2015 NHL Skills Competition: Time, TV schedule, events and live stream

Welcome to the 2015 NHL Some-Stars Game weekend!

Last night, captains Nick Foligno and Jonathan Toews divvied up the unhurt All-Stars between them and set their teams for the rest of this weekend’s festivities. Tonight, we’ll kick off the hockey skill portion of events with the 2015 Honda All-Star Skills Competition.

Competition Format

There are six events in the Skills Competition, pitting each team against one another. The teams will earn points for event victories in the first five events and then will free-for-all for points in the final contest. There will be 19 points up for grabs in the first five events and the very last event is only limited by how many a team can score in the allotted time limit. The winning team will be the one which amasses the most points by the night’s end.

The Events

Fastest Skater: A pretty simple race around the rink to show who has the wheels. Four races between each team decide one point while the skater with the fastest time overall will earn his team a bonus point.

Breakaway Challenge: The closest thing the NHL has to a dunk contest, three skaters from each team (and one picked by fan vote) will do a non-shootout shootout attempt where there are essentially no rules. Each skater gets three attempts and the winner of the one point available will be determined by a fan vote.

Accuracy Shooting: Who’s the most-accurate sniper? Four head-to-head matchups will determine a point each as one shooter and two passers work together to blast away four foam targets at every corner of the net in the fastest time. A bonus point goes to the team with the fastest shooter to hit all four targets.

Skills Challenge Relay: A teamwork relay-race showcasing a number of skills for the players. Two heats will have one point at stake each while the fastest overall time wins a bonus point. The relay consists of five events:

• One-Timers: Three shooters (fed by one passer) have to score two goals apiece before the team can advance.
• Passing: One passer has to hit a series of four tiny nets placed at varying distances with saucer passes.
• Puck Control Relay: One skater, one puck, a series of cones.
• Stick Handling: Instead of skating around cones, a skater must get a puck around a series of other pucks as quickly as possible.
• Goalie Goals: One goalie for each side must put it all the way down ice into the net two times to end the relay./

Hardest Shot: Who’s slapper is the slappiest? Four head-to-head matchups where each shooter gets two attempts to put the hardest slapper possible on net (must go in to count). Winners earn one point and hardest overall shot gets a bonus point.

Shootout: Three rounds of two minutes and seven skaters per round have teams racing to score shootout goals under current shootout rules. Every goal is worth a point in the competition and every third attempt will be with a puck that’s worth two points instead of one. All 24 players from each team will participate.

I’m not going to lie, I love this event more than the game itself. Should be fun.