Jan 25, 2019; San Jose, CA, USA; Pacific Division player Connor McDavid (97) of the Edmonton Oilers in the fastest skater competition in the 2019 NHL All Star Game skills competition at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
January 26, 2019
Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers won the Fastest Skater competition for the third straight year at the NHL skills competition in San Jose on Saturday night.
McDavid was the final skater in the field of eight and circled the rink in 13.378 seconds, surpassing the second-fastest time of 13.582, set by Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres.
Kendall Coyne, a forward on the U.S. women’s national team that won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, was a late replacement for Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (left foot), and she finished seventh in 14.346 seconds, edging Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes (14.526).
“I thought she was unbelievable,” McDavid said. “She was absolutely flying out there.”
Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars was expected to challenge McDavid for the title, but he fell hard against the boards on his second turn. He was given another try and appeared to skate gingerly while finishing fourth in 13.914.
Going last also seemed to also work for Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.
Gaudreau defended his title in the Puck Control contest with a time of 27.045.
Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks was the first of eight skaters to pass through the obstacle course, and his time of 28.611 stood at No. 1 until Gaudreau edged him out.
Lundqvist, 36, made 12 consecutive saves to win the Save Streak goalie competition. He knocked off Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who held the lead through several rounds after stopping the first eight shots he faced.
“It’s a little scary to go up against this type of skill because they can make you look pretty stupid,” Lundqvist said.
Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers won the Premier Passer competition with a time of 1:09.088. The course featured a number of targets that stifled several participants, including hometown favorite Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks, who finished seventh with a time of 1:58.824.
A member of the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals won the Hardest Shot competition for the second year in a row. John Carlson’s slap shot was clocked at 102.8 mph. Alex Ovechkin won last season at 101.3 mph.
David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins won the Accuracy Shooting competition, hitting the five targets in 11.309 seconds.
–Field Level Media
