2023 National Hockey League All-Star Game

2023 NHL All-Star Game

FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
February 4, 2023
Game one	Central 6 – Pacific 4
Game two	Atlantic 10 – Metropolitan 6
Game three	Atlantic 7 – Central 5
MVP	Matthew Tkachuk
←  2022 2024  →

The 2023 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on February 4, 2023, at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the Florida Panthers. ^[1] For the seventh consecutive All-Star Game, a three-on-three format was used, with teams representing each of the league's four divisions competing in a single-elimination tournament. This was the 67th edition of the game.

History

The NHL originally awarded Sunrise, Florida, the 2021 All-Star Game on January 24, 2020. The city previously hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 2003. ^[2]

On October 22, 2020, the NHL announced that the All-Star Game had been postponed for the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and "uncertainty as to when we will be able to welcome our fans back to our games," as fan participation and accompanying events are considered "integral to the[ir] success". The NHL stated that the event could be held in Florida "in the near future" (but not yet naming them the 2022 hosts). ^{[3] [4]}

On June 28, 2021, the league instead announced that the 2022 All-Star Game would take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, home of the Vegas Golden Knights. ^[5] On February 4, 2022, the league confirmed that Florida would host the 2023 game. ^[1]

Skills Competition

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition was held on February 3. The Accuracy Shooting, Breakaway Challenge, Fastest Skater, and Hardest Shot events returned for another year. ^[6]

The winners of these four regular skills events were: ^[7]

• Fastest Skater: Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes (13.699 seconds) ^[7]
• Hardest Shot: Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks (103.2 mph) ^[7]
• Breakaway Challenge: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), and Sergei Ovechkin (40) ^[7]
• Accuracy Shooting: Brock Nelson, New York Islanders (12.419 seconds) ^[7]

Replacing the Save Streak event was a new goaltender competition called Tendy Tandem, featuring both goalies from each division. The event split the goalies from each division, with one shooting across the ice to score a goal on net, and the other (depending on the points earned by the other goalie) then facing 1, 2, or 3 players in a breakaway shootout, which included members of the Canadian and American women's national hockey teams; ^[6] during the event, Team Canada's Sarah Nurse scored a goal against New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The event was ultimately won by the Central Division tandem of Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) and Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators), who finished with 13 points. ^[7]

The Skills Competition also feature two events specific to Florida locations:

• Splash Shot event took place on a Fort Lauderdale beach and featured players hitting pucks at targets. If all the targets were hit, then the player could attempt to hit a puck at a dunk tank, trying to dunk an opponent. ^[6] The winners of the challenge were Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche, knocking down all the targets in 18.7 seconds. ^[7]
• Pitch 'n Puck took place at Plantation Perserve Golf Course & Club in Plantation, Florida. The event had players on a par-4 golf hole, attempting to sink a puck in the hole. ^[6] The event was won by Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, who finished with a birdie.

Rosters

For the 2023 game, the player selection process was performed in two stages. On January 5, the league's Department of Hockey Operations selected 32 players, one for each team. The remaining 12 players were decided by fan vote, which ran from January 5 to January 17, with fans voting in three players (two skaters and one goalie) for each division. ^{[8] [9]}

On January 11, the head coaches were announced, chosen from the team in each division with the highest points percentage through January 11: Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes (Metropolitan), Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins (Atlantic), Peter DeBoer of the Dallas Stars (Central), and Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific). ^[10]

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division ^{[8] [9]}

Head coach: Jim Montgomery, Boston Bruins [10]
Nat.	Player	Team	Pos.	#
	Aleksander Barkov *	Florida Panthers	F	16
	Nikita Kucherov	Tampa Bay Lightning	F	86
	Dylan Larkin	Detroit Red Wings	F	71
	Mitch Marner	Toronto Maple Leafs	F	16
	David Pastrnak [lower-alpha 1]	Boston Bruins	F	88
	Nick Suzuki	Montreal Canadiens	F	14
	Brady Tkachuk	Ottawa Senators	F	7
	Matthew Tkachuk	Florida Panthers	F	19
	Rasmus Dahlin #	Buffalo Sabres	D	26
	Linus Ullmark	Boston Bruins	G	35
	Andrei Vasilevskiy [lower-alpha 1]	Tampa Bay Lightning	G	88

• ^* Replaced Auston Matthews ^{[lower-alpha 1]} (Toronto Maple Leafs) due to injury. ^[11]
• ^# Replaced Tage Thompson (Buffalo Sabres) due to injury. ^[12]

Metropolitan Division ^{[8] [9]}

Head coach: Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes [10]
Nat.	Player	Team	Pos.	#
	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins	F	87
	Johnny Gaudreau	Columbus Blue Jackets	F	13
	Kevin Hayes	Philadelphia Flyers	F	13
	Jack Hughes	New Jersey Devils	F	86
	Brock Nelson	New York Islanders	F	29
	Alex Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	F	8
	Artemi Panarin [lower-alpha 1]	New York Rangers	F	10
	Andrei Svechnikov	Carolina Hurricanes	F	37
	Adam Fox [lower-alpha 1]	New York Rangers	D	23
	Ilya Sorokin [lower-alpha 1]	New York Islanders	G	30
	Igor Shesterkin	New York Rangers	G	31

Western Conference

Central Division ^{[8] [9]}

Head coach: Peter DeBoer, Dallas Stars [10]
Nat.	Player	Team	Pos.	#
	Kirill Kaprizov	Minnesota Wild	F	97
	Clayton Keller	Arizona Coyotes	F	9
	Nathan MacKinnon [lower-alpha 1]	Colorado Avalanche	F	29
	Mikko Rantanen [lower-alpha 1]	Colorado Avalanche	F	96
	Jason Robertson	Dallas Stars	F	21
	Vladimir Tarasenko	St. Louis Blues	F	91
	Seth Jones	Chicago Blackhawks	D	4
	Cale Makar	Colorado Avalanche	D	8
	Josh Morrissey	Winnipeg Jets	D	44
	Connor Hellebuyck [lower-alpha 1]	Winnipeg Jets	G	37
	Juuse Saros	Nashville Predators	G	74

Pacific Division ^{[8] [9]}

Head coach: Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights [10]
Nat.	Player	Team	Pos.	#
	Leon Draisaitl [lower-alpha 1]	Edmonton Oilers	F	29
	Kevin Fiala	Los Angeles Kings	F	22
	Bo Horvat [lower-alpha 1]	New York Islanders [lower-alpha 2]	F	14
	Nazem Kadri	Calgary Flames	F	91
	Connor McDavid	Edmonton Oilers	F	97
	Elias Pettersson	Vancouver Canucks	F	40
	Chandler Stephenson *	Vegas Golden Knights	F	20
	Troy Terry	Anaheim Ducks	F	19
	Erik Karlsson	San Jose Sharks	D	65
	Stuart Skinner [lower-alpha 1]	Edmonton Oilers	G	74
	Logan Thompson	Vegas Golden Knights	G	36

• ^* Replaced Matty Beniers (Seattle Kraken) due to injury. ^[15]

1. Fan vote winners
2. Horvat was originally voted into the All-Star Game as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, before being traded to the New York Islanders on January 30, 2023. ^[13] The league announced that Horvat would represent the Islanders at All-Star events, but still play for the Pacific Division. ^[14]

Bracket

	Semifinals					Final
	Pacific Division		4
	Central Division		6			Central Division		5
	Metropolitan Division		6			Atlantic Division		7
	Atlantic Division		10

Game summaries

Each game was played in abbreviated format, consisting of two 10-minute periods of 3-on-3 play.

First semifinal game

February 4, 2023	Pacific		4–6		Central	FLA Live Arena	Recap
3:48 – McDavid (1) 7:55 – Pettersson (1)		First period			MacKinnon (1) – 3:15 Jones (1) – 6:52 MacKinnon (2) – 8:38
6:22 – Pettersson (2) 7:27 – Karlsson (1)		Second period			Keller (1) – 0:18 Tarasenko (1) – 5:32 Keller (2) – 8:07
No period		Third period			No period
Thompson 4 saves / 7 shots Skinner 4 saves / 7 shots		Goalie stats			Saros 11 saves / 13 shots Hellebuyck 7 saves / 9 shots

Second semifinal game

February 4, 2023	Metropolitan		6–10		Atlantic	FLA Live Arena	Recap
5:20 – Gaudreau (1) 5:40 – Gaudreau (2) 6:19 – Crosby (1)		First period			M. Tkachuk (1) – 0:36 Larkin (1) – 4:08 B. Tkachuk (1) – 6:59 Suzuki (1) – 7:55
0:25 – Gaudreau (3) 1:58 – Crosby (2) 2:21 – Ovechkin (1)		Second period			M. Tkachuk (2) – 3:39 Kucherov (1) – 4:31 Suzuki (2) – 5:51 M. Tkachuk (3) – 6:49 Larkin (2) – 9:00 Pastrnak (1) – 9:47
No period		Third period			No period
Sorokin 8 saves / 13 shots Shesterkin 5 saves / 9 shots		Goalie stats			Ullmark 4 saves / 7 shots Vasilevskiy 10 saves / 13 shots

Final

February 4, 2023	Central		5–7		Atlantic	FLA Live Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			M. Tkachuk (4) – 0:37 Kucherov (2) – 4:05 Larkin (3) – 9:17
4:09 – Rantanen (1) 8:47 – Robertson (1) 9:07 – Keller (3) 9:39 – McKinnon (3) 9:52 – Makar (1)		Second period			Larkin (4) – 2:03 Pastrnak (2) – 7:14 Larkin (5) – 8:54 Dahlin (1) – 9:25
No period		Third period			No period
Saros 11 saves / 14 shots Hellebuyck 7 saves / 11 shots		Goalie stats			Ullmark 6 saves / 6 shots Vasilevskiy 11 saves / 16 shots

Uniforms

The All-Star uniforms were unveiled on January 19. For the first time since 2009, conference logos are featured on the jersey crests, with each player's respective team logo on the left shoulder and the All-Star Game logo on the right. ^[16] The jerseys are part of the league's "Reverse Retro" program, based on the same design as those used from 1994 to 1997; however, they were recolored in black, teal, and pink, reflecting the South Florida setting of the game. Like the remainder of the Reverse Retro jerseys in 2022–23, the NHL logo at the collar was colored orange instead of silver. ^[17]

In the semifinals, the Pacific and Metropolitan teams wore white over teal against their opponents, the Central and Atlantic teams, respectively, who wore black over white. In the final, the Atlantic team stayed in their black jerseys while the Central team switched to white.

Festivities and entertainment

The Truly Hard Seltzer NHL All-Star Beach Festival, featured various fan activities during All-Star Weekend, held between February 2 and February 4 at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Park. ^[18]

The NHL announced on January 20 that American pop punk rock band Fall Out Boy would perform at the All-Star Game. The performance took place during the second intermission. ^[19]

Canadian country singer SACHA sang the Canadian national anthem while singer-songwriter Andrew McMahon sang the American national anthem.

Television

The All-Star Game and Skills Competition were broadcast in the United States by ABC and ESPN, respectively. Both events were also streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+. In Canada, both the All-Star Game and Skills Competition were broadcast in English on Sportsnet and on TVA Sports in French. The All-Star Game was also streamed in Canada on Sportsnet Now. After a one-year hiatus due to the 2022 Winter Olympics, CBC rejoined Sportsnet in simulcasting both events.

References

1. "2023 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, Bruins opponent not announced". NHL.com. NHL. February 4, 2023.
2. "NHL All-Star Weekend to be hosted by Panthers in 2021". NHL.com. January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
3. "NHL postpones Winter Classic, All-Star Weekend for upcoming season". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
4. Leahy, Sean (October 22, 2020). "NHL postpones 2021 Winter Classic, All-Star Game". ProHockeyTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
5. "NHL Announces 2021-22 Outdoor Games and 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend" (Press release). NHL. June 28, 2021.
6. "2023 NHL All-Star Skills highlighted by 3 new events". nhl.com. January 24, 2023.
7. "NHL All-Star Skills Final Results: Pettersson, Suzuki, Hellebuyck win events". Sportsnet. February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
8. Satriano, David (January 5, 2023). "NHL All-Star Game rosters unveiled; Shesterkin among 11 first-time picks". nhl.com.
9. "NHL 2023 NHL All-Star Game Fan Vote winners unveiled". nhl.com. January 19, 2023.
10. "Brind'Amour, Montgomery, DeBoer, Cassidy named NHL All-Star Game coaches". National Hockey League. National Hockey League. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
11. "Barkov of Panthers to replace Matthews of Maple Leafs at All-Star Weekend". NHL.com. January 27, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
12. "Dahlin replaces injured Sabres teammate Thompson at All-Star Game". TSN.ca. February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
13. "Horvat traded to Islanders by Canucks". NHL.com. January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
14. "Horvat set for 'weird' NHL All-Star experience after trade to Islanders". NHL.com. February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
15. "Chandler Stephenson Named to 2023 Honda All-Star Weekend". NHL.com. January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
16. "2023 NHL All-Star Game jerseys have true Reverse Retro feel". National Hockey League. January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
17. Chris Creamer (January 20, 2022). "NHL Reveals 2022 All-Star Game Jerseys, Plus a Look Back At Past All-Star Uniforms". Sportslogos.net.
18. "NHL to host free outdoor fan festival at 2023 All-Star weekend". National Hockey League. January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
19. "Fall Out Boy to headline entertainment at 2023 All-Star Game". National Hockey League. January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.