NHL All Star Saturday Recap - sk88z's Blog

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NHL All Star Saturday Recap

Posted on January 26, 2009 at 08:53 PM.

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Originally posted on EA SPORTS World

NHL All-Star Saturday Recap

On a weekend where many of the league�s best players had the opportunity to showcase their skills, fans were treated to some great hockey, many trips down memory lane, and some glimpses of what the future of the NHL has to come.

The Saturday events had the fans on their feet and cheering even while the teams were practicing. There�s something about hockey being played in Montreal and with this being the team�s Centennial year it had an extra special feeling about it for those in attendance. The loudest cheer by-far came when Vincent Lecalvalier was introduced to the adoration of the fans who were obviously sending a message to the Canadiens� brass to bring the star to Montreal.

The Edmonton Oilers� Andrew Cogliano took home the Fastest Skater Award with a time of 14.31 seconds, while Pittsburgh�s Evgeni Malkin won the Best Accuracy title hitting 7 targets on 8 shots. Zdeno Chara set a new record for the hardest shot clocking at 169.6 km/hr (105.4 miles/hr) barely ousting Sicamous, BC native and EA SPORTS NHL 08 Community Day invitee Shea Weber from the Nashville Predators (103.4 miles/hr).

The Rookies pulled off a 9-5 �upset� over the Sophomores in a spirited scrimmage but the two highlighted events of the day had to be the Fan Favourite Breakaway Challenge and the New Elimination SO.

In the NHL�s version of the slam-dunk contest, players were allowed a minute to do with the puck as they pleased showcasing a bevy of creative moves before attempting to score not on NHL but Junior-B goalies who barely put up much of a fight in the shots. This was definitely a skater's competition and from Martin St. Louis� �Hide the Puck in the Glove� trick that almost worked to Anaheim�s Ryan Getzlaf who�s incredible hands had him deke and go around the net before lifting and tucking the puck into the top corner reminiscent of the famed University of Michigan goal in the NCAA Frozen Four a few years back.

The winner here would be none other than Captials� sensation Alexander Ovechkin who, on his second shot, received a little help from countryman Malkin to win this showdown. Malkin helped Ovi put on a hat with a Canadian flag sticking out of it, a pair of sunglasses, and gave him an extra stick which he used to pass back and forth with his own to the delight of the hometown Canadian fans. Though he wouldn�t sneak the puck through the first time, he was able to tap in the rebound and celebrate with the cheering crowd.

The new event this year had all players taking part in an Elimination style SO had even players of the same team going up against one another. In all, it took seven rounds to crown a winner with Phoenix Coyotes� Shane Doan beating Boston�s Marc Savard for the title.