NHL All-Star Game 2016

November 18, 2015, it became known that the league changed the format of the match of stars. It was announced that the All-Star Game 2016 will consist of three matches in which the national teams of each division will take part. In the first mast, the teams of the stars of the Central and Pacific divisions will meet, and in the second, the teams of the Capital and the Atlantic . The winners of each match will meet in the final to determine the winner of the tournament. Each match will last 20 minutes in a 3 by 3 format. Teams will change goals after 10 minutes of each match. With a tie after 20 minutes, the winner will be determined in a series of shootouts. ^[4] Winner of the mini-tournament receives $ 1 million. ^[5]

Each team consists of 11 players: 6 forwards, 3 defenders and 2 goalkeepers.

Voting fans selected one player in the team of each division. Winners of voting automatically become captains of the teams of their divisions. The remaining 40 players are selected by the NHL Hockey Operations Department; each league team is represented by at least one hockey player. Mentors of the leading teams of their divisions on January 9, become the head coaches of the respective teams of stars. ^[4] Voting by fans started on December 1, 2015 and lasted until January 1, 2016 ^[6] . The full lineups were announced on January 6, 2016. ^[7]

John Scott

The winner of the fans ’vote was the Arizona Coyotes club tough guy , John Scott , who was automatically appointed captain of the Pacific Division . However, on January 15, 2016, two weeks before the match, Arizona exchanged a player for Montreal Canadiens , who immediately sent him to his farm club ^[8] . This jeopardized his participation in the match of the stars, because the club is in another division. ^{[9] The} media accused the Coyotis management of being under pressure from the league and exchanged to prevent the player from participating in the match, but Arizona general manager Don Maloney denied this information ^{[10] [11]} . Well-known hockey expert Don Cherry criticized fans who voted for the player "who has not scored a single goal at all in the season to annoy the NHL." ^[12] Fans organized a Freedom to Scott action on social media, demanding that Scott be allowed to participate in the match. ^[13] On January 19, the league announced that Scott would take part in the All-Star Game and remain captain of the Pacific Division, despite the exchange. ^[14]

The league again raised the issue of changing the rules for voting fans for players for a match of stars ^[15] . Situations when fans vote in large numbers for “non-star” players have happened in the NHL before. So in 2007, the “Vote for Rory” campaign was organized, the purpose of which was to ensure the participation of Vancouver Canucks defender Rory Fitzpatrick, but in the end he never got to the match. In 2015, residents of Latvia voted for their compatriot, Buffalo Sabers striker Zemgus Hirgensons , who only spent the second season in the NHL and was not the leader of his club. As a result, the Girgensons became the winner of the vote and took part in the 2015 All-Star Game . ^{[16] [17]}

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Superskills competitions took place on January 30, 2016, a day before the match of stars. In total, the program includes six contests: for the fastest skating, one-on-one access, for the accuracy of shots, the relay of hockey skills, for the strongest throw, a shootout competition. ^[20]

Fastest Speed ​​Competition

Four players from each team. Runs are made in pairs. The team receives 1 point for victory in each of the races. Also, an extra point gets the team whose player showed the absolutely best time. The winner of the competition gets the opportunity to break the record of Mike Gartner for 13.386 seconds. If successful, the team will receive another bonus point. ^[20]

One-on-One Competition

The winner of the competition is determined by the voting of fans. The winner brings his team 1 point. ^[20]

Shot accuracy competition

You need to hit 4 targets in the shortest time. 1 point to the team for winning each pair and an extra point for the absolutely best time. ^[20]

Hockey Sketch Relay

The mastery relay consists of five elements. One-touch throws from three different points, accuracy of the pass, puck control, club possession and goalkeeper goals. The team that wins at each stage receives 1 point, the winning team of the entire competition will receive a bonus point. ^[20]

Strongest Throwing Competition

Four hockey players from each team. Each player is given two attempts. 1 point to the team for victory in each pair and an extra point for the absolutely best result. ^[20]

Bullet Execution Competition

18 field players and 3 goalkeepers participate in a three-round shootout competition. You need to score the most goals in 2 minutes. Each goal scored brings 1 point, each goal scored bonus brings 2 points. ^[20]

North American Eastern Time ( UTC-5 ).

Eastern Conference Match

Western Conference Match

Final

Superskills NHL All-Star Game

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