So much has been made about other players being scared to face Connor McDavid in the fastest skater competition at the 2018 All-Star Game Skills Challenge, you wonder if the event might eventually follow the NBA’s slam dunk contests, with players bowing out for ego reasons.
Fastest skater
Just like last year, McDavid won this year’s fastest skater competition, coming in with a time of 13.454 seconds, a bit slower than last year’s mark. The top three ended up being Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres (Eichel recovered from a bad start). Point wasn’t far off at 13.579 and Eichelf finished with 13.828.
Interesting tidbit here:
Connor McDavid takes home $25,000 for winning fastest skater at 13.454 secs from dead stop. Slower than last year's time of 13.310, but first-ever repeat fastest skater champ.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 28, 2018
Apparently Dylan Larkin still owns the fastest time, via the Red Wings:
.@Dylanlarkin39's record of 13.172 will stand another year. #LGRW https://t.co/nAhv1k14n7
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 28, 2018
Here’s the full list of scores.
The first player to ever win Fastest Skater in back-to-back years: @cmcdavid97. #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/75l1wfwP59
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 28, 2018
“[The crowd was] nice to me,” McDavid said. “I crossed the line, I figured they’d cheer, which meant I lost or there was going to be nothing and that meant I won. There was not much being said, which was a good thing for me.”
Puck control relay
There’s speed, and there’s speed plus control. The puck control relay was a cool new wrinkle, and Johnny Gaudreau set a standard that could not be matched.
Erik Karlsson, meanwhile, takes the prize for best cheater.
THOSE MITTS 👀😂 pic.twitter.com/xZxReuOaZR
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) January 28, 2018
Here are the full results from a fun contest.
Soft hands from @johngaudreau03 of the @NHLFlames helped him capture the Gatorade NHL Puck Control Relay title at a time of 24.650 seconds. #NHLAllStar #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/tVfwaKL4hh
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 28, 2018
More on the Skills Challenge
Brock Boeser wins accuracy competition; Alex Pietrangelo shows off his great passing.
Alex Ovechkin fires the hardest shot; Marc-Andre Fleury edges Pekka Rinne for save streak.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.