The NHL Skills competition took place last night at St. Louis, and there were some pretty exciting things to see. Among others, Connor McDavid is no longer the fastest skater in the NHL, Jordan Binnington won the shootout challenge, and the Canadian female 3-on-3 team defeated the United States.
The Canadian ladies won 2-1, in a 20-minute Women’s Elite contest, which made the fans inside the Enterprise Arena pretty active. Although it wasn’t a competitive meeting, the fans supported the hosts loudly, but eventually, they couldn’t beat their rivals.
Melodie Daoust and Rebecca Johnston netted for Team Canada, while Hilary Knight did the same for Team USA.
“It was a fabulous event,” Canadian forward Sarah Nurse told the journalists. “For the current state of women’s hockey and what we’re doing this year, it was the perfect opportunity to really get that visibility and exposure.”
In the times when women hockey faces a crisis in the North American continent, NHL is trying to help, and according to multiple statements, they will take a more dynamic role in doing so. This is just the first of many activities organized with the Women’s Hockey Players’ Association, and there will be plenty more in the near future.
“Great opportunity, wonderful stage,” Team USA’s Knight said. “The NHL’s always been a strong supporter of women’s hockey. Events like today demonstrate that.”
What many waited to see was the appearance of the Blues’ goalie Jordan Binnington. The home crowd welcomed its favorite with a huge noise, and he didn’t disappoint them. The 26-year old had 10 consecutive saves, which allowed him to win the shootout challenge. We don’t need to tell you about the atmosphere following his last save. Thomas Hertl stole a bit of his show last night, as he wore Justin Bibber mask.
Now, what was the most interesting for the fans across the continent was the contest for the fastest skater. The three-time champion who dominated this competition for, since 2017, Connor McDavid, finally found his match.
Mathew Barzal managed to dethrone the Edmonton Oilers’ center, and become the fastest guy in the league, with the result of 13.215.
“He flies,” McDavid said about his opponent and the new champ. “He skates like the wind.”
Jaccob Slavin from Carolina Hurricanes won the shooting accuracy challenge, completing his task in 9.505 seconds, while Habs’ Shea Weber had the fastest shot of the night.
His rocket wet 106.5 mph, two more than the second-placed John Carlsson. This was his fourth title, and it seems that at this point, the strong defenceman doesn’t have a worthy opponent in this category.
And finally, the trophy of the inaugural Shooting Stars challenge went to Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane. The participants of the event stated that they didn’t adjust to the rules and demands very well, as they never had the opportunity to see anything like it. However, they are sure that in the future, the results and the performances at the Shooting Stars challenge will be much better.
“It’s a little bit gimmicky,” Kane explained. “But I understand where they’re trying to go with it … trying to create some different events.”
The All-Star game starts at 8 pm ET today.
