Latest:

MiHockey

Your Hockey – Our Hockey – MiHockey

For Fans Pro Red Wings Slideshow 

NHL All-Star Skills Competition wrap-up

MiHockey Staff

By Stefan Kubus –

Some of the best players in the world showed off their abilities at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition tonight in Ottawa. Here’s a look a summary of the night’s events, with an emphasis on how the players associated with Michigan did.

Team Chara’s Michigan Connections

  1. Patrick Kane (Detroit Honeybaked)
  2. Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
  3. Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings)
  4. James Neal (Plymouth Whalers)
  5. Tim Thomas (Flint native, former Davison High School goalie)
  6. Marian Hossa (former Red Wing)

Team Alfredsson’s Michigan Connections

  1. Carl Hagelin (U of M)
  2. Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers)

How they did

First up, in the Fastest Skater competition, former University of Michigan star Carl Hagelin raced Ottawa Senators rookie Colin Greening, barely edging out the hometown representative with a time of 12.963 seconds. Since Hagelin and Greening had the two fastest times, they faced off again in the finals, with Hagelin winning again with a time of 13.218 seconds. Victory for Team Alfredsson.

Detroit Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard raced for Team Chara, posting a time of 17.514, losing out to Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings.

—

Patrick Kane, a former Detroit Honeybaked standout, stole the show in the Breakaway Challenge. Kane’s teammate and former Detroit Red Wing Marian Hossa dressed Kane up as Clark Kent from Superman with a cape and thick-rimmed black glasses. Kane went in on the goalie, dove face-first like Superman, passed the puck from left to right with his glove to his stick, and slid the puck in while laying down.

—

In the Accuracy Shooting, Hossa hit all four targets in 15.846 seconds, not good enough to make the final two.

Tyler Seguin, the former Plymouth Whalers star, struggled in the Accuracy Shooting, going 30 seconds without hitting all four targets and was stopped from continuing. But hey, when the league’s leading goal scorer, Steven Stamkos, can’t find a groove, it’s nothing to be embarrassed over.

Team Chara came back from a 4-2 deficit to tie up the Skills Competition with Team Alfredsson, 6-6, heading into intermission.

—

Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk went through the cones in the Relay Challenge with ease to help out Team Chara.

Former Plymouth Whaler James Neal was launching lasers in the accuracy shooting aspect of the Relay Challenge, but the last target gave him a little trouble.

—

Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators gave him a good fight, but Zdeno Chara took the hardest shot title for the fifth year in a row, breaking the record twice. His first shot registered at 106.2 miles per hour, but his second one came in on the radar at a blazing 108.8 mph. No idea how the twine is still intact after that one. Chara hit 107 mph flat on his last attempt, while Weber hit 106 mph on his final attempt. The closest behind these two heavyweights, who were clearly in a league of their own, was Ottawa’s own Daniel Alfredsson, who blasted 101.3 mph shot in.

After three events, Team Chara caught up to even the score at six a piece heading into the intermission. The Skills Challenge Relay virtually included the majority of the players from both sides, and Team Alfredsson took it for a 9-6 overall lead. Although Zdeno Chara led his team in the Hardest Shot competition, Team Alfredsson maintained the lead, going up 11-9.

—

In the Elimination Shootout, Pavel Datsyuk made a beautiful move coming down on Henrik Lundqvist as the second shooter, but no dice.

Flint native Tim Thomas stopped Claude Giroux in the Elimination Shootout, but couldn’t stop hometown captain Daniel Alfredsson, who has been tearing it up all night. Thomas stoned another hometown player, Milan Michalek, after also shutting down former Plymouth Whaler James Neal.

Once Team Alfredsson claimed the team victory, an individual winner needed to be crowned so the players kept shooting. Jason Pominville stayed alive by beating Thomas with a five-hole goal. Kris Letang nearly beat Thomas next, but put the puck through his legs and out the other side. Steven Stamkos made another beautiful move to beat Thomas, but John Tavares cannot stay alive as Thomas shuts him down.

Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard gets sniped by Buffalo captain Jason Pominville on his first shot against of the Elimination Shootout. Kris Letang faced Howard second and the former Maine goaltender really had no chance, as Letang deked him out of his pads. Erik Karlsson tried to mimic Pavel Datsyuk’s fancy one-legged move, but Howard followed him the whole way. Next up was Daniel Sedin, who let one fly off the post, much to Howard’s pleasure no doubt.

Howard swapped in for Tim Thomas (goalies rotate every four shooters) in the final round of the shootout, and eliminated Pominville. Steven Stamkos was then crowned the individual winner.

Team Alfredsson ended up defeating Team Chara 21-12.