Kucherov-skills 1-28

Welcome to the 2017 Coors Light NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
FOLLOW: All-Star Skills Competition Results
NHL.com's Shawn P. Roarke was high atop Staples Center and following the action in the six skills events: the Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay, the Honda NHL Four Line Challenge, the DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting, the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, the Oscar Mayer NHL Hardest Shot and the Discover NHL Shootout.

The four divisional All-Star teams will compete, with the winning division earning the right to choose both its first opponent for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS) and whether that semifinal will be the first or second played in the 3-on-3 tournament.

Relay

The Metropolitan Division won the Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay to start the 2017 Coors Light NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday at Staples Center.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin and Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds started strong and Capitals goalie Braeden Holtby scored on his third try at the empty net to close out the five-stage event with a time of 1:21.07.
New York Islanders forward John Tavares, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby also participated for the Metropolitan Division, which defeated the Atlantic Division (1:39.69) and then earned a bonus point for beating the Central Division (1:44.03), which defeated the Pacific Division (2:03:12) in the other head-to-head match.
For the Atlantic Division, Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price scored on his first shot, the only goalie to do so.

Four Line Challenge

Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith stole the spotlight at the Honda NHL Four Line Challenge, scoring a length-of-the-ice shot from the far goal line into a small hole in the net on the other side. The five-hole shot was worth 20 points and allowed the Pacific Division to win going away

Smith, who had trouble scoring into an empty net in the previous Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay, had no issues in this event, coming on to replace Vancouver forward Bo Horvat, who had missed with the first shot from the far goal line.
Smith is the most recent goalie to score a goal in a regular-season game as well.
San Jose defenseman Brent Burns, who leads all NHL defenseman with 21 goals, scored into the upper corner from the center-ice line for three points. Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter scored into the lower corner from the close blue line and Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds scored into the lower corner from center ice. Each of those shots was worth one point.

After two events, the Metropolitan Division has two points and each of the other three divisions has one point.

Accuracy Shooting

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby hit four targets in 10.73 seconds to win the DraftKings NHL Accuracy Shooting event and earn the Metropolitan Division another two points.
Crosby, participating in the event for the first time, hit the four targets in five shots. He hit the post with his other shot. He defeated Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews of the Atlantic Division in their head-to-head match for one point and earned a bonus point for the fastest overall time. Matthews' time (12.28) was the second-fastest in the event.

Buffalo Sabres forward Kyle Okposo (15.97) of the Atlantic Division defeated New York Islanders forward John Tavares (26.81) in their head-to-head battle. Tavares won the event in 2016. The two players were linemates with the Islanders last season.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (15.64) of the Pacific Division won his head-to-head showdown with Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine (21.82). McDavid was selected No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft and Laine was selected No. 2 in the 2016 NHL Draft.
The Pacific Division made it a clean sweep with Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter (17.66) defeating Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (18.95).
After three events, the Metropolitan Division leads with four points. The Pacific Division has three points, the Atlantic Division and Central have one.

Fastest Skater

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid won the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater event with a record time of 13.02 on Saturday at Staples Center, earning the Pacific Division two points.
McDavid earned a point for defeating Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche in their head-to-head race and he earned a second point for having the fastest time of the night. He missed a chance at a third point when he could not break the record set by Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin last season for a full-lap circuit. Larkin did it in 13.172 while Mc David recorded a time of 13.310 in his attempt.
The Atlantic Division earned two points as well, for head-to-head victories. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (13.16) defeated Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson (13.33), an injury replacement for Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. Vincent Trocheck (13.32) of the Florida Panthers defeated Wayne Simmonds (13.65) of the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the other match, Winnipeg Jets forward Patrick Laine (13.42) defeated Vancouver Canucks forward Bo Horvat (13.43) in a photo finish.
After four events, the Pacific Division has five points while the Metropolitan has four points. The Atlantic has three points and the Central has two points.

Hardest Shot

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber won the Oscar Mayer NHL Hardest Shot competition for the third straight season with a shot of 102.8 mph.
Weber earned a bonus point for the hardest shot to move the Atlantic Division into a head-to-head tie with the Metropolitan Division with four points each. The hardest shot competition served as the tie-breaker, so the Atlantic Division advanced to face the Pacific Division, which won the head-to-head competition against the Central Division, 6-4.

The two divisions compete in the Discover NHL Shootout to determine the overall champion, which will earn the right to choose which division they play, and at what time in the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday.
Weber won the event, beating the 97.8 speed of Washington Capital Alex Ovechkin in his head-to-head match and the 101.7 mph shot of Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets for the overall title. Laine was the only other player to top 100 mph. Weber did not come close to the record of 108.8 mph set by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.
Laine defeated San Jose defenseman Brent Burns, who registered a 96.1 mph shot. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones defeated Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Viktor Hedman, 98.1 to 96.8. Los Angeles Kings Defenseman Drew Doughty had a 94.6 mph shot to defeat Nathan MacKinnon (92.3).

Shootout

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, imported into the Atlantic Division lineup for the Discover NHL Shootout, the Final event of the 2017 Coors Light NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, scored a two-point goal to help the Atlantic defeat the Pacific Division 4-1 in the event and take the Skills Competition title.
As champion of the Skills Competition, the Atlantic Division earned the right to picks its opponent and the time they play in the semifinal round of the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday at Staples Center (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV ). The Atlantic Division chose to play the Metropolitan Division, Crosby's team, in the second semifinal. The Pacific Division will play the Central Division in the first semifinal.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand and Montreal defenseman Shea Weber scored against Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith for a 2-0 lead.
Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler allowed his son, Ryker, 5, to take his shot. Ryker scored against Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, the only goal Price allowed, to close the gap to 2-1.

Then, Crosby scored with a quick snap shot against San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones for a two-point goal as the import. Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, the import into the Pacific Division, did not score on his shot, against Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.
Rask stopped all five shots he faced. Smith stopped three of five shots and Jones stopped four of five shots.