Eichel places fourth in Fastest Skater event at All-Star Skills

ST. LOUIS - Jack Eichel posted a personal-best time of 13.540 seconds but finished fourth in the Bridgestone Fastest Skater Competition at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Friday.
It was his third straight year competing in the event. He finished second last year with a time of 13.582 after placing third the season prior.
"It's my last year, maybe," Eichel said with a smirk.

New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal won the event with a time of 13.175 seconds, falling .003 seconds shy of Dylan Larkin's record. Connor McDavid, who won the past three events, finished second with a time of 13.215.
Though he had another year of experience under his belt, Eichel said his strategy was the same.
"It's the same thing," Eichel said. "You just try and get loose before it. Same thing, I feel like I had a good first half and maybe not the best second half."
Results aside, Eichel said the experience was memorable for the time spent on the ice with his fellow All-Stars.

"It's a good opportunity to hang out with some of the guys who you don't get to spend that much time with," he said. "You know, catch up with guys that you either played with or, you know, get to meet new guys that you haven't spent any time with yet. So, it's obviously cool to do that and fun to watch the skills."
Here were the final standings of the Fastest Skater event:
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders - 13.175
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers - 13.215
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers - 13.509
Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres - 13.540
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche - 13.895
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators - 14.005
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers - 14.113
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks - 14.263

NHL introduces Women's 3-on-3

This year's event featured the Elite Women's 3-on-3, a 20-minute contest featuring some of the best women's players representing the United States and Canada. The Canadian All-Stars won the event, 2-1.
"They looked gassed," Eichel said. "… The pace was nonstop and it was good. I mean, 2-1 in a 3-on-3, that's pretty impressive. I think it says a lot about their compete level."

Up next

Eichel will represent the Atlantic Division at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game on Saturday. Coverage on NBCSN begins at 8 p.m. ET.