2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game Explained

Compact:yes
2019 NHL All-Star Game
Location1:SAP Center, San Jose
Date1:January 26, 2019
Mvp:Sidney Crosby
Attendance:17,562
Previous:2018
Next:2020

The 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at SAP Center in San Jose, home of the San Jose Sharks on January 26, 2019.[1] San Jose last held the NHL All Star Game in 1997.[2] This was the fourth consecutive All-Star Game that used a four-team, 3-on-3, single elimination format, with one team representing each of the league's four divisions. After years of being held on a Sunday, the 2019 All-Star Game was played on a Saturday, January 26, at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST, while the Skills Competition was also moved from its traditional Saturday night to Friday, January 25, 2019.[1]

The Metropolitan All-Stars won the All-Star Game, which was in its fourth straight year of a four-team, 3-on-3, single elimination format, with one team representing each of the league's four divisions. The team won $1 million (split 11 ways between the players). Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was named the Most Valuable Player, scoring four goals and four assists. He received a new 2019 Honda Passport which he then proceeded to give to an Army veteran.

Skills Competition

The Skills Competition took place the day before the All-Star Game on Friday January 25, 2019 at the SAP Center. The winners of each event were awarded $25,000 in prize money.[3]

The league invited Renata Fast and Rebecca Johnston from the Canadian Women's National Team, and Brianna Decker and Kendall Coyne Schofield from the U.S. Women's National Team, to demonstrate some of the events. After Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (Central Division) pulled out of the fastest-skater event due to a bruised left foot, Coyne Schofield was named as his replacement, becoming the first woman to compete in the All-Stars skills competition.[4]

Brianna Decker demonstrated the premier passer skill, but she was not part of the competition. She was, in fact, three seconds faster than Leon Draisaitl and would have won had her time been included as they did with Kendall Coyne Schofield.[5] This prompted the hashtag #PayDecker on Twitter, as women's hockey salaries are a fraction of men's hockey salaries.[6] On January 26, hockey equipment company CCM announced they would give Decker the $25,000 she would have received for winning the competition.[7]

Results

Fastest Skater

PlayerTeamDivisionTime (Seconds)
Connor McDavidEdmonton OilersPacific 13.378[8]
Jack EichelBuffalo SabresAtlantic13.582
Mathew BarzalNew York IslandersMetropolitan13.780
Miro HeiskanenDallas StarsCentral13.914
Elias PetterssonVancouver CanucksPacific13.930
Cam AtkinsonColumbus Blue JacketsMetropolitan14.152
Kendall CoyneUSA National TeamN/A14.346
Clayton KellerArizona CoyotesPacific14.526

Puck Control Play

PlayerTeamDivisionTime (Seconds)
Johnny GaudreauCalgary FlamesPacific 27.045[9]
Patrick KaneChicago BlackhawksCentral28.611
Claude GirouxPhiladelphia FlyersMetropolitan30.270
Mark ScheifeleWinnipeg JetsCentral32.161
Gabriel LandeskogColorado AvalancheCentral33.425
John TavaresToronto Maple LeafsAtlantic 35.210
Jeff SkinnerBuffalo SabresAtlantic35.407
Elias PetterssonVancouver CanucksPacific43.622

Save Streak

PlayerTeamDivisionDivision Faced Save Streak
Henrik LundqvistNew York RangersMetropolitan Atlantic12[10]
Andrei VasilevskiyTampa Bay LightningAtlanticMetropolitan8
Devan DubnykMinnesota WildCentralPacific7
Marc-Andre FleuryVegas Golden KnightsPacificCentral6
John GibsonAnaheim DucksPacificCentral3
Jimmy HowardDetroit Red WingsAtlantic Metropolitan2
Pekka RinneNashville PredatorsCentral Pacific 2
Braden HoltbyWashington CapitalsMetropolitan Atlantic2

Premier Passer

PlayerTeamDivisionTime (Seconds)
Leon DraisaitlEdmonton OilersPacific 69.088[11]
Sebastian AhoCarolina HurricanesMetropolitan78.530
Ryan O'ReillySt. Louis BluesCentral85.897
Keith YandleFlorida PanthersAtlantic94.611
Thomas ChabotOttawa SenatorsAtlantic100.568
Roman JosiNashville PredatorsCentral 107.128
Erik KarlssonSan Jose SharksPacific118.824
Mikko RantanenColorado AvalancheCentral137.379

Hardest Shot

PlayerTeamDivisionSpeed (MPH)
Attempt 1Attempt 2
John CarlsonWashington CapitalsMetropolitan 102.8 mph[12] 100.8 mph
Brent BurnsSan Jose SharksPacific0 (Miss)100.6
Seth JonesColumbus Blue JacketsMetropolitan99.495.1
Steven StamkosTampa Bay LightningAtlantic96.293.1

Accuracy Shooting

PlayerTeamDivisionTime (Seconds)
Boston BruinsAtlantic11.309 seconds[13]
Kris LetangPittsburgh PenguinsMetropolitan 12.693 seconds
Drew DoughtyLos Angeles KingsPacific13.591 seconds
Joe PavelskiSan Jose SharksPacific14.423 seconds
Blake WheelerWinnipeg JetsCentral18.585 seconds
Nikita KucherovTampa Bay LightningAtlantic19.706 seconds
Kyle PalmieriNew Jersey DevilsMetropolitan 20.209 seconds
Auston MatthewsToronto Maple LeafsAtlantic35.626 seconds

Rosters

As in the previous three All-Star Games, captaincy of each division was determined by a fan vote, the 2019 vote running from December 1, 2018, until December 23, 2018.[14] On December 27, the four captains were announced by the NHL. For the third straight year, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers was selected to captain the Pacific Division, along with first time captains Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Atlantic Division and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for the Central Division. Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was selected for the Metropolitan Division,[15] but Ovechkin opted to abstain from the game to rest.[16] Fans were also permitted, after most of the rest of the rosters were set, to vote for a "Last Man In" for each division.[17] The Last Men In—Jeff Skinner (Atlantic), Gabriel Landeskog (Central), Kris Letang (Metropolitan) and Leon Draisaitl (Pacific)—were announced January 11.[18]

On January 6, the coaches for the All-Star Game were announced, chosen from the team in each division with the highest points percentage through January 5, roughly the regular season's halfway point: Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic), Todd Reirden of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan), Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets (Central), and Bill Peters of the Calgary Flames (Pacific).[19]

Eastern Conference

Head coach: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
PlayerTeam
(C)F97
F13
F9
F8
F40
~ Edmonton Oilers F29
San Jose Sharks D88
D8
San Jose Sharks D65
G29
G36

Game summaries

Final

Uniforms

The All-Star uniforms for this game were created by Adidas Parley, the partnership between Adidas and the environmental organization Parley for the Oceans that produces products made with plastic ocean debris. Also for the first time, the uniforms featured each player's respective team logo on the front instead of the NHL shield or conference logo.[20]

Festivities and entertainment

This year's NHL Fan Fair, featuring various fan activities during All-Star Weekend, was held between Thursday, January 24 and Sunday, January 27 at the San Jose Convention Center.[21]

Country music artist Chad Brownlee performed the Canadian national anthem while pop singer and Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui performed the U.S. national anthem. Singer Bebe Rexha performed during the second intermission. The Stanford Band also performed during the game.[22]

Television

The All-Star Game and skills competition were broadcast in the United States by NBC and NBCSN, respectively. In Canada, both the All-Star Game and skills competition were broadcast In English on both CBC and Sportsnet (under the Hockey Night in Canada branding), and on TVA Sports in French.[14]

The NHL conducted a trial of player and puck tracking during the All-Star Game with technology developed by one of the German Fraunhofer Institutes using transmitters embedded inside pucks and jerseys.[23] The technology enables on-air features such as speed displays, puck tracking graphics (reminiscent of the FoxTrax graphics utilized in the late 1990s by previous U.S. national NHL broadcaster Fox, developed by Sportvision), and marker graphics hovering above players.[24] Using the system, NBC and Sportsnet both showcased some tracking data on their respective broadcasts,[25] while NBC also offered a secondary broadcast of the game via its digital platforms to showcase expanded real-time statistics and other information.[26] [27] NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated during All-Star weekend that the league planned to deploy the system to all 31 NHL arenas prior to the start of the 2019–20 NHL season.[25] [28]

Notes and References

  1. News: NHL moves up All-Star skills competition, game in 2019. Associated Press. ESPN. April 9, 2018. April 10, 2018.
  2. News: San Jose picked to host 2019 NHL All-Star Game. Pashelka. Curtis. January 28, 2017. The Mercury News. January 27, 2017.
  3. Web site: 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills results. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  4. Web site: Amalie. Benjamin. Coyne Schofield shines in fastest skater at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  5. Web site: #PayDecker: Fans demand women's hockey star get paid after NHL skills comp CBC Sports . CBC Sports . 26 January 2019 . en.
  6. THNMattLarkin. 1089050882342187009. 26 Jan 2019. Brianna Decker: “Karlsson went after me, so I was like, ‘OK, I think I might have beaten him,’ but I didn’t know how long it took me. I was just casually going through the demo." Leon Draisaitl: “She beat me? Wow. That’s really impressive. Good for her.” #PayDecker.
  7. CCMHockey. 1089279787221299202. 26 Jan 2019. We’re gonna #PayDecker..
  8. Web site: McDavid wins fastest skater for third straight year at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  9. Web site: Gaudreau wins puck control for second straight year at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  10. Web site: Lundqvist wins save streak at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  11. Web site: Draisaitl wins premier passer at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  12. Web site: Carlson tops Burns, wins hardest shot at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  13. Web site: Pastrnak wins accuracy shooting at All-Star Skills. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  14. Web site: NHL All-Star Game fan vote now open . NHL.com . December 29, 2018 . December 1, 2018.
  15. Web site: Kimelman . Adam . McDavid, Ovechkin, Matthews, MacKinnon voted NHL All-Star captains . NHL.com . December 29, 2018 . December 27, 2018.
  16. Web site: Capitals' Alex Ovechkin to skip NHL All-Star Game . sportsnet.ca . January 3, 2019 . January 2, 2019.
  17. Web site: Gulitti . Tom . NHL All-Star Game Last Men In ballot revealed . NHL.com . January 3, 2019 . January 3, 2019.
  18. News: Skinner, Landeskog, Letang, Draisaitl named Last Men In winners. NHL.com. 11 January 2019. January 11, 2019.
  19. News: NHL announces 2019 All-Star game coaches. NBC Sports. Yahoo! Sports. January 6, 2019. January 7, 2019. January 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190107180951/https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl-announces-2019-star-game-172542574.html. dead.
  20. News: NHL All-Star jerseys made of ocean garbage . ESPN . January 10, 2019.
  21. Web site: 2019 NHL Fan Fair presented by SAP. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  22. Web site: Brownlee, country star, Canucks draft pick, to sing at All-Star Game. NHL.com. January 25, 2019. January 25, 2019.
  23. News: Gary Bettman announces puck, player tracking for 2019-20 NHL season. Matt. Hornick. Sporting News. January 25, 2019. January 27, 2019.
  24. Web site: NHL About To Enter New Era of Statistical Insight via On-Bench App Developed by League, Apple, SAP. Kerschbaumer. Ken . Sports Video Group. en. January 27, 2019.
  25. Web site: NHL gets into data game. Stephen. Whyno. Associated Press. Toronto Star. en. January 27, 2019.
  26. Web site: In NBC Sports' NHL All-Star Game Production, Player/Puck Tracking Is the Belle of the Ball. Costa. Brandon. Sports Video Group. en. January 27, 2019.
  27. Web site: NBC Sports readies new moves for NHL All-Star Game. Ian. Thomas. New York Business Journal. January 27, 2019.
  28. Gary Bettman announces puck, player tracking for 2019-20 NHL season. Matt. Hornick. Sporting News. January 25, 2019. January 27, 2019.