The NHL has announced the format for the events that will make up the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills competition. There will be seven events that help showcase the talents of some of the league's top stars when they assemble in Las Vegas on Friday night.
The 2022 NHL All-Star Skills will feature two new events that will take place outside on the Las Vegas Strip. The NHL Fountain Face-Off will take place on the infamous Bellagio Fountains, while the Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22 will occur on Las Vegas Boulevard.
In addition to the two new events, the Fastest Skater, Save Streak, Hardest Shot, Breakaway Challenge and Accuracy Shooting will make their return to the All-Star festivities.
The winner of each individual event of the will win $30,000.
Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, Manon Rheaume (who in 1992 became the first woman to play in an NHL game) and actor Wyatt Russell will all participate in the Breakaway Challenge. Meanwhile, three-time Olympic medalist Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson will participate in the Fountain Face-Off and also help out in the Accuracy Shooting event. The NHL will release the complete list of players participating in the skills competitions in the next four days leading up to the events.
Here is a breakdown of each of the seven events that will take place in Las Vegas.
Fountain Face-Off
The Fountain Face-Off is one of the intriguing new events and it will be played on the Bellagio Fountains. Participants are going to travel via boat out to the rink and will have to shoot pucks into five targets in the least amount of time. There will be eight total players that will compete in the event and there will be a qualifying round followed by a head-to-head final. The player that successfully shoots their pucks into the targets in the fastest time will win the event.
Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22
The league will be shutting down a portion of Las Vegas Boulevard and hang a full deck of oversized cards on a rack to give this event some unique Vegas flair. The 21 in '22 competition will have players shoot at the cards in order to come up with a total of 21 without busting in the least number of shots -- a fun twist on blackjack. There will be five total players that compete in a maximum total of six rounds.
The first player to win two rounds will be declared the winner. A round will be won by the player that has the highest hand or the first to come up with 21. The player that wins two rounds will be dubbed the "Puck Shark."
Fastest Skater
The Fastest Skater is a very popular competition that will feature eight players attempting to record the fastest time. The course will be one full lap around the rink and each player has a single attempt.
These are the rules for the Fastest Skater event:
Each skater may choose the direction of their lapEach skater is positioned a maximum of three feet behind the starting line, which is located on the penalty box side of center iceEach skater starts on the referee's whistleThe time starts when each skater crosses the starting lineIf the clock malfunctions, the official time is recorded on a referee's stopwatchIn the event of a tie, the two players with the fastest time will skate again in order to crown a winnerSave Streak
A total of 36 players and a minimum of four goalies will participate in the Save Streak competition. The winner will be the goaltender that has the longest "save streak."
The rules are as follows:
Each scoring attempt is officiated in accordance with NHL shootout rules and begins on the referee's whistleEach goaltender will face all players from an opposing divisionPlayers from each of the four divisions will shoot in numerical order from lowest to highest with the divisional captain going lastIf a goalie saves the divisional captain's shot, he will continue to face shooters until he surrenders a goalEach goalie's round has to end on a goal rather than a saveIn the event of a tie for the longest "save streak," the winning goaltender will be chosen by the total number of saves that they made in their round. If two or more goalies are still tied, the tied goalies will compete in a sudden death round of "Goalie Goals."Hardest Shot
The Hardest Shot competition will feature a minimum of four players and the one with the fastest shot speed will win. Each player will get two attempts and the puck will be placed 40 feet from the center of the goal. Players can skate towards the puck from the nearest blue line. Shooters will have an additional attempt if the radar doesn't detect the speed of their shot. In addition, if a shooter breaks their stick on a shot attempt, they will get another shot. In the event of a tie, the two players with the fastest shot speed will shoot again in order to determine the winner.
Breakaway Challenge
There will be a minimum of four players and two goaltenders participating in the Breakaway Challenge. The shooter with the highest score will be crowned the winner.
The following are the rules of the event:
Shooters may begin from anywhere in the neutral zone and have the full offensive zone to work with. NHL penalty shot rules don't apply, so behind the net is available to the shooters.Each skater will have two shot attemptsThe order of the shooters for a second shot will be based on the score of their first shot from lowest to highestA panel of judges will rate each shot on a scale of 1 to 10In the event of a tie for the highest score, the tied skaters will get one more shot attempt in order to decide a winnerAccuracy Shooting
The Accuracy Shooting competition will feature two players from each division along with four passers. The winner will be determined by the player who hits all four targets in the fastest time.
The rules are as follows:
There will be four destructible styrofoam targets that are 15 inches in diameter attached to the goal posts with one target in each cornerTwo players will be on opposite sides of the nets alternately passing pucks to a shooter that is 25 feet from the netShooters will compete at opposite ends of the ice and alternate shot attemptsIf a player hits any portion of the target, then it counts as a hitTheir time stops when the player hits all four targetsIf players have the exact same time, the tied players will compete again until there is a winner
