NHL All-Star Game 2023: Format, events primer, rosters, how to watch

The Florida Panthers are set to host the 2023 NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 3 and 4 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.

The festivities will kick off with the All-Star Skills competition at 7PM EST on Friday, with the All-Star Game following at 3PM EST on Saturday. Both events will be broadcasted on CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada, while ESPN and ABC will have coverage of the weekend in the United States.

The skills competition will feature some unique South Florida flair, with the introduction of mini-games like Splash Shot and Pitch 'n' Puck to go along with the classic All-Star events.

All-Star Skills competition events

Splash Shot

This unique event is set to take place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. Four teams of two players will be required to hit targets in an attempt to dunk their opponent in a water tank. The team to dunk their opponents first wins in this single-elimination tournament.

Participants:

Sidney Crosby

Nathan MacKinnon

Mikko Rantanen

Cale Makar

Igor Shesterkin

Adam Fox

Brady Tkachuk

Matthew Tkachuk

Pitch 'n' Puck

The only sport NHL players may love more than hockey is golf, and Florida is the perfect setting. Six players will face off on a par-4 hole with an island green, using both pucks and balls to achieve the lowest score and be declared winners of this brand new competition.

Participants:

Johnny Gaudreau

Clayton Keller

Jason Robertson

Nick Suzuki

Tendy Tandem

The goalies will be getting more love in this year's All-Star Skill competition with the introduction of the Tendy Tandem event. All eight All-Star goalies will compete in teams of two, with one taking part in the shooting facet and the other tending the goal.

The shooter will take a shot from a designated spot on the ice, and will accumulate points based on where he places the puck in the net. Based on how well the shooting-goalie does, his counterpart in net will face a number of skaters in a shootout. If the goalie in net makes a save, his team earns full points for that round. The game continues until every puck is shot, and the tandem with the most points wins.

Don't worry, we're just as confused as you are about this event, so we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out on Friday.

Participants:

Connor Hellebuyck

Juuse Saros

Igor Shesterkin

Stuart Skinner

Ilya Sorokin

Logan Thompson

Linus Ullmark

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Shooters: Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight, Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse

Fastest Skater

The NHL's fastest skater will be crowned over two rounds with a full lap around the rink each time. A preliminary round will determine the two finalists. Jordan Kyrou won last year's event with a time of 13.55 seconds, while Connor McDavid is tied with Mike Gartner for most wins in the event.

Participants:

Dylan Larkin

Kirill Kaprizov

Cale Makar

Chandler Stephenson

Andrei Svechnikov

Hardest Shot

Each participant will have two attempts at recording the hardest possible shot from 30 feet away from the net. Victor Hedman won last year's event with a 103.2 mph slapper, while Zdeno Chara owns the all-time record with a 108.8 mph rocket in 2012.

Participants:

Rasmus Dahlin

Seth Jones

Josh Morrissey

Alex Ovechkin

Elias Pettersson

Breakaway Challenge

Each contestant will get one shootout attempt to impress a panel of judges and earn a score from 1-10. Regular NHL shootout rules will not apply, which means skaters can start anywhere in the neutral zone and go anywhere in the offensive zone — even behind the net (here come the Michigans). If there is a tie for the highest score, those contestants will get another try at claiming the crown. Alex Pietrangelo won the event last year with 64 points.

Participants:

Mitch Marner

Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby (teaming up)

David Pastrnak

Matthew Tkachuk

Celebrity goaltender: Roberto Luongo

Accuracy Shooting

Participants will be tasked with hitting four styrofoam targets placed in the corners of the net while receiving passes from two players standing on either side of the goal, in the fastest time possible. In the semifinal and final round, two nets will be placed side-by-side on the goal-line, and contestants will shoot at the targets simultaneously, with the player hitting all targets first crowned as the champion.

Sebastian Aho won the event in 2022 with a time of 10.937 seconds.

Participants:

Aleksander Barkov

Leon Draisaitl

Kevin Hayes

Jack Hughes

Nazem Kadri

Nikita Kucherov

Connor McDavid

Brock Nelson

Artemi Panarin

Vladimir Tarasenko

All-Star Game

The All-Star Game will once again feature a four-team (one from each division) 3-on-3 tournament, with the winners of each semifinal game battling for a $1 million prize in the championship. Each team includes nine skaters and two goalies.

Rosters

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Head Coach: Jim Montgomery, Boston Bruins

David Pastrnak, RW, Boston Bruins

Linus Ullmark, G, Boston Bruins

Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres*

Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings

Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers*

Matthew Tkachuk, LW, Florida Panthers

Nick Suzuki, C, Montreal Canadiens

Brady Tkachuk, LW, Ottawa Senators

Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning

Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning

Mitch Marner, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs

*Replaced Toronto Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews

*Replaced Buffalo Sabres RW Tage Thompson

- -

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

Head Coach: Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes

Andrei Svechnikov, RW, Carolina Hurricanes

Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets

Jack Hughes, C, New Jersey Devils

Brock Nelson, C, New York Islanders

Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders

Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers

Artemi Panarin, RW, New York Rangers

Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers

Kevin Hayes, C, Philadelphia Flyers

Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitals

- -

CENTRAL DIVISION

Head Coach: Peter DeBoer, Dallas Stars

Clayton Keller, RW, Arizona Coyotes

Seth Jones, D, Chicago Blackhawks

Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche

Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche

Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche

Jason Robertson, LW, Dallas Stars

Kirill Kaprizov, LW, Minnesota Wild

Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators

Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, St. Louis Blues

Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets

Josh Morrissey, D, Winnipeg Jets

- -

PACIFIC DIVISION

Head Coach: Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights

Troy Terry, RW, Anaheim Ducks

Nazem Kadri, C, Calgary Flames

Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers

Stuart Skinner, G, Edmonton Oilers

Kevin Fiala, LW, Los Angeles Kings

Erik Karlsson, D, San Jose Sharks

Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks

Bo Horvat, C, New York Islanders

Chandler Stephenson, C, Vegas Golden Knights*

Logan Thompson, G, Vegas Golden Knights

*Replaced Seattle Kraken C Matty Beniers

Musical Acts

Central Florida Community Arts (CFCArts) Symphony Orchestra will join previously announced headliner Fall Out Boy for a performance during the second intermission of the All-Star Game.

Country singer Sacha will perform the Canadian national anthem, followed by pianist and singer/songwriter Andrew McMahon performing the "Star Spangled Banner."

As for the skills competition, Panthers singer Hannah Walpole will perform “O, Canada” and members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida (GMCSF) will sing the U.S. anthem.

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