2023 NHL All-Star Skills live blog

Welcome to the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Presented by DraftKings Sportsbook.

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen and columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika were behind the benches and Editor-in-Chief Bill Price was atop the arena to provide the sights, sounds and results in a live blog.

Get all the behind-the-scenes stories in the live blog.
RELATED: [2023 NHL All-Star Game coverage]

10:05 p.m. ET

Connor McDavid did not miss a target in the Accuracy Shooting, going 8-for-8, but he didn't win.
McDavid couldn't settle the puck in time so he lost to Nazem Kadri.
Did McDavid care? You bet. He came back to the bench shaking his head about just not being able to settle it.
But Brock Nelson beat Kadri to win it and that's a wrap from the Skills.
The fans are filing out and the players are heading back to the dressing rooms. They'll be back here Saturday for the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game, as will we.
Keep following the coverage on NHL.com throughout the weekend for all the latest news, notes, player interactions and so much more.

10 p.m. ET

Matthew Tkachuk came out in a flowery shirt and shorts for the Breakaway Challenge, while his brother, Brady, wore a similar outfit and Aleksander Barkov dressed like a lifeguard.
Tkachuk scored on Roberto Luongo, who tended goal with a pool noodle instead of a stick.
Barkov sat on the bench afterward in his lifeguard outfit as if he were watching over the beach. He isn't trained, though.
"I can swim," he said. "That's about it."

9:55 p.m. ET

The final event of the night is over, and Brock Nelson of the Islanders wins the Accurary Shooting, defeating Nazem Kadri in the final after defeating Artemi Panarin in the semis. Kadri upset Connor McDavid in the semis.

9:44 p.m. ET

Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid all watched the Hardest Shot competition sitting together on the West bench. It was the perfect opportunity to ask each one if they ever did this competition anywhere and how fast they think their shot would be.
"I've never done this," McDavid said. "It wouldn't be a very hard shot."
Said Crosby, "It's probably better that I don't. If I cracked 90 that'd be good."
And Draisaitl had the best line.
"I have an absolute muffin, such a bad shot," he said. "Maybe 85. Maybe."

9:40 p.m.

Elias Pettersson dominated the GEICO NHL Hardest Shot, hitting 103.2 on the radar gun.
Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres was the only other player to hit triple digits, hitting 102.3.
We are almost done here. We have the last Breakaway Challenge skater to go and then the end of the accuracy shooting.

9:30 p.m. ET

Is there anything Cale Makar can't do?
The Stanley Cup winner, the Conn Smythe Trophy Winner and the Norris Trophy Winner now has an Enterprise NHL Splash Shot title to his name. It was a special outdoor event filmed Thursday on the beach in Fort Lauderdale.
Makar, along with Colorado Avalanche teammate Mikko Rantanen, defeated New York Rangers teammates Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin in the final. Makar hit six targets and dropped Fox into a dunk tank in 18 seconds. Shesterkin had the same amount of time to try to dunk Rantanen, but he hit four targets before an air horn sounded.

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9:22 p.m. ET

Nick Suzuki is not only the captain of the Montreal Canadiens, he's the best hocker player/golfer at the All-Star Game.
He won the Chipolte NHL Pitch 'n Puck with a birdie on the par-4 hole. Not only did he win bragging rights, he wins free Chipolte for a year. Maybe he can take Johnny Gaudreau, Clayton Keller and Jason Robertson out for a meal.

9:20 p.m. ET

Before the players came back on the ice to resume the competition, Vladimir Tarasenko brought his three boys on and they essentially went for a family skate with their proud dad watching and occasionally helping.
Mark, Sasha and Artem looked like they were having the time of their lives in front of the entire crowd watching.
Dad certainly was. It is the first All-Star Game that the St. Louis Blues forward had all three of his boys attend and go on the ice.
"We even came this morning for the optional skate," Tarasenko said. "They're loving it."

9:15 p.m. ET

We have another Ovechkin who can score goals in the NHL. Sergei Ovechkin, Alex's son, scored on Roberto Luongo in the Breakaway Challenge. It was a quite a goal, as he got assits not ony from his dad, but also from Sidney Crosby.
Sergei, wearing an OVI JR. jersey, got the crowd going, even after he wiped out on the ice.
It was a really special moment.

9:10 p.m. ET

Connor McDavid sat and watched Kevin Fiala and Andrei Svechnikov take their laps in the Fastest Skater. And the Edmonton Oilers forward, a veteran of the event, was breathing easy.
Is it better to watch this or participate in it.
"Much better to watch," McDavid said smiling. "Much better."
McDavid explained how hard it actually is do so that lap.
"It's really hard," he said. "You're so cold, especially if you're coming off your bye week, and then you just have to spring into action. Your biggest fear is what happened to Cale. You just don't want to get hurt but you also really don't want to embarrass yourself."

9:05 p.m. ET

And the Upper Deck NHL Faster Skater this year is Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes. He finished with a time of 13.69, edging Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings.
So now two events have been completed - the Tendy Tandem and the Fastest Skater.
We are still waiting for the big Sid/Ovi combo in the Breakaway Challenge. Should be fun.

8:44 p.m.

Somewhere Shooter McGavin cannot be happy.
Happy Gilmore, aka David Pastrnak, was here for the breakaway challenge, and he scored into the net, although it was empty. Now to be fair, Gilmore, er, Pastrnak, putted the puck into the net. He got 38 points from the celebrity judges to move ahead of Marner.
We still have the big Ovi/Sid shot coming up soon, so we'll see if Gilmore can hang on.
We're not sure if his grandmother's house is riding on this event.

8:42 p.m. ET

Troy Terry and Clayton Keller are sitting next to each other on the Western Conference bench and they just watched, like everyone else here, Connor McDavid go 4-for-4 in the Accuracy Shooting event.
Neither of them were surprised.
"You shouldn't be that good at everything," Terry said.
Said Keller, "That's hard too. If I were to do it again I would take my time and not be in such a hurry. But 9 seconds, that's crazy."
Right before McDavid went, former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who is covering the event for Sportsnet, said to Terry and Keller, "This is probably the event you want to do but it can get real embarrassing too if you miss the first few."
Then McDavid went and didn't miss at all.

8:40 p.m. ET

The first round of the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting is over and Connor McDavid, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri and Artemi Panarin have advanced.
McDavid stole the show, going 4-for-4 in the accuracy shooting, drawing a rousing ovation from the crowd in Sunrise.
It looks like McDavid, who dominated the fastest skater for years, is not ready to dominate a new event. We'll find out later.

8:30 p.m. ET

Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov pulled out his iPhone on the bench for FaceTime.
On the other end was his brother, Evgeny, who is on vacation in Hawaii and watching on television.
This is Svechnikov's first All-Star experience, and he wanted to share it.
"It's special," he said.

8:25 p.m. ET

Connor Hellebuyck was the in-net goalie during the Tendy Tandem instead of the shooter. That was Juuse Saros for the Central Division.
And it came as no surprise to Hellebuyck's Winnipeg Jets teammate Josh Morrissey that the goalie wanted to stop pucks instead of try to shoot them in the far net.
"He has come in here with an I want to win everything attitude so that's why he wanted to be in the net stopping the puck," Morrissey said. "It's my first All-Star Game and I keep asking him if we should be serious or joke around or whatever. And he says, 'It's my third game, I want to win now.' He doesn't hold back. He wants to win everything. I better play well tomorrow to help him win."

8:15 p.m. ET

Got a rumor for you.
It sounds like Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov will play with Panthers teammate Matthew Tkachuk and Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk for the Atlantic Division in the 3-on-3 tournament at the All-Star Game on Saturday.
"That's what I heard," Barkov said with a smile. "But don't confirm that yet."

8:05 p.m. ET

The players aren't the only ones performing here.
During the Tendy Tandem, Gritty, the Flyers' fuzzy orange mascot, climbed into the first row behind the home bench.
He grabbed the top of the glass and banged on it, trying to get the players' attention.
Let's say they were too focused.
As for the Tendy Tandem, the Central team of Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck came out ahead with a score of 13 points. Stuart Skinner and Logan Thompson were second with 11 points, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Linus Ullmark were third with nine and Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin were fourth with six points.
Have to say, it was a big shocking not to see Shesterkin shooting for the net. He was also on the other end of perhaps the best goal of the round from former Canada Olympic star Sarah Nurse.

8 p.m. ET

Leon Draisaitl can't recall if he has ever seen Stuart Skinner practice shooting the puck, but he clearly must because the Edmonton Oilers goalie hit the target and put the puck through the small hole in the target during the Tendy Tandem.
"I don't know about shooting but they work on handling a lot," Draisaitl said. "I see him doing it every day. He knows what he's doing with the puck."
Draisaitl was clearly impressed that Skinner scored, though.
"It's really impressive because that is not a very jig opening," he said.
But Draisaitl wouldn't go as far as predicting Skinner would score in a game.

7:55 p.m. ET

The first round of the Tendy Tandem was a thriller, with the Central Divsion team of Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck defeating the Pacific Division team of Logan Thompson and Stuart Skinner.
Now it's the Metropolitan Division against the Atlantic.

7:43 p.m. ET

The first shooter in the breakaway challenge was Mitchell Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He channelled his inner Sonny Crockett, first appearing in a video from the Fort Lauderdale beach where he calls P.K. Subban on an 80s style mobile phone, then he skated onto the ice wearing his best "Miami Vice," look, but he couldn't get the puck past former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo.
By the way, in case you are wondering, Miami Vice had been off the air for eight years when Marner was born in 1997.
Marner went to the room afterward and came back in his Maple Leafs uniform.
"I was wearing sunglasses," Marner said. "I couldn't see!"

7:40 p.m. ET

Sometimes instead of asking questions it's just about listening.
Like to Kevin Fiala talking to Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche.
"How are you guys with the injuries? Are guys coming back. It's been crazy for you guys. But you're still doing really good."
MacKinnon was engaged in the conversation. But then when asked about it he cracked a joke.
"He's trying to get a scoop," he said. "Nah it's just because he knows we have been so banged up."
MacKinnon did say small talk like that happens often around the league.

7:35 p.m. ET

"He's fine."
Those were words from Nathan MacKinnon about his Colorado Avalanche teammate Cale Makar, who lost his edge, wobbled and fell during his lap in the Fastest Skater competition.
Makar is fine. And his Avalanche teammates here, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, can breathe easier.
And now they can chirp him too. Except they won't, yet.
"Mikko will," MacKinnon said. "I don't chirp guys."
"I'll stay nice," Rantanen said, laughing. "I'll talk to him tomorrow. I'll leave him alone today. He handled it really well. He made it look nice."
And then Rantanen thanked the padding that was in the corner.
Makar did too.

7:30 p.m. ET

Former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo was in the hallway behind the home bench, explaining to someone how things work. Then he decided to play around.
"This is my first time," Luongo said.
"Really?"
Luongo smiled.
There should be plenty of smiles coming up with the Great Clips NHL Breakaway Challenge up next.

7:28 p.m. ET

The first round of the Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater is over and Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings and Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes have advanced to the final round.
There was a bit of scare in the first lap of the night when Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Maker took a spill, but he got up, finished the lap and looked no worse for wear.
Here are the results of the first round, with the top two advancing.
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes - 13.75 seconds
Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings - 13.9
Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights - 14.19
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings - 14.55
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche - 22.3

7:25 p.m. ET

Bruce Cassidy has done this before when he was the coach of the Boston Bruins at the All-Star Game in St. Louis. But now he's the coach of the Vegas Golden Knights so instead of being on the East bench he is with the West. And that should be a thrill for his kids, 13-year-old Shannon and 12-year-old Cole, who are on their way down now.
"This is for the kids," Cassidy said. "They get to rub elbows with Connor McDavid or whoever. They love Pasta. They loved seeing Kucherov and Hedman and so many others. But now it's about McDavid and who doesn't love McDavid."
Cassidy said he spoke to players on the Pacific Division roster tonight just to ask them about who they wanted to play with during the All-Star Game and who they might not want to play with because of a history or some bad blood.
No one said they had a problem with anybody on the roster, Cassidy said.
"But I got a lot of 'Send me out there with 97,' " Cassidy said. "I would like to play with him too."

7:20 p.m. ET

The best part of being on the home bench?
Alex Ovechkin and his little son, Sergei, who is wearing an "OVI JR" No. 8 jersey.
They warmed up together, and Sergei led the Metropolitan Division onto the ice ahead of his dad and Sidney Crosby.

7:15 p.m. ET

We are getting ready to start here with the Upper Deck NHL Fastest Skater. Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid is not participating this year, so it's really wide open.
Speaking of taking laps around the rink, former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban just did a lap in his fancy suit while holding an ESPN mic.
During the player introductions, no doubt the loudest cheers were for Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Alexandar Barkov, and the loudest boos were for Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and forward Nikita Kucherov.

7 p.m. ET

Pat Maroon is giving broadcasting a try here at the All-Star Skills.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward is part of the ESPN broadcast and will be on the benches interviewing players throughout the night.
"I'm just going to see what I can get from the guys," Maroon said. "We will see how it goes. I have no idea. I'll enjoy it."
Maroon said ESPN contacted his agent a few weeks ago to gauge his interest. Now he gets to find out if he likes it.

6:50 p.m. ET

Erik Karlsson is still blown away by Sidney Crosby.
Karlsson, the San Jose Sharks defenseman, said that Crosby is the most skilled player on the ice here at All-Star Weekend outside of Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.
"I just played against him too," Karlsson said. "It's always Sid."
Karlsson said he won't be busy tonight but he is looking forward to watching the Fastest Skater competition.
"Because we all know how hard that lap is," he said.
McDavid won't be doing it this year.
"He's paid his dues," Karlsson said. "We all know he's the fastest, with the puck too."

6:45 p.m. ET

Bo Horvat in an Islanders Fisherman jersey, talking with new teammate Brock Nelson at center ice, but on opposite sides of the red line.
Yeah, it's weird.
But Horvat is here representing the Islanders and still fulfilling his duty to play for the Pacific Division because he was voted in by the fans when he was still playing for the Vancouver Canucks.
That changed Monday when the center was traded to the Islanders.
"I didn't think the first time I would put on my new team's jersey would be at an All-Star Game and I didn't think it would be the Fisherman jersey, but it's fun and I'm excited," Horvat said. "It is weird. I haven't seen myself yet. I'm sure the first time I see myself with this on and Horvat 14 on the back it will be strange but I am definitely excited."
Horvat will debut for the Islanders on Monday. He said he is hoping to practice with them Sunday. He said that's the plan and he definitely wants to.
But first it's his time at All-Star Weekend to get used to the new threads.

6:30 p.m. ET

Pat Maroon is down here with an ESPN microphone. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward is here as part of the ESPN broadcast.
More on him later, but suffice it to say it should be interesting to see how he interacts with the players down here from the bench.
More to come as we just start to get going here at FLA Live Arena.

6 p.m. ET

We are about an hour away from getting going here in FLA LIVE Arena, but the All-Star party has been in full force in Fort Lauderdale since Wednesday.
The beach resort town about 25 minutes from the arena is the home of the 2023 Truly Hard Seltzer NHL All-Star Game Fan Festival, and the fans are everywhere, wearing hockey jerseys from players all of the League.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast did a remote episode from the fan fest today. While you get ready for the Skills, give it a listen.
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Listen:New episode of NHL @The Rink