Preusser’s NHL Rundown: All-Star Weekend Recap

(Photo courtesy of nhl.com)

The NHL All-Star Weekend came and went but not without a few flashy moments. Fans watching from home could see shiny outfits and nightclubs but also famous celebrities. This is how you grow the game of hockey… a little unconventional for me but hey whatever works.

Per my prediction, the Metro defeated the Central 5-3 in the 3-on-3 tournament final. The Metro took it home even without Alex Ovechkin, who was out due to COVID.

The skills competition was also a site to see. In the Fastest Skater Challenge, Edmonton favorite Connor McDavid, who won the competition from 2017 to 2019, lost to Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues. Playing for Edmonton just must not be enough to kill his confidence.

On the goalie side of things, Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Toronto’s Jack Campbell gave the Atlantic Division the win, combining for nine saves. This duo doesn’t surprise me, especially when half of it involves Vasilevskiy.

One of the events I looked forward to the most was the Fountain Face-Off, where players would travel by boat and shoot into the targets in the Bellagio foundation. What a creative idea! Zach Werenski from the Nashville Predators took this one home, beating his teammate Roman Josi.

A classic skills test for the All-Star Weekend is the Hardest Shot. This year, Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman won with a 103.2 mph slap shot. Please take a moment and imagine a puck traveling toward you at over 100 mph. I don’t know how goalies do it.

Who could ever forget about the iconic breakaway challenge! Alex Pietrangelo, a Vegas Golden Knight, won this competition, even though he missed the net. Home ice advantage? Maybe. What I love about this part of the skills competition is that all the players wear random costumes or outfits and are able to really showcase their personalities.

A new event to this year’s competition was the 21 in ’22. Basically, players shoot blackjack (21) in the year 2022 (this year). There are oversized cards and players have to reach 21 without going over and in as few shots as possible. Sound familiar? Ya because it’s Blackjack. The iconic Joe Pavelski took the W on this one.

Last but certainly not least is the accuracy shooting challenge. This one always amazes me because shooting the puck in the general direction of the net is honestly impressive enough but to be able to hit targets like these players can is just WOW. Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho won this one. He hit all four targets in 10.937 seconds. Oh, also he didn’t miss any of the shots. Not surprised.

So now us hockey fans are left with some questions… will the All-Star Weekend ever be this good again? Can other cities produce this kind of entertainment? If not, should and could the NHL just permanently host it in Vegas?

We shall see…