Pittsburgh Penguins Show Off All-Star Skills

The Eastern Conference won the Skills Competition and the Atlantic Division went on to defeat the Metropolitan in the first round of the All-Star Game. Pens made an impact in both events.

The annual NHL All-Star Game is always very entertaining, if not necessarily for the right reasons. This year, the Pittsburgh Penguins were represented by center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang. Both were key figures in the Metropolitan Division’s lineup, instrumental in both the Skills Competition win and the All-Star Game loss.

In case you didn’t watch, here’s the new format for the festivities: in the Skills Competition, the Eastern Conference players face off against the Western ones in a series of events. The winning side’s captains then choose whether they want to play in the first or second game the following day.

The All-Star Game itself is now a series of three twenty-minute games of 3-on-3. First, the Eastern division teams played each other; next, the Western division teams; finally, the winners of each matchup face off and whichever team wins that gets a prize of 1 million dollars.

Not a bad incentive.

Both Malkin and Letang participated in three events.

Jan 30, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Metropolitan Division defenseman Kris Letang (left) of the Pittsburgh Penguins stands on the red carpet with teammate Metropolitan Division forward Evgeni Malkin prior to the 2016 NHL All Star Game Skills Competition at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

First, in the “Fastest Skater” competition, Letang beat the Winnipeg Jets’ Dustin Byfuglien by mere milliseconds with a time of 14.081 seconds. While Letang didn’t break any records (ahem, Dylan Larkin), the power in his stride was still very impressive. Between the speed of Letang and Carl Hagelin, the Penguins are a decently fast team.

In the “Accuracy Shooting” event, Geno beat Jamie Benn, captain of the Dallas Stars, by half a second. In a classically Malkin move, he went three-for-three on his first shot attempts, paused to psych up the crowd, and missed his next shot. He did make the next one and still went four-for-five, but he seemed to lose some of his rhythm when he tried to involve the crowd. But it’s fine; if there’s ever a time to be cocky on the ice, the All-Star Game is definitely it.

In the East vs. West relay, Letang was tasked with the puck control section. He showed off some sick skating skills, but lost the puck midway through the pylons on the way back and lost some time retrieving it. It seemed like he was going a little too fast and valuing time over control – which may not be the best strategy when your role is literally titled “Puck Control.”

Geno then took the ice in the “Hardest Shot” competition. The players acknowledged that it was a competition for second as long as hometown captain Shea Weber was involved, but Malkin put up some nice numbers regardless. Matched up against Tyler Seguin, Geno took home the “W” with his first shot hitting 97 mph and his second at 94.1. It’s okay, G; you’ll break 100 next time.

Finally, both Malkin and Letang participated in the shootout. Geno really shone, finding the back of the net on both of his shot efforts. Letang showed off his silky hands, but couldn’t cash in.

Today, both players scored in the Eastern matchup despite falling to the Atlantic Division 4-3. Letang got the first goal of the game – and the tournament – with assists from Malkin and Columbus’s Brandon Saad.

Later, Malkin scored on Ben Bishop with a nifty spin-o-rama move after a stretch pass from Saad. Goalie Cory Schneider got the secondary assist.

As the clock ticked down, Letang got a nice breakaway opportunity to tie the game but was stuffed by the 6’7” Bishop and his long legs.