Avalanche Trio Shine At NHL All-Star Skills Competition
SAN JOSE, Calif. (CBS4) - San Jose is under not one, not two, but three Avalanche warnings this weekend. For the first time since 2004, the Avalanche will send their top three players to the NHL All-Star Game.
Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are representing the Burgundy and Blue in San Jose this weekend.
On Friday night, the players got a chance to show off their stuff at the annual NHL Skills Competition, featuring events like Fastest Skater, Premier Passer, Hardest Shot, and Accuracy Shooting. Landeskog, the Avs captain, took part in the Puck Control event. Rantanen competed in Premier Passer. Both took shots in the Save Streak. MacKinnon, the Central Division captain, did not take part in the Skills Competition. Kendall Coyne Schofield, a member of the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team, which took home gold in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, became the first woman to participate in the NHL Skills Competition.
Fastest Skater
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers - 13.378 (Three-time champion - 2017, 2018, 2019)
Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres - 13.582 seconds
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders - 13.780 seconds
Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars - 13.914 seconds
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks - 13.930 seconds
Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets - 14.192 seconds
Kendall Coyne Schofield, Team USA - 14.346 seconds
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes - 14.526 seconds
Puck Control
1. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames - 27.045 seconds
2., Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks - 28.611 seconds
3. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers - 30.270 seconds
4. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets - 32.161 seconds
5. Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche - 33.425 seconds
6. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs - 35.210 seconds
7. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres - 35.407 seconds
8. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks - 43.622 seconds
Save Streak
1. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers - 12 saves
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning - 8 saves
3. Devin Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild - 7 saves
4. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights - 6 saves
5. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks - 3 saves
6. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators - 2 saves
7. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals - 2 saves
8. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings - 2 saves
Premier Passer
1. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers - 1 minute, 9.088 seconds
2. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes - 1 minute, 18.530 seconds
3. Ryan O'Reilly, Buffalo Sabres - 1 minute, 25.897 seconds
4. Keith Yandle, Florida Panthers - 1 minute, 34.611 seconds
5. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators - 1 minute, 40.568 seconds
6. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators - 1 minute, 47.128 seconds
7. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators - 1 minute, 58.824 seconds
8. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche - 2 minutes, 17.379 seconds
Hardest Shot
1. John Carlson, Washington Capitals - 102.8 mph
2. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks - 100.6 mph
3. Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets - 99.4 mph
4. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning - 96.2 mph
Accuracy Shooting
David Pasternak, Boston Bruins - 11.309 seconds
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins - 12.693 seconds
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings - 13.591 seconds
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks - 14.423 seconds
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets - 18.585 seconds
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning - 19.706 seconds
Austin Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs - 20.151 seconds
Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils - 20.209 seconds
The last time the Avs sent three players to All-Star Weekend was when Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay, and Rob Blake all went in 2004. The consensus in the NHL is that the Avs have the best first line in the league in over a decade.
The NHL All-Stars will return to the ice in San Jose Saturday night for the Honda All-Star Game, at 6:00 p.m.
