All-Star Skills Competition player assignments announced

TAMPA -- The National Hockey League (NHL®) today announced the player assignments for the 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition™. The 2018 NHL All-Stars will compete in six events showcasing their talent on tonight at 7 p.m. ET at AMALIE Arena in Tampa, Fla., home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ will be televised on NBCSN in the U.S. and on CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. All six events of the 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ will be individual competitions, with the winner of each event earning $25,000.

Details, rules and participants for all six events of the 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ are listed below.

Enterprise NHL Fastest Skater

Eight skaters will compete in the Enterprise NHL Fastest Skater™. Each skater will be timed for one full lap around the rink. The skater may choose the direction of their lap and can be positioned a maximum of three feet behind the start line located on the penalty box side of the center red line. The skater must start on the referee's whistle and the timing clock will start when the skater crosses the start line. In the event of a clock malfunction, the official time will be recorded by the referee's stopwatch. The skater with the fastest time is the winner of the Enterprise NHL Fastest Skater™, and if there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will skate another lap to determine the winner.
Participants
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks
Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes
Josh Bailey, New York Islanders
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Dunkin' Donuts NHL Passing Challenge

Eight players will compete in the Dunkin' Donuts NHL Passing Challenge™, which consists of three skills over one round, including (1) Target Passing, where each player must complete four successful passes to targets that light up in a random sequence; (2) Give and Go, where each player must successfully complete the four required passes through a course set up in the neutral zone; and (3) Mini Nets, where each player must complete one pass over a barricade and into each of four mini nets, as well as an additional pass into the game net. Each skill must be completed before a player moves on to the next. The referee's whistle signals completion of each skill. The player to complete all three skills in the fastest time is deemed the winner of the Dunkin' Donuts NHL Passing Challenge™, and if there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.
Participants
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

GEICO NHL Save Streak

Five goalies and all 36 skaters will participate in the GEICO NHL Save Streak™, a shootout grouped by division where goalies compete to make the most consecutive saves. Each goalie will face one opposing division and a minimum of nine scoring attempts. Each scoring attempt is officiated in accordance with NHL shootout rules and begins on the referee's whistle. Players from each division will shoot in numerical order, lowest to highest, with the divisional captain shooting ninth. A goalie's round at the GEICO NHL Save Streak™ cannot end with a save - if the divisional captain's shot is saved, the goalie will continue to face shooters until a goal is scored. If the goalie makes a save on the divisional captain's shot, the order of shooters to follow is the same as at the original order. The goalie with the longest consecutive save streak during his time in net is the winner of the GEICO NHL Save Streak™. If there is a tie for longest consecutive save streak, the goalie with the highest total saves made during his round will be crowned the winner.
Participants
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, vs. Central Division
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, vs Pacific Division
Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators, vs. Metropolitan Division
Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights, vs. Atlantic Division
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, vs. Central Division

Gatorade NHL Puck Control Relay

Eight players will compete in the Gatorade NHL Puck Control Relay™, a timed single-round event that includes three skills: (1) Stickhandling, where a skater controls a puck through a series of eight pucks in a straight line; (2) Cone Control, where a skater controls a puck through a series of eight cones in a zig-zag formation; and (3) Gates, where a skater approaches a gate and is required to shoot or otherwise guide the puck through the lighted rung of a gate. Each skill must be completed before moving on to the next skill. The referee's whistles will signal completion of each skill and the player to complete the three skills in the fastest time is deemed the winner of the Gatorade NHL Puck Control Relay™. If there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.
Participants
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

PPG NHL Hardest Shot

Five players will compete in the PPG NHL Hardest Shot™. Over two rounds, each player will attempt two shots measured in miles per hour (mph), with the highest speed of their two shots recorded. After each player's first attempt, the order of shots for second attempts will be based on the speed recorded in the first round, slowest to fastest. For each attempt, a single puck is positioned on the ice 30 feet from the center of the goal. Starting no further than the nearest blue line, the shooter may skate towards the puck and shoot it from its positioned spot into the goal. Shots must be on goal to be calculated and all shots are recorded by radar in miles per hour. If a puck enters the goal uncalculated due to a malfunction of the radar equipment, the shooter will be allowed an additional attempt. If player breaks his stick he will be given another attempt. The player who records the fastest speed is the winner of the PPG NHL Hardest Shot™. If there is a tie for the fastest speed, the tied players will shoot again to determine the winner.
Participants
John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators
Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting

Eight players will compete in the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™, a timed event where a shooter is positioned 25 feet from the goal line and shoots pucks at five LED targets located in the net. On the referee's whistle, one of the five LED targets will randomly light up for three seconds and the player will attempt to hit the lighted target. Hit targets will be taken out of the random sequencing and if the target is not hit within three seconds, the next target will be lighted. The clock stops when the player has successfully hit all five targets, the player that hits all five targets in the fastest time will be crowned the winner of the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™. If there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.
Participants
Brian Boyle, New Jersey Devils
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Notes for all 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition Events

Prior to the competition, the NHL Department of Player Safety will determine the players participating in each event and the order of participation. Number of players in each event is subject to change. The referee shall make all necessary rulings regarding the skills competition events.
The Tampa Bay Lightning®, who are celebrating their 25th season, and the city of Tampa will host the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. The League's midseason showcase will take place at AMALIE Arena and will include the 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ on Saturday, Jan. 27 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) and 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 28 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
For the third straight season, the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game will feature a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, showcasing teams from each NHL division competing for a $1 million winner-take-all prize pool.
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