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Carolina Hurricanes: 2016 NHL All-Star Skills Competition Recap

By Brett Finger

Jan 31, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Pacific Division forward John Scott (28) of the Montreal Canadiens is picked up by his teammates after beating the Atlantic Division during the championship game of the 2016 NHL All Star Game at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Pacific Division forward John Scott (28) of the Montreal Canadiens is picked up by his teammates after beating the Atlantic Division during the championship game of the 2016 NHL All Star Game at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite a week off for the Carolina Hurricanes, hockey was still being played over the weekend in Nashville.

It was a wild weekend in Nashville. All 30 NHL teams, and an even an AHL team, were represented and represented well during the 2016 NHL All-Star Weekend.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ lone representative was Justin Faulk, and he did a very good job while showing his high skill set. He made the Canes fan base proud.

The talk of the weekend was John Scott. The saga surrounding this tough guy with a heart of gold was well-documented, but when he hit the ice, all the drama was gone and it was just a fun time.

The festivities kicked off on Saturday night with the Skills Competition.

Fastest Skater Competition

The players from both conferences were introduced, and then it was time for hockey.

Hot shot rookie Dylan Larkin, the youngest player participating in this year’s All-Star weekend (or so we thought, I’ll explain later), came out and showed his top flight athletic ability in the fastest skater competition.

The format of the fastest skater competition was East vs. West, with one player from each Conference going up against each other. Here were the results.

Eastern Conference

  • 1st Race: Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) – 12.894
  • 2nd Race: Brandon Saad – (Columbus Blue Jackets) – 13.634
  • 3rd Race: Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators) – 14.630
  • 4th Race: Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins) – 14.081

Western Conference

After recording the fastest time in the heats, Larkin then skated a full lap around the rink, and he blew everyone away. He recorded a time of 13.386 seconds, good for the fastest lap in the history of the NHL Skills Competition, dethroning Mike Gartner for the title.

Breakaway Competition

The breakaway competition was a treat to watch. We saw the personalities of all the players come out, especially the likes of Brent Burns and P.K. Subban.

Subban came out in a Jaromir Jagr jersey, a fake mullet, and a jofa helmet. The crowd went nuts when he scored, and he thanked them with the patented Jagr salute.

This was a tough act to follow, but Brent Burns and teammate Joe Pavelski were somehow able to, but not without the helped of their kids.

Thankfully, Mr. Burns wasn’t done. Star Wars is the hottest thing in pop culture right now, and Brent Burns knows that he has has a striking resemblance to a Wookiee.

Ultimately, the fans voted Subban as the winner of the breakaway challenge via Twitter, but Brent Burns was a very close second.

Accuracy Shooting Competition

The snipers from both conferences came out and looked to hit four targets, each placed in a corner of the net, in the quickest time.

New York Islanders captain John Tavares annihilated the competition, and he made it look easy. He posted a time of 12.294 seconds.

The Eastern Conference continued to pull away with that win, but the West put up a good fight in the skills challenge relay.

Skills Relay Competition

The East and West split points in the skills relay challenge. There were two separate heats, with the East winning the first one and the West winning the second one.

Here were the results.

Eastern Conference

  • 1st Relay: 1:38.410 (Win)
  • 2nd Relay: 1:44.446 (Loss)

Western Conference

  • 1st Relay: 2:15.371 (Loss)
  • 2nd Relay: 1:27.687 (Win)

Hardest Shot Competition

The most popular event in the NHL Skills Competition year in and year out is the hardest shot competition. Shea Weber dominated the competition once again, nearly breaking the record for hardest slap shot ever in the process.

Each player took 2 shots. Here were the results.

Eastern Conference

  • 1st Shooter: Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers) – 91.9/93.4 (Loss)
  • 2nd Shooter: Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins – 97.0/94.1 (Win)
  • 3rd Shooter: Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 98.5/103.9 (Win)
  • 4th Shooter: P.K. Subban (Montral Canadiens) – 102.3/101.3 (Loss)

Western Conference

  • 1st Shooter: Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets) – 99.6/99.4 (Win)
  • 2nd Shooter: Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars) – 91.2/95.0 (Loss)
  • 3rd Shooter: John Scott (NHL) – 92.6/95.9 (Loss)
  • 4th Shooter: Shea Weber (Nashville Predators) – 105.3/108.1 (Win)

Shootout Competition

The Skills Competition was capped off with a frantic, rapid fire shootout. There was a time limit, and both conferences went one after another trying to deke and score on rotating goalies.

The East ran away with this one, thanks to goals from Evgeni Malkin (2),  Patrice Bergeron, Nicklas Backstrom, Steven Stamkos, Ryan McDonagh, and Justin Faulk amongst many others.

This was an exciting way to end the NHL Skill Competition, and it capped off a big win for the Eastern Conference. After all the points were tallied up, the East walked away with a 29-12 win.

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