Knights featured in skills contest with a Vegas twist
Stone, Pietrangelo, Marchessault join stars and celebrities
Mark Stone got his wish.
The Golden Knights captain is making his first All-star Weekend appearance in his home city and told teammate Alex Pietrangelo on Monday he would like to take part in some of the competitions on the Las Vegas Strip. Well, the NHL announced Thursday that Stone will be part of the “Fountain Face-off ” at the Bellagio fountains during the skills competition.
The seven-part event begins at
4:30 p.m. Friday at T-mobile Arena and will be televised on ESPN.
“It’d be pretty cool to do some of the stuff that they’re doing on the Strip like the Bellagio and all that,” Stone said Monday.
Stone is one of three Knights players taking part in All-star Weekend, joining defenseman Pietrangelo and left wing Jonathan Marchessault, who was added to the roster Wednesday. Coach Pete Deboer will coach the Pacific Division.
Each player was assigned to one event at the skills competition. Pietrangelo will take part in the breakaway challenge, and Marchessault will compete in accuracy shooting. The winner of each event will receive $30,000.
Four special guests will be involved in the skills competition along with the All-stars. Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras will take part in the breakaway challenge, and Manon Rheaume and actor Wyatt Russell will serve as goaltenders.
Rheaume played for the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League and was the first woman to appear in the NHL when she played in Tampa Bay Lightning preseason games in 1992 and 1993.
Jocelyne Lamoureux-davidson, a three-time Olympic medalist, will compete in the “Fountain Faceoff ” and pass to other players in the accuracy challenge. She scored the game-winning shootout goal to clinch the goal medal for Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Here is the full lineup for Friday’s skills competition with descriptions of each event :
Fastest skater
Description: Players try to complete one full lap around the rink in the shortest amount of time.
■ Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
■ Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings
■ Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
■ Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals ■ Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues
■ Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
■ Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
■ Connor Mcdavid, Edmonton Oilers
Save streak
Description: Goalies face shots from all the players from an opposing division and see who can make the most saves in a row. Each division’s captain goes last, and if the goalie stops that shot, he keeps going until a goal is scored.
■ Jack Campbell, Toronto Maple Leafs
■ Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
■ Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes ■ Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
■ Cam Talbot, Minnesota Wild
■ Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
■ Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks
■ John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
Fountain Face-off
Description: Players travel by boat to the “rink” at the Bellagio fountains and try to shoot pucks into five targets in the least amount of time. There is a qualifying round and then a head-to-head final.
■ Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers ■ Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
■ Jordan Eberle, Seattle Kraken
■ Jocelyne Lamoureux-davidson
■ Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
■ Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
■ Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets ■ Mark Stone, Golden Knights
Hardest shot
Description: Players shoot a puck 30 feet from the center of the goal twice, and whoever records the fastest speed wins.
■ Adam Pelech, New York Islanders
■ Timo Meier, San Jose Sharks
■ Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
■ Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
Breakaway challenge
Description: Each player gets two shots and can start his routine from anywhere in the neutral zone. They also have full access to the offensive zone, unlike a traditional penalty shot. A panel of judges will rate each shot on a scale of 1 to 10.
■ Goalies: Manon Rheaume and Wyatt Russell
■ Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
■ Trevor Zegras, Anaheim Ducks
■ Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
■ Alex Debrincat, Chicago Blackhawks
■ Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights
NHL 21 in ’22
Description: Players shoot at an oversized deck of cards on Las Vegas Boulevard and attempt to achieve a hand of 21 without going bust in the least amount of shots. There are six rounds maximum, and the first player to two wins is the victor.
■ Nazem Kadri, Colorado Avalanche
■ Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs ■ Joe Pavelski, Dallas Stars
■ Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning ■ Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
Accuracy challenge
Description: Players stand 25 feet from the goal line, catch passes and try to hit four targets 15 inches in diameter in the four corners of the net in the fastest amount of time.
■ Four passers, including Jocelyne Lamoureux-davidson
■ Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
■ Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
■ Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
■ Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
■ Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
■ Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks
■ Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
■ Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
■ Jonathan Marchessault, Golden Knights