The traditional skill contest will be held Friday night as part of the NHL All-Star Game celebrations at the FLA LIVE Arena in Sunrise, Fla.
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In addition to traditional competitions such as fastest skater, most accurate shots, strongest throw and breakaways, the audience will be treated to events reminiscent of the tropical environment in which the participants will find themselves. In addition, two of the new events will take place outdoors.
The “NHL Splash Shot” takes place on a beach in Fort Lauderdale and consists of two teams of four players each. Competitors including Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk must hit targets before attempting to send their rivals into the water. The first successful formation will triumph.
In the “NHL Pitch ‘n Puck” four participants, including the captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Nick Suzuki, have to prove their golf skills. You will find yourself on a green island with a par 4 hole. To do this, the players perform typical hockey and golf swings. In the event of a tie, the author of the best shot among the holders of the first rank has the last word.
The other novelty of the program, the “NHL Tendy Tandem” is played indoors and consists of eight goaltenders working in pairs, with each team representing the four sections (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific) in the run. According to the NHL description, one of the members of the tandem will take a shot: his team gets three points if he manages to send the puck straight into the thin opening, two if the puck hits the target located in the net, and none if the shot is missed. The other goalkeeper of the duo meets one, two or three rivals at the breakaway, depending on how many points his teammate has accumulated beforehand. The team with the most points wins this competition.
Luongo present
For his part, ex-goalkeeper Roberto Luongo will take part in the breakaway challenge as a prominent guest. He will have to face the rises of Mitchell Marner, David Pastrnak, Matthew Tkachuk and the Alexander Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby duo. As for the fastest skater competition, Dylan Larkin and Cale Makar will try to win along with four other players.
Then striker Connor McDavid will try his luck at the precision shot test. His teammate Leon Draisaitl from the Edmonton Oilers will also be in action, as will Nikita Kucherov, Aleksander Barkov and Artemi Panarin, among others. Ovechkin will finally want to earn a second title as the strongest shooter of his career. Elias Pettersson and Rasmus Dahlin are two of his four opponents.
Each event winner receives $30,000.
The competition will be presented on TVA Sports and TVA Sports Direct from 6pm.