61st National Hockey League All-Star Game

61st NHL All-Star Game
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
January 31, 2016
Game one Atlantic All-Stars 4, Metropolitan All-Stars 3
Game two Central All-Stars 6, Pacific All-Stars 9
Game three Pacific All-Stars 1, Atlantic All-Stars 0
 2015 2017 

The 61st National Hockey League All-Star Game, also known as the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, was held on January 31, 2016. The game was held in Nashville, Tennessee, at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. This was Nashville's first time hosting the NHL All-Star Game.[1]

For this edition, the all-star game was replaced with a four-team, three-on-three, single-elimination tournament, with one team representing each of the league's four divisions. The all-stars from the Pacific Division won the four-team tournament.[2] Team captain John Scott, an enforcer voted into the game through a fan vote, scored two goals and was given the game's most valuable player award.[3]

Format

On November 18, 2015, the NHL announced significant changes to the All-Star Game format, replacing the previous two-team format with a 3-on-3 tournament between All-Star teams representing the league's four divisions; the Atlantic division played the Metropolitan, while the Central played the Pacific. Each game was played in two 10-minute halves, and went directly to a shootout in the event of a tie. The winners of the two semi-final games played in a championship game to determine the winner of the competition.[4]

Rosters

National Hockey League staff and associates voted internally to determine the rosters. Fan voting was altered to match the new divisional format. Voting determined the captains of each division, with the condition the player plays in the division they captain. This change was likely due to recent exploitation of the older method. For example, the fan votes in the 2015 All-Star Game were dominated by Chicago Blackhawks players and Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, who was voted in following a heavy campaign in his native country of Latvia.[5][6][7][8]

Florida Panthers forward Jaromír Jágr tried to get fans to not vote for him; at age 43, he stated that he preferred to rest during the All-Star break rather than play in the 3-on-3 format.[9] Girgensons also stated that he did not believe that he deserved an All Star spot this year since he only recorded four points up to that point in the season.[10]

Following weeks of fan voting, the four captains were announced on January 2, 2016. Jágr was selected to lead the Atlantic, along with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan), Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks (Central) and John Scott of the Arizona Coyotes (Pacific).[11]

Scott received the most votes of any player, despite having only recorded one point in 11 games played with the Coyotes (Scott spent much of the season in the AHL, or as a healthy scratch) and scoring five goals in his entire career up that point. The situation was compared to Rory Fitzpatrick's All Star campaign in 2007, in which fans vote for a player who would not conventionally be chosen as an All-Star. Despite this, both Scott and the NHL honoured the results.[7][12] Scott was traded out of the Pacific Division and demoted out of the league on January 15, 2016 in a move that sent Scott to the Montreal Canadiens, who in turn assigned him to the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps; the trade was expected to make him ineligible to serve as captain in the All-Star Game,[13] but the NHL announced shortly after the trade that he would be permitted to participate as a free agent for the Pacific Division.[14]

The rest of the rosters were revealed on January 6, 2016, with each of the NHL's 30 teams being represented by at least one player at the time the rosters were set (Arizona, whose lone All-Star was Scott, would ultimately not be represented).[15] The coaches for each division's team were determined by the teams with the highest point percentage in each division following the completion of games on January 9, 2016.[4] The coaches with each distinction included: Gerard Gallant (Florida Panthers) for the Atlantic Division, Lindy Ruff (Dallas Stars) for the Central Division, Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles Kings) for the Pacific Division, and Barry Trotz (Washington Capitals) for the Metropolitan Division. On January 21, 2016, the NHL announced the addition of country music stars Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelley, and Chris Young as celebrity coaches to each team; Amy Grant replaced Kelley before the game.[16][17]

Injury replacements were announced on January 28, 2016, with Evgeny Kuznetsov replacing teammate Ovechkin, who was out with a lower-body injury, and James Neal replacing Jonathan Toews, who was out due to illness. To replace Ovechkin's captaincy, John Tavares was awarded the "C".[18]

Atlantic Division[15]
Head Coach: Canada Gerard Gallant, Florida Panthers[19]
Celebrity Coach: United States Amy Grant[17]
Nat. Player Team Pos. #
CanadaLuongo, RobertoRoberto LuongoFlorida PanthersG1
United StatesBishop, BenBen BishopTampa Bay LightningG30
CanadaBergeron, PatricePatrice BergeronBoston BruinsF37
FinlandKomarov, LeoLeo KomarovToronto Maple LeafsF47
Czech RepublicJágr, JaromírJaromír Jágr (C)[11]Florida PanthersF68
United StatesLarkin, DylanDylan LarkinDetroit Red WingsF71
CanadaO'Reilly, RyanRyan O'ReillyBuffalo SabresF90
CanadaStamkos, StevenSteven StamkosTampa Bay LightningF91
CanadaEkblad, AaronAaron EkbladFlorida PanthersD5
SwedenKarlsson, ErikErik KarlssonOttawa SenatorsD65
CanadaSubban, P. K.P. K. SubbanMontreal CanadiensD76
Metropolitan Division[15]
Head Coach: Canada Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals[20]
Celebrity Coach: United States Vince Gill[16]
Nat. Player Team Pos. #
United StatesSchneider, CoryCory SchneiderNew Jersey DevilsG35
CanadaHoltby, BradenBraden HoltbyWashington CapitalsG70
RussiaKuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov[18] Washington CapitalsF92
SwedenBäckström, NicklasNicklas BäckströmWashington CapitalsF19
CanadaGiroux, ClaudeClaude GirouxPhiladelphia FlyersF28
United StatesSaad, BrandonBrandon SaadColumbus Blue JacketsF20
RussiaMalkin, EvgeniEvgeni MalkinPittsburgh PenguinsF71
CanadaTavares, JohnJohn Tavares (C)[18]New York IslandersF91
United StatesFaulk, JustinJustin FaulkCarolina HurricanesD27
United StatesMcDonagh, RyanRyan McDonaghNew York RangersD27
CanadaLetang, KrisKris LetangPittsburgh PenguinsD58
RussiaOvechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin (injured) Washington CapitalsF8

Central Division[15]
Head Coach: Canada Lindy Ruff, Dallas Stars[21]
Celebrity Coach: United States Dierks Bentley[16]
Nat. Player Team Pos. #
FinlandRinne, PekkaPekka RinneNashville PredatorsG35
CanadaDubnyk, DevanDevan DubnykMinnesota WildG40
CanadaDuchene, MattMatt DucheneColorado AvalancheF9
CanadaBenn, JamieJamie BennDallas StarsF14
CanadaNeal, JamesJames Neal[18] Nashville PredatorsF18
United StatesKane, PatrickPatrick Kane (C)[11]Chicago BlackhawksF88
CanadaSeguin, TylerTyler SeguinDallas StarsF91
RussiaTarasenko, VladimirVladimir TarasenkoSt. Louis BluesF91
CanadaWeber, SheaShea WeberNashville PredatorsD6
United StatesByfuglien, DustinDustin ByfuglienWinnipeg JetsD33
SwitzerlandJosi, RomanRoman JosiNashville PredatorsD59
CanadaToews, JonathanJonathan Toews (injured) Chicago BlackhawksF19
Pacific Division[15]
Head Coach: Canada Darryl Sutter, Los Angeles Kings[22]
Celebrity Coach: United States Chris Young[16]
Nat. Player Team Pos. #
United StatesQuick, JonathanJonathan QuickLos Angeles KingsG32
United StatesGibson, JohnJohn GibsonAnaheim DucksG36
CanadaHall, TaylorTaylor HallEdmonton OilersF4
United StatesPavelski, JoeJoe PavelskiSan Jose SharksF8
CanadaPerry, CoreyCorey PerryAnaheim DucksF10
United StatesGaudreau, JohnnyJohnny GaudreauCalgary FlamesF13
SwedenSedin, DanielDaniel SedinVancouver CanucksF22
CanadaScott, JohnJohn Scott (C)[11]No Team[lower-alpha 1]F28
CanadaGiordano, MarkMark GiordanoCalgary FlamesD5
CanadaDoughty, DrewDrew DoughtyLos Angeles KingsD8
CanadaBurns, BrentBrent BurnsSan Jose SharksD88

Ovechkin was replaced by Kuznetsov due to a lower-body injury.[18]

Toews was replaced by Neal due to illness.[18]

Bracket

Semi-Finals Final
 Atlantic 4  
 Metropolitan 3      Atlantic 0
 Central 6      Pacific 1
 Pacific 9  

Game summaries

East game

West game

Final

Festivities

Alongside the 3-on-3 tournament the NHL hosted several other events during the All-Star weekend.

NHL All-Star Skills Competition

The competition was held on January 30, 2016 and was broken up into six events: Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, Honda NHL Breakaway Challenge, DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting, Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay, AMP Energy NHL Hardest Shot, and the Discover NHL Shootout. Teams Atlantic and Metropolitan combined to represent the Eastern Conference, and teams Central and Pacific combined to represent the Western Conference.

Fastest Skater

In this event, four pairs of skaters raced each other simultaneously on parallel short-courses on the rink. The fastest skater in the head-to-head match-ups received the chance to skate a full lap of the outside border of the rink, in the direction of their choosing, in an attempt to break Mike Gartner's record (13.386).The winner of each match-up scored one point, the team with the fastest skater scored a bonus point, and an extra bonus point was awarded for breaking Mike Gartner's record.

Team EastTime (sec)HeatTime (sec)Team West
Dylan Larkin 12.894 1 13.527 Roman Josi
Brandon Saad 13.634 2 14.026 Matt Duchene
Erik Karlsson 14.630 3 13.654 Taylor Hall
Kris Letang 14.081 4 14.203 Dustin Byfuglien
Larkin 13.172* Record Attempt 13.386 Gartner
Event score: 5–1 Team East[28]
Overall score: 5–1 Team East

Breakaway Challenge

In this competition, competitors skated with the puck and attempted to score on the opposing team's goalie. Each competitor had two chances. The winner was judged on their presentation, style, creativity, and flair. NHL penalty shot rules did not apply. The winner was determined by fan-vote through Twitter and was rewarded one point for their team. The winner, P.K. Subban, donned a wig, black hockey-pants, an old hockey helmet, and a Jaromir Jagr jersey, skated in, and slid the puck into the net, after initially hitting the post, completing his best Jagr impression with a salute to the crowd. Runner-up Brent Burns was joined by his son Jagger, and Sharks teammate Joe Pavelski and his son Nathan. Former teammates Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo staged a mock argument in the net to leave it empty while Jagger got the puck from Nathan and scored.

While all other lineups were submitted by the team captains, this event also allowed fan-vote via Twitter to secure a guaranteed spot in the event for an eligible player of their choice. Voting was open from January 26, 2016 to January 28, 2016

Team East
Goalie: Cory Schneider
Team West
Goalie: Jonathan Quick
Brandon Saad James Neal
Evgeny Kuznetsov Matt Duchene
P.K. Subban Brent Burns
Winner: P.K. Subban (31% of the vote)
Event score: 1–0 Team East[29]
Overall score: 6–1 Team East

Accuracy Shooting

In this event, competitors were positioned in front of the net, and were passed the puck from two players situated behind the goal line. The players had to hit targets at the four corners of the net in the fastest time. The event consisted of four head-to-head match-ups, with one shooter from each team per round. The winner of each match-up scored one point and the player who hit all four targets in the fastest time scored a bonus point.

Team East
Passers: Nicklas Backstrom, Jaromir Jagr
Time (sec)HeatTime (sec)Team West
Passers: Drew Doughty, Vladimir Tarasenko
John Tavares 12.294 1 20.000 Patrick Kane
Patrice Bergeron 23.362 2 14.088 Joe Pavelski
Claude Giroux 17.254 3 13.771 Corey Perry
Evgeni Malkin 16.179 4 16.664 Jamie Benn
Event score: 3–2 Team East[30]
Overall score: 9–3 Team East

Challenge Relay

In this competition, teams of 14 players and 2 goalies were selected from each side to compete in a timed relay event which consisted of four relays with five challenges each: One Timers, Passing, Puck Control, Stick-Handling, and Goalie Goals. Each player on the team had one skill to complete before the next player could start. The goal was to complete the relay in the fastest time. The team with the fastest time in each heat scored one point, and the team with the fastest overall time scored one bonus point.

Team EastTime (min:sec.ms)HeatTime (min:sec.ms)Team West
Aaron Ekblad (One-timer RH)
Erik Karlsson (One-timer RH)
Steven Stamkos (One-timer RH)
Patrice Bergeron (One-timer passer)
Nicklas Backstrom (Passing accuracy)
Justin Faulk (Puck control)
Claude Giroux (Stick handling)
Braden Holtby (Goalie goal)
1:38.410 1 2:15.371 Shea Weber (One-timer RH)
Drew Doughty (One-timer RH)
Corey Perry (One-timer RH)
Taylor Hall (One-timer passer)
Daniel Sedin (Passing accuracy)
Johnny Gaudreau (Puck control)
Patrick Kane (Stick handling)
Pekka Rinne (Goalie goal)
Ryan McDonagh (One-timer LH)
Leo Komarov (One-timer LH)
Ryan O'Reilly (One-timer LH)
Jaromir Jagr (One-timer passer)
Evgeny Kuznetsov (Passing accuracy)
Kris Letang (Puck control)
Dylan Larkin (Stick handling)
Ben Bishop (Goalie goal)
1:44.446 2 1:27.687 Mark Giordano (One-timer LH)
James Neal (One-timer LH)
Vladimir Tarasenko (One-timer LH)
Matt Duchene (One-timer passer)
Jamie Benn (Passing accuracy)
Roman Josi (Puck control)
Tyler Seguin (Stick handling)
Devan Dubnyk (Goalie goal)
Event score: 2–1 Team West[31]
Overall score: 10–5 Team East

Hardest Shot

In this competition, players skated in from the blue line, and slapped a puck placed 30 feet from the net as fast as possible into the net. The event consisted of four head-to-head match-ups where each player attempted two shots, with the fastest of their two shots recorded. The winner of each match-up scored one point, and the team with the player who had the fastest speed scored one bonus point.

Team EastSpeed (mph)HeatSpeed (mph)Team West
Aaron Ekblad 93.4 1 99.6 Dustin Byfuglien
Evgeni Malkin 97.0 2 95.0 Tyler Seguin
Steven Stamkos 103.9 3 95.9 John Scott
P.K. Subban 102.3 4 108.1 Shea Weber
Event score: 3–2 Team West[32]
Overall score: 12–8 Team East

Shootout

18 skaters and three goaltenders from each team will participate in the three-round shootout, with each round using six skaters and one goalie from each team. Teams received two minutes per round, to score as many goals as possible. NHL shootout rules applied to each scoring attempt. One point was awarded for each goal scored, except for players one and three from each team who were designated "Discover puck players", and goals scored by these players counted as two.

Team East
Goalies:
Roberto Luongo, Round 1
Braden Holtby, Round 2
Cory Schneider, Round 3
ResultResultTeam West
Goalies:
Devan Dubnyk, Round 1
John Gibson, Round 2
Pekka Rinne, Round 3
Round 1
Evgeni Malkin Goal (x2) Save Patrick Kane
Jaromir Jagr Save Save Matt Duchene
P.K. Subban Save Save Brent Burns
Ryan O'Reilly Save Save Mark Giordano
Leo Komarov Save Save Vladimir Tarasenko
Aaron Ekblad Goal Save Daniel Sedin
Malkin Goal (x2) Save Kane
Jagr Save Save Duchene
Subban Save Save Burns
Round 2
Patrice Bergeron Goal (x2) Goal (x2) Joe Pavelski
Nicklas Backstrom Goal Save Taylor Hall
Steven Stamkos Goal (x2) Save Jamie Benn
Evgeny Kuznetsov Save Save James Neal
Ryan McDonagh Goal Save Johnny Gaudreau
Justin Faulk Goal Save Dustin Byfuglien
Bergeron Goal (x2) Goal (x2) Pavelski
Backstrom Save Save Hall
Save Benn
Round 3
Claude Giroux Goal (x2) Save John Scott
Dylan Larkin Goal Save Shea Weber
John Tavares Save Goal (x2) Tyler Seguin
Kris Letang Save Save Corey Perry
Erik Karlsson Save Save Drew Doughty
Brandon Saad Save Save Roman Josi
Giroux Save Save Scott
Larkin Goal Save Weber
Tavares Save Save Seguin
Save Perry
Event score: 17–4 Team East[33]
Overall score: 29–12 Team East

See also

Notes

  1. Scott was voted in as a member of the Arizona Coyotes. A trade on January 15 saw Scott moved to the Montreal Canadiens, and sent down to their AHL affiliate St. John's IceCaps. On January 19, the NHL announced it would allow Scott to captain the Pacific Division All-Stars, despite no longer playing in the league or the Pacific Division.[14] However, as a result of the trade, Scott wore a generic NHL jersey, and was not a representative for Arizona; Arizona, as a result of trading away its only All-Star, was the only team not represented in the events.[23]

References

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  3. Allen, Kevin (February 1, 2016). "John Scott goes from unwanted to unbelievable". USA Today. Nashville, Tennessee: Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "How the NHL's new 3-on-3 All-Star tournament works". Sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
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  13. Cooper, Josh (January 15, 2016). "Trade likely knocks John Scott out of NHL All-Star Game". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
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  23. Lewis, Scott (January 21, 2016). "John Scott to wear generic All-Star jersey for skills competition". sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
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