Video: Lundqvist Stops Duchene On First-Ever All-Star Penalty Shot

During the third period of tonight's All-Star game, the first ever penalty shot was awarded with Matt Duchene taking on New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The penalty shot was given after Alex Ovechkin tossed his stick at Duchene in an attempt to stop his breakaway on Lundqvist, which Lundqvist would end up stopping anyway. 

On the penalty shot Duchene skated in and tried to beat Lundqvist with the backhand, but Henrik stuck with him the whole way and knocked it away with his left skate.

Marc Staal to Play with Letang; Lundqvist in Goal for Third Period.

According to Mike Sundheim New York Rangers All-Star Marc Staal will be paired with Penguins D Kris Letang on the second pair for Team Staal.

In addition as you can see in the picture Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will get the third period in today's All-Star game.  The fact that Lundqvist is playing the third period should give him a chance to drive out of Raleigh with a new car for the MVP.  Obviously as offensive MVP is more likely, but if the game is close and Henrik leads them to the lead it is certainly possible.

Chara Breaks Own Record With 105.9 MPH Rocket (Video)

As much as the NHL tries to hype the rest of the SuperSkills competitions the highlight of the night and even All-Star weekend is the Hardest Shot competition.  This event is the one where everyone in the building holds their breath before each attempt just waiting for the radar to give them a reading.

This year the final matched Nashville Predator Shea Weber against the Boston Bruins three-time defending champion Zdeno Chara.  These two met in the preliminary round and Weber came out with the victory having blasted a shot 104.8 mph.  In the rematch it would Chara not only picking up the two points for Team Staal, but on his first attempt he would break his own record with a rocket of 105.9 mph.  The win marked Chara’s fourth straight title in the event, which matches Al MacInnis

You watch this competition and you wonder not only how crazy goalies have to be to sign up for this, but forwards and defenders who throw their body in the way of these blasts.

Tim Thomas Wipes Out During Fastest Skater Competition (Video)

Only in the NHL can you see goalies with the size of their padding compete in a fastest skater competition.  Tonight for the first time Boston Bruin Tim Thomas and Carolina Hurricane Cam Ward were the first goalies to ever take part in the speed race.  During the competition Tim Thomas, the leading candidate for the Vezina, wiped out, but true to his personality he battled right back to his feet and finished the race.

Fantasy Draft A Rousing Success for NHL; Can The Game Live Up To It?

With the goal of creating buzz and energy around NHL All-Star weekend there is no denying that last night’s fantasy draft was a rousing success.  After days of talk around the nation and every office, blog, and TV commentator doing their own mock draft the real thing came last night in Raleigh.  The storylines were there going in.  Would Eric Staal pick his brother? Would the Sedin twins finally be separated?  Would the hometown Hurricanes all play together?

The setup had the feel of a game show, with the captains on each side of the stage and the chairs above for the teams to assemble in.  The combination of fantasy draft and throwback to youth in the school days picking format wondering who would be last created a buzz the weekend has not had in many years. 

In the end Eric Staal would fulfill all his necessary obligations to his team, his family and even grab a Sedin while he was at.  Nicklas Lidstrom would take advantage of the requirements Staal had to make by grabbing the more talented roster.  That is not to say that Staal does not have excellent players on his team because these are all All-Stars, but Lidstrom has players that have more familiarity with one another, which should help in the game itself.

During the telecast the players themselves did their best to roll with the punches and even play to the mood in their interviews whether it be Marc Staal acting crushed or Jonathan Toews looking totally aggrevated with Patrick Kane.  The level of personality on display can only help the sport as a whole when you rarely see players beyond Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin used to promote the game.

This had to be what Brendan Shanahan, League's Vice President of Hockey and Business Development, had envisioned when he came up with the idea of the draft.  More than possibly any other league the NHL All-Star weekend had grown stale and uninteresting to the public because the weekend truly lacked the best things about the sport.  Hockey is a sport when at its best is about the pride, the passion and physicality of the game and few if any of those things happen in the All-Star game itself.  The game is a highlight fest marked by the utter lack of hitting or defense and leaves the fans wanting something more.  The Fantasy Draft might not cure the problems in Sunday’s game alone, but it gave buzz to the weekend and the NHL has to hope that there will be some carry-over from Friday through the weekend.

There are still a few talking points remaining for the rest of the weekend like the Sedin twins playing against one another and some teammates squaring off, but will the buzz of the draft be able to carry over?  If it does not, then some will look at the overall move negatively, but at least for one night the NHL was the talk of the sports world, and that is always a good thing.

Kessel NHL 'Mr Irrelevant'; Ovechkin Giddy (Video)

When the NHL went with the fantasy draft for the NHL All-Star game someone was bound to be the last man picked and that man ended up being Phil Kessel.  As many can tell you being the last one picked is not a fun experience, but in being the NHL equivalent to “Mr. Irrelevant” did not come without perks for Mr. Kessel.  For being the final pick in the draft Phil Kessel was given $20,000 to donate to the charity of his choice and a brand new Honda CR-Z.

Kessel was a good sport about being last, as he should be with the parting gifts.  The guy who probably is the most upset with way the draft played out is Paul Stastny to go second-to-last and get nothing for it.

The happiest person for the conclusion of the draft appeared to be Alex Ovechkin as you can see from the photo above.  A giddy Ovechkin snapped Kessel’s picture while he was the last one sitting waiting to be called. 

Video: Marc Staal Calls Eric 'Classless' for Not Taking Him First

This interview for Marc Staal during the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft was absolutely classic.  The way Staal deadpans devastation was hilarious.  How he made it to the verge of tears when talking about his mom and calling Eric classless was amazing.  Eric threw it right back at Marc though when he paused on the next pick after saying, "From the New York Rangers," and then took Henrik Lundqvist instead.  Marc would be taken in the following round by Eric.

2011 All Star Fantasy Draft Drinking Game

Dirty Dangle has put out some rules for a fantasy draft drinking game.

The rules are simple:

Pick the available players in the order you think they'll go in the draft from 1-36, then sit back with your friends or alone at the bar and play the Dirty Dangle 2011 All Star Fantasy Draft Drinking Game! Remember, goalies have to be picked by the end of the 10th Round, and defencemen have to be picked by the conclusion of Round 15!

Here is the player pool to draft from.

A drink = 1 ounce of beer, or mixed drink

How many ever positions you are off in your mock draft compared to the actual draft, is the number of drinks you have to take. (Example: I take Stamkos 1st, but he goes 3rd = 2 drinks, or I take Phil Kessel 10th and he goes 36th = 26 drinks).

This is the kind of family fun that can really spice up the All-Star fantasy draft.  Remember to do this responsibly because if you are a really lousy at guessing picks correctly the chances of rapid intoxication are high.  Be sure to check out Dangle to see what order is expected over there and see how right or wrong it is.

I would add taking a drink for each mention of Sidney Crosby being absent from All-Star weekend, concussion, head-shot, or brothers,but then you might be hammered before it even starts.

Based on the mock draft I did with Nick yesterday the order would have looked like this:

1. Stamkos
2. Henrik Sedin
3. Tim Thomas
4. Henrik Lundqvist
5. Ovechkin
6. Daniel Sedin
7. Danny Briere
8. Jonathan Toews
9. Kris Letang
10. Rick Nash
11. Cam Ward
12. Zdeno Chara
13. Claude Giroux
14. Jonas Hiller
15. Corey Perry
16. Brad Richards
17. Duncan Keith
18. Shea Weber
19. M-A Fleury
20. Carey Price
21. Dan Boyle
22. Dustin Byfuglien
23. Pat Sharp
24. Marc Staal
25. Keith Yandle
26. Matt Duchene
27. Anze Kopitar
28. Brent Burns
29. Erik Karlsson
30. Loui Eriksson
31. Jeff Skinner
32. Paul Stastny
33. Phil Kessel
34. Partik Elias
35. David Backes
36. Martin Havlat

Zuccarello Would Add Magic Touch to All-Star SuperSkills

Scott Cunningham/NHLI via Getty Images

The New York Rangers might hold an answer to some of the injury issues currently plaguing the NHL All-Star weekend in the form of Mats Zuccarello.  The game itself has lost marquee names like Crosby, Iginla, Malkin and lesser known ones in Enstrom and Hemsky to injury or personal issues.  Beyond that from the rookie selections Oiler’s forward Jordan Eberle is also out of the skills competition.  The goal of the weekend is as much about promotion of the league and the marketing side as it is the game itself.  With that in mind, I propose the NHL select Rangers’ rookie Mats Zuccarello as Eberle’s replacement.  With the NHL looking to add life to the weekend events via the fantasy draft on Friday, this might be the year to make an outside the box choice for injury replacement.  

I am not arguing that Zuccarello is the next best rookie forward statistically.  The numbers are there with him only having 16 games at the NHL level and only eight points on the season.  What I am saying is that Eberle was slated to be in the skills competition and what Zuccarello has shown in his short time in the NHL is he is dynamically skilled and a master in the shootout phase of the game.  The Norwegian winger is now 4-for-4 in tiebreakers in the NHL, with two game-deciding goals, including key shootout tallies in each of the last two games.  With each passing attempt the reaction of the goaltenders is the same; helplessness.

In addition to his qualifications for the position he would be chosen for, a move like this would be excellent PR and marketing for the NHL.  The league is looking to continue to grow the game around the world and adding Zuccarello would only increase interest in Norway and throughout Europe.  The NHL would also obviously be able to sell the story of the ‘little guy’ beating the odds and playing with the world’s best players on the biggest stage.  Imagine the intrigue of Mats Zuccarello taking a shootout chance against Henrik Lundqvist on Saturday night.  Add to that the number of jersey’s the league could sell both from Rangers fans and Zuccarello supporters around the globe and this move makes too much sense not to do it.

Could Derek Stepan Play In Sunday's All-Star Game?

Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images

New York Rangers rookie Derek Stepan has been one of the many pleasant surprises for the team so far this season.  The 20-year-old rookie center has 13 goals, 16 assists and 29 points in his first 50 games.  His performance allowed for him to be one of 12 rookies selected to participate in the Honda NHL SuperSkills on Saturday, Jan. 29, during 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend.  The question today though is whether Stepan might be playing during Sunday’s main game as well.

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, during his weekend wrap, discussed the idea that NHL is going to give the injured players selected for the game all the time they can to decide if they can participate in the All-Star game.  According to Pierre, that means there would not be any selection of additional replacement players to participate in the game.

Why? Because the league will replace any injured All-Star from the pool of rookies already attending the skills event. I think this is an absolutely brilliant solution.

Lundqvist, Staal All-Stars; Stepan For Rookie Skills; Dubinsky Snubbed?

The NHL today announced the 2011All-Star Game rosters and two New York Rangers were selected for the game and one for the rookie skill competition.  Defenseman Marc Staal and goalie Henrik Lundqvist were named to the game itself and center Derek Stepan was among 12 rookies selected. 

The selection for Staal is the first for the game itself even though he has been a part of all-star weekend before in the NHL Young Guns game which no longer exists.  For Lundqvist this will be his second selection to the team after playing in the most recent game in 2009.  All three of these Rangers were well deserving of going to the game and will represent the team well in Raleigh. 

Staal following a slow start has been phenomenal this season with six goals and 11 assists, while being a top shutdown defender and logging more and more minutes as the season has gone along and now ranking eighth in the league at a ridiculous 25:29 a game.

For Lundqvist, he also had an up and down beginning to the season but his overall numbers still look stellar  at18-12-3 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Those numbers rank Lundqvist tied for sixth in wins, tied for ninth in goals against average, and eight in save percentage.

Stepan is second on the team with 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 43 games and ranks him third in goals and points, and eighth in assists among rookies which makes him a very viable threat for the Calder come year end.

I do not want to take away from the three Rangers who are going to the game, but the obvious candidate for snub from the Rangers is Brandon Dubinsky.  I will not call out any names in particular that based on play and importance to his team this season Dubinsky should have been selected over but his numbers of 16-20-36 rank him tied for 29^th in the league and he certainly should have been selected.

Overall the weekend is a popularity contest that concludes with a meaningless game that I would much rather players like Staal and Lundqvist get the rest instead of playing in, but I congratulate them on their deserved selections, look forward to Stepan winning the skills competition and hopefully seeing a good game.

Oh and if you did not know by the end of the weekend you might hear Marc and Eric Staal are actually brothers.