East wins Superskills and leads West going into the All-Star Game
As most would have predicted, the East won the Superskills contest 9-6 versus the West.
What was your favorite moment?
Personally, I gotta give comps to Phaneuf who was the West’s sole shooter and beat Thomas, whereas Malkin, Gomez and Timonen were all stopped by Legace in the Elimination Shootout.
Also, Kaberle’s accuracy shooting was outstanding.
I was surprised that Kovalchuk wasn’t part of the Hardest Shot competition. He can really rip ’em.
Obstacle Course:
The East won Round 1, and the East and West tied Round 2.
Score: East 2; West 1
Fastest Skater:
The East again won Round 1, but Horcoff won the heads-up, easily, to take the Finals.
Score: East 3; West 2
Elimination Shootout:
Dion Phaneuf is the only West skater to score in the Qualifying Round.
Malkin, Gomez and Timonen score for the East in the Qualifying Round.
In the Elimination Round, only Phaneuf scores. Winning his West two points.
Score: East 3; West 4 (due entirely to Phaneuf)
Youngstars Game:
The East dominates the first period 6-2, getting one point. But the West takes revenge in the second period, winning 4-1.
Score: East 4; West 5
Accuracy Shooting:
3 players in the East get all 4 targets, with Kaberle a perfect 4/4, while Alf goes a weak 2/8. Total 14/25.
2 players in the West get all 4 targets (both in 7 tries). Total 14/30
East wins Round 1.
In the One-on-One Final, Arnott gets 3 for 4 (one just barely knicking), while Kaberle goes 3/3, and then just misses his 2nd consecutive perfect, finishing 3/4. Kaberle ‘redeems’ himself by hitting the single top-right target while Arnott misses it.
Score: East 6; West 5
Hardest Shot:
For the West, Arnott wins with the only 100+ shot at 100.3. Pronger gets 99.7. Phaneuf a disappointed 96.2 and Iggy 95.7.
For the East, Chara takes it with a massive 103.1, edging out Lecavalier’s 101.9. Ovechkin had 98.3 and Markov 96.9.
The West’s average is a mild 98.0, while with Chara’s booming shot the East passes 100 with a 100.1 average. Chalk up 2 points for the East.
Score: East 8; West 5
Breakaway Challenge:
I was kinda disappointed with this challenge. There were few goals actually scored, and none of the players landed their attempts. Ovechkin tried the same attempt twice and failed both times. Getzlaf I’d have expected more from. My favorite was probably Gaborik’s attempt. I’m also surprised Datsyuk didn’t pull out all the stops.
The West wins the first round for best average, and Ovechkin takes a point for the East in the finals vs Getzlaf.
Final score:
East 9
West 6
Now on to the All-Star Game. The East has a three goal lead going into the game, and I predict an East victory.
What did you think of the All-Star Skills Competition?