | Canucks |
| James Neal (F) | Golden Knights |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D) | Coyotes |
| Drew Doughty (D) | Kings |
| Brent Burns (D) | Sharks |
| Mike Smith (G) | Flames |
| Marc-Andre Fleury (G) | Golden Knights |
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
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