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2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition: how to watch and results

Come join me and hit refresh a lot as we sit down and watch this thing.

How to watch

When: 7:00 PM

Where: NBCSN or NHL.tv

Hello and welcome to my running commentary on the NHL All-Star Game Skills Competition. I’ll be typing out my thoughts and republishing as the night goes on, so if you don’t see certain results, just hit refresh!

Going into tonight’s Skills Competition, the rosters for each event are posted below. As the events finish, I will highlight the winner in each category and will also add my observations. I will be illustrating these events with the photos and commentary from our two Raw Charge reporters at the game, @GeoFitz4 and @justing. Follow the @RawCharge twitter account for more.

This year, the winner of each category will pocket $25,000 dollars, so there is actually something at stake!

Please note that a pirate-clad Victor Hedman has arrived at the All-Star Skills Competition, but not as a competitor. Instead, he’s been given the job of Assistant to the Equipment Manager, and will be helping to keep players nice and tidy during the competition.

So. Arrrrrr you ready?

With thanks to Joe at the Tampa Bay Times for the list of skaters in each category.

Running commentary

7:00 PM: My husband has left the room at the first strains of the Hockey Night in Canada music. “I don’t have enough alcohol for this,” he says. Luckily I do. L’chaim, y’all.

7:05 PM: Brian Boyle takes the ice and the crowd erupts into cheers. My heart.

7:08 PM: Gerard Gallant up with the HNIC panel, boasting on his team. That’s fine, VGK. Our eyes are on you.

7:09 PM: “Did that one guy just talk about ‘the stiffness of his shaft’?” My husband has alcohol and has returned to the room.

7:11 PM: Can I just say that I appreciate the inclusion of Wheelchair Rugby in this Canadian sports commercial? Thank you, Canada.

7:15 PM: “I am happy to see that Marchy made the trip down here,” Sidney Crosby says. Maybe Brad Marchand will host the MMA portion of the evening...

7:17 PM: Awkward. HNIC is going on and on about Stamkos and Kucherov’s chemistry, and they, uh, are not currently on a line together.

7:21 PM: PK Subban and Brent Burns are discussing their outfits. Very cute. “How do you watch this stuff all the time?” My husband asks. “I usually mute the sound.”

7:29 PM: HNIC is reciting pirate poetry. Husband has ripped off his headphones and thrown them at me, screaming “YOU WIN! PUT THEM ON!”

7:32 PM: Being there sounds amazing though [Krystof is Amalie Arena’s organist]:

7:37 PM: I like how you think:

7:38 PM: I am strangely charmed by Brad Marchand’s grin as he waves at the loudly boo-ing crowd.

Competition categories (winners will be highlighted)

Enterprise NHL Fastest Skater

The simplest of all competitions. The fastest skater to complete one lap around the ice wins.

7:44 PM: Fastest skater time! HNIC is betting strongly that it’ll be Connor McDavid.

7:49 PM: HNIC is saying that smaller guys are faster. You’d think they were reading Stevie Y’s drafting strategy. (After Werenski, Rakell, and Hanifin, Point is still best.)

7:52 PM: I’m sad for America. Not even Jack Eichel can beat Brayden Point.

7:54 PM: Connor McDavid repeats his fastest skater record. Point is second though. Yay.

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 <— Winner

Dunkin’ Donuts NHL Passing Challenge

A three-skill challenge featuring eight players.

  • Target Passing - player must complete four passes to targets that light up randomly
  • Give and Go - player must complete four passes through a course set up in the neutral zone
  • Mini Nets - player must pass over an obstacle and into a mini net before completing a final pass into the game net/

Whoever completes all three skills the fastest wins.

8:00 PM: It’s 8 PM and we have five events left.

8:01 PM: Kucherov, oh god, this third tiny net is his bane.

8:04 PM: Claude Giroux has bested Kucherov by a lot. PK Subban suggests that it’s because his hair is shorter.

8:07 PM: While Brayden Schenn set the time to beat, PK is on HNIC discussing how beautiful Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman look in pirate gear. I mean, he’s not lying.

8:10 PM: Eric Staal sets the new time to beat at under a minute. Age defeats youth!

What’s Victor Hedman been up to as Assistant Equipment Manager?

8:12 PM: No actually this guy beats age:

8:16 PM: We all fall asleep waiting for Drew Doughty to hit the tiny nets, but the winner is declared.

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 <— Winner

Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

GEICO NHL Save Streak

A breakaway challenge that focuses on the goalie, not the shooter. Five goalies will compete to see who can stop the most breakaways in a row.

8:26 PM: Oops, sorry, I had to go make some tea. Henrik Lundqvist is gorgeous. Wait, what are we doing? Looks like the longest streak is 5, though.

8:28 PM: Carey Price is giving color commentary for the save streak. Why isn’t he on the ice? “I know some guys who know some guys.”

8:30 PM: “Who’s the best player, Carey?” “Oh you know Sid is pretty good.” — I mean, what were you expecting?

8:32 PM: I now have learned that Carey Price wanted to be a defenseman like Bobby Orr. Meanwhile, Pekka Rinne sets the streak at 13 and Lundqvist looks handsomely disappointed.

8:36 PM: This is adorable. Fleury gonna Fleury.

8:38 PM: Kucherov and Stamkos both pull fun moves but are stymied by Fleury’s BFFs, the posts.

8:40 PM: “KUUUUUUCH” rings out over the ice as he stops the streak.

Darn:

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, vs. Central Division

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, vs Pacific Division

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators, vs. Metropolitan Division

Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights, vs. Atlantic Division <— Winner

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, vs. Central Division

Gatorade NHL Puck Control Relay

Another three-skill competition featuring eight skaters:

  • Stickhandling - player must control a puck around eight pucks set up in a straight line.
  • Cone Control - player must control a puck around through eight cones set up in a zig-zag/

Gates - player must shoot or guide a puck through a series of gates with rungs. As the player approaches, a rung will light up and that is the one the player has to get the puck through

8:47 PM: I am bored and I’m trying to figure out why. It’s probably very exciting to be in the arena; perhaps it’s that PK Subban is no longer on the air? I hope that after he retires, he has a long career in broadcasting. Or you know what else would be fun? Bringing the US Women’s National Team into the HNIC panel as color commentators, and have them weigh in as experts in their sport. They are right there in the rink, guys, and it would add some much-needed juice to this event.

So this is why being at Amalie Arena is much better:

9:00 PM: Not enough drunken Ovechkin. I think that’s my conclusion. Anyway, here we are with the next thing.

9:02 PM: Wee Gaudreau was pretty cool.

9:04 PM: Stamkos is talking to HNIC about Brayden Point. “He’s going to be a household name pretty soon. But Connor is going to be the champion of this event for a long time.”

9:05 PM: “Do you have any advice for John Tavares?” “We haven’t even talked about it actually.”

9:07 PM: McDavid can’t beat the smol American!

9:08 PM: “You look around and 20,000 people are watching you try to put a puck in a little net and your hands start shaking a bit, and guys are chirping you...” This is Stamkos’s explanation for why Auston Matthews sucked at this event.

9:10 PM: The other American wasn’t as good, and Gaudreau’s hands win it.

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames <— Winner

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

PPG NHL Hardest Shot

Pretty simple. Whoever shoots the puck the hardest wins. Each player gets two attempts and the attempt with the highest MPH is the one used.

9:17 PM: HNIC people are now getting a little critical of the event and suggest that the league brings back Zdeno Chara just to make this more competitive.

9:18 PM: “The slapshot is a disappearing shot in the game because it takes too long to get off.”

9:23 PM: Do you guys remember the “best” All-Star Game in recent history back in 2015, when there was a live draft and Ovechkin was drunk and trying his best to get picked last? I can’t believe I miss that but I totally do. Or okay, even last year’s John Scott experience was kind of entertaining.

John Klingberg, Dallas Stars

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals <— Winner

P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators

Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting

A staple of skills competition for decades, players will attempt to break targets set up at the four corners of the net. There are some new twists this year. An additional target is set up at the “five hole”. Also, the targets will light up randomly and the shooter must shoot at the lit-up target. The player that breaks all five targets in the shortest amount of time wins.

9:26 PM: Hey HNIC, why aren’t you talking about any of this:

9:27 PM: DO YOU GUYS SEE THE WORD “PROBABLY”? I SEE IT.

9:31 PM: Brian Boyle’s time held up until Brock Boeser showed up.

9:37 PM: The boos raining down have done their work and Marchand’s time sucked. What’s fantastic and also beyond weird is that all Atlantic get to be on a team together tomorrow. I guess Tampa needs to get used to cheering him right quick.

9:40 PM: Will Stamkos beat Boeser? “There are 20,000 people who are counting on it.” No pressure.

9:41 PM: Pressure. Boeser wins and we’re done.

Brian Boyle, New Jersey Devils

Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights

Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks <— Winner

Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

So what have we learned?

Hell if I know.

See you guys tomorrow.

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