The appetizer to Sunday's All-Star game was a prime time skills competion. Fans in Ottawa were able to witness the best skater, the best breakaway artist, the quickest slap shot among other events. Just like Sunday's game, it was Team Chara against Team Alfredsson. Alfredsson's team won 21-12 but each squad had their share of highlights.
1) Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins - Do you think batting against fireballers Justin Verlander and Aroldis Chapman is difficult for major league hitters, then how would you like to be a goaltender staring down one of Chara's slap shots? Performing in front of the crowd he called home for four seasons, Chara bested Nashville's Shea Weber in the Hardest Shot competition. He did so in record-breaking style with a blast that was clocked at 108.8 mph, breaking his own mark of 105.9 at last year's event in Raleigh.
2) Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars - Two weeks ago, Benn had an a appendectomy and in winning the Accuracy Shooting contest, he looked fully recovered. He won the contest by cruising past Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos by hitting the four targets in just 13.583 seconds. Then he knocked off Philadelphia's Matt Read with an even more impressive time of 10.204 seconds.
3) Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning - Stamkos leads the league with 32 goals so it is appropriate that he was the only player to score in all three rounds. In the first round, he scored on Montreal's Carey Price. In the second and third rounds, he scored on Boston's Tim Thomas, winning the contest with a nice deke and backhand move.
Showman of the Night
Patrick Kane took a page from the NBA slam dunk contest by donning a Superman Cape for his turn in the breakaway contest. He sported the Clark Kent glasses and had Chicago teammate Marian Hossa add the cape around his neck for the first attempt as he mimicked Dwight Howard. On the first try, he scored by using a chest-first dive and his left hand to glove the puck. For that performance, Kane received 47 percent of the fan votes via text message.
Gimmick of the Night
Corey Perry did not wear any costumes for his turn in the breakaway contest but nonetheless was creative. His creativity was in the form of pulling out a mini goalie stick from under his jersey. Then he drove to the net and scored on St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott.
Speedster of the Night
Carl Hagelin's skating ability might have been known to Ranger fans and anyone who saw him play at University of Michigan. It was on full display last night in the fastest skater competition as he beat out Ottawa's Colin Greening.
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