2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game

2017 NHL All-Star Game

Staples Center, Los Angeles
January 29, 2017
Game one	Pacific 10 – 3 Central
Game two	Metropolitan 10 – 6 Atlantic
Game three	Metropolitan 4 – 3 Pacific
MVP	Wayne Simmonds
Attendance	18,665
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The 2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Los Angeles Kings on January 29, 2017 at 12:30pm PT. This was the third time that Los Angeles hosted the NHL All-Star Game and the first time since 2002. ^{[1] [2]}

The Metropolitan All-Stars won the All-Star Game. The all-star game, which in the past has pitted Eastern Conference against Western Conference, North American against World players, or team captains who pick their teams, had its second straight year of a four-team, 3-on-3, single elimination format, with one team representing each of the league's four divisions. Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers was named the Most Valuable Player, scoring three goals in two games, including the game-winning goal in the championship game.

Format

The 2017 All-Star Game continued to use the 3-on-3 tournament format successfully introduced in 2016, in which teams representing each of the NHL's four divisions (the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, and Pacific) played in a single-elimination tournament, with each game consisting of two 10-minute halves played 3-on-3 and going directly to a shootout if tied after 20 minutes. ^{[3] [4]} The winning team, the Metropolitan All-Stars, split $1 million.

Skills Competition

The 2017 NHL All-Star Skills Competition was held on January 28, 2017. As with 2016, the event featured the Skills Challenge Relay, accuracy shooting, fastest skater, hardest shot, and shootout challenges. For 2017, the breakaway competition was dropped and replaced by a new event, the Four Line Challenge, in which four shooters from each team took shots at the goal from various positions on the ice. ^[5]

For the first time, the Skills Competition had a direct impact on the All-Star Game itself; the winning team was given the right to select their semi-final opponent during the tournament, and whether they would play in the first or second semifinal. ^[6]

The Atlantic Division won the competition with 9 points, Pacific Division with 7, Metropolitan Division with 5, and Central Division with 3. ^[7]

Rosters

In an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2016 fan voting process, where journeyman John Scott won the fan vote and thus the right to play in the game, fans were given a predetermined ballot of players from whom to choose captains. On January 2, 2017, after weeks of fan voting, the four captains were announced by the NHL. Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens was selected captain for the Atlantic Division. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was selected for the Metropolitan Division, with P. K. Subban of the Nashville Predators captaining the Central Division and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers captaining the Pacific Division respectively. ^[8]

The rest of the rosters were revealed on January 10, 2017, with each of the NHL's 30 teams being represented by at least one player at the time the rosters were announced. NHL rules that dictated that the head coach of the team with the highest points percentage in each of the four divisions through games of Tuesday, Jan. 10 – the halfway point of the regular season – would coach their respective divisions. ^[9] The head coaches selected were Michel Therrien (Montreal Canadiens) for the Atlantic Division, Bruce Boudreau (Minnesota Wild) for the Central Division, John Tortorella (Columbus Blue Jackets) for the Metropolitan Division, and Peter DeBoer (San Jose Sharks) for the Pacific Division. ^[10] Tortorella announced that he had to miss the game due to a family emergency and was replaced by Wayne Gretzky (who had not coached hockey since leaving the then-Phoenix Coyotes in 2009). ^{[11] [12]}

Atlantic Division [10] Head coach: Michel Therrien, Montreal Canadiens Nat. Player Team Pos. # Carey Price ( C ) [8] Montreal Canadiens G 31 Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins G 40 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning F 86 Brad Marchand Boston Bruins F 63 Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs F 34 Frans Nielsen Detroit Red Wings F 51 Kyle Okposo Buffalo Sabres F 21 Vincent Trocheck Florida Panthers F 21 Victor Hedman Tampa Bay Lightning D 77 Erik Karlsson Ottawa Senators D 65 Shea Weber Montreal Canadiens D 6 Metropolitan Division [10] Head coach: Wayne Gretzky Nat. Player Team Pos. # Sergei Bobrovsky Columbus Blue Jackets G 72 Braden Holtby Washington Capitals G 70 Sidney Crosby ( C ) [8] Pittsburgh Penguins F 87 Taylor Hall New Jersey Devils F 9 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals F 8 Wayne Simmonds Philadelphia Flyers F 17 John Tavares New York Islanders F 91 Justin Faulk Carolina Hurricanes D 27 Seth Jones Columbus Blue Jackets D 3 Ryan McDonagh New York Rangers D 27 Cam Atkinson † Columbus Blue Jackets F 13 † Replacing Evgeni Malkin due to injury. [13] [14]

Central Division [10] Head coach: Bruce Boudreau, Minnesota Wild [15] Nat. Player Team Pos. # Corey Crawford Chicago Blackhawks G 50 Devan Dubnyk Minnesota Wild G 40 Patrik Laine Winnipeg Jets F 29 Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks F 88 Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche F 29 Tyler Seguin Dallas Stars F 91 Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis Blues F 91 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks F 19 P. K. Subban ( C ) [8] Nashville Predators D 76 Ryan Suter Minnesota Wild D 20 Duncan Keith Chicago Blackhawks D 2 Pacific Division [10] Head coach: Peter DeBoer, San Jose Sharks Nat. Player Team Pos. # Martin Jones San Jose Sharks G 31 Mike Smith Arizona Coyotes G 41 Connor McDavid ( C ) [8] Edmonton Oilers F 97 Jeff Carter Los Angeles Kings F 77 Johnny Gaudreau Calgary Flames F 13 Bo Horvat Vancouver Canucks F 53 Ryan Kesler Anaheim Ducks F 17 Joe Pavelski San Jose Sharks F 8 Brent Burns San Jose Sharks D 88 Drew Doughty Los Angeles Kings D 8 Cam Fowler Anaheim Ducks D 4

Bracket

The division that won the Skills Competition during the previous night got to choose their first opponent in the 3-on-3 tournament, and whether they play in the first or second semifinal game. ^[6] The Atlantic Division won the Skills Competition and chose to play the Metropolitan Division in the second semifinal. ^[16]

	Semi-Finals					Final
	Central		3
	Pacific		10			Pacific		3
	Atlantic		6			Metropolitan		4
	Metropolitan		10

Uniforms

Unlike the previous game, where all four teams had been issued two sets of All-Star uniforms of the same design, the NHL opted to dress each divisional team in a unique color for this game. The primary colors of the uniforms incorporated the historical colors of the host Los Angeles Kings: black for the Pacific division, purple for the Central Division, gold for the Atlantic Division, and white for the Metropolitan Division. The striping, which included stars at the waistline, paid homage to the All-Star uniforms of the 1980s and early 1990s. The number typeface was based upon the design of the Hollywood sign.

Game summaries

First semifinal game

January 29, 2017	Pacific		10–3		Central	Staples Center	Recap
Cam Fowler (1) – 2:57 Jeff Carter (1) – 3:39 Connor McDavid (1) – 7:13 Brent Burns (1) – 8:00 Drew Doughty (1) – 9:49		First period			7:07 – Jonathan Toews (1)
Johnny Gaudreau (1) – 2:33 Joe Pavelski (1) – 4:15 Ryan Kesler (1) – 5:43 Bo Horvat (1) – 6:29 Johnny Gaudreau (2) – 6:42		Second period			2:14 – P.K. Subban (1) 4:39 – Vladimir Tarasenko (1)
No period		Third period			No period
Mike Smith 2 saves / 3 shots Martin Jones 7 saves / 9 shots		Goalie stats			Corey Crawford 6 saves / 11 shots Devan Dubnyk 6 saves / 11 shots

Second semifinal game

January 29, 2017	Metropolitan		10–6		Atlantic	Staples Center	Recap
2:12 – Wayne Simmonds (1) 4:49 – Wayne Simmonds (2) 8:45 – John Tavares (1)		First period			Nikita Kucherov (1) – 4:06 Victor Hedman (1) – 6:30 Erik Karlsson (1) – 7:13
1:31 – John Tavares (2) 1:45 – Seth Jones (1) 1:50 – Taylor Hall (1) 6:26 – Sidney Crosby (1) 6:35 – Cam Atkinson (1) 7:45 – en – Cam Atkinson (2) 9:59 – Alexander Ovechkin (1)		Second period			Auston Matthews (1) – 0:50 Nikita Kucherov (2) – 3:15 Vincent Trocheck (1) – 8:54
No period		Third period			No period
Sergei Bobrovsky 7 saves / 10 shots Braden Holtby 12 saves / 15 shots		Goalie stats			Carey Price 3 saves / 6 shots Tuukka Rask 8 saves / 14 shots

Final

January 29, 2017	Metropolitan		4–3		Pacific	Staples Center	Recap
1:25 – Seth Jones (1) 4:40 – Connor McDavid (1)		First period			Joe Pavelski (1) – 0:22 Justin Faulk (1) – 4:09 Bo Horvat (1) – 7:52
4:57 – Cam Atkinson (1) 5:02 – Wayne Simmonds (1)		Second period			No scoring
No period		Third period			No period
Sergei Bobrovsky 9 saves / 12 shots Braden Holtby 5 saves / 5 shots		Goalie stats			Martin Jones 5 saves / 7 shots Mike Smith 9 saves / 11 shots

Festivities and entertainment

Additional festivities and events were held alongside All-Star weekend, some of which were held in conjunction with the NHL's centennial commemoration. The NHL's travelling centennial exhibits were situated in Los Angeles for the event, and the NHL Fan Fair was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A public skating rink was built across from the All-Star Game's venue of Staples Center. ^{[17] [18]}

On January 27, 2017, the NHL 100 Gala was held at Microsoft Theater, in which the NHL unveiled the remainder of its top 100 players of all-time (the first 33, representing players who played prior to 1966, were unveiled during a pre-game ceremony at the NHL Centennial Classic earlier in the month). The special was hosted by Jon Hamm, and featured appearances by Michael J. Fox, Al Michaels, Keanu Reeves, and Alex Trebek, and performances by John Legend, and John Ondrasik. ^[19]

Carly Rae Jepsen sang the Canadian national anthem. Pop group Fifth Harmony were scheduled to sing the U.S. anthem, but pulled out after one of their members had fallen ill. They were replaced by singer Courtney Daniels, a member of the Los Angeles Kings' ice cleaning crew (she performed similar duties during the game, and also assisted in presenting the MVP award after its conclusion). ^{[20] [21]} Snoop Dogg (under the alias DJ Snoopadelic) performed during player introductions for the skills competition. ^[22] Before the game, the teams were introduced by four celebrities, each representing their home division: Atlantic - Wayne Gretzky, Metropolitan - Tim Robbins, Central - Chris O'Donnell, Pacific - Colin Hanks.

Celebrity Shootout

A celebrity game was held on January 28, 2017; the game was played between a team of celebrities coached by Wayne Gretzky (including Canadian singer Justin Bieber), ^[23] and a team of NHL alumni coached by Mario Lemieux. ^[24]

Game Summary

January 28, 2017

Team Gretzky

5–3

Team Lemieux

Staples Center

Television

In the United States, the All-Star Game was broadcast by NBC, marking the All-Star Game's return to network television for the second time since 2004. ^[25] In Canada, it was broadcast on both CBC and Sportsnet, and on TVA Sports in French. ^[6]

References

1. "Los Angeles named site for 2017 NHL All-Star Game". Agence France-Presse. January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
2. Alfieri, Joey (January 30, 2016). "Los Angeles will host the 2017 NHL All-Star game". ProHockeyTalk.com. NBC Sports . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
3. Allen, Kevin (January 23, 2017). "Has NHL found right formula for All-Star Game?". USA Today . Gannett Company . Retrieved January 23, 2017.
4. "How the NHL's new 3-on-3 All-Star tournament works". Sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
5. "NHL explains new All-Star Skills Competition event". NBCSports.com. NBCUniversal Media. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
6. "NHL All-Star Skills Competition assignments set". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
7. "2017 NHL All-Star Skills Competition Results". NHL.com. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
8. Leahy, Sean (January 4, 2017). "Crosby, Price, McDavid, Subban voted 2017 NHL All-Star captains". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved January 5, 2017.
9. "Tortorella, Therrien, Boudreau, DeBoer named NHL All-Star coaches". sports.yahoo.com. Toronto: Yahoo! Sports. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
10. "2017 NHL All-Star Game rosters revealed". NHL.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
11. "John Tortorella to miss NHL All-Star Game due to family emergency". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports. January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
12. "Wayne Gretzky to coach Metropolitan All-Stars". NHL.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
13. Elliott, Helene (January 25, 2017). "Penguins' Evgeni Malkin is injured, out of All-Star Game on Sunday". Los Angeles Times . tronc . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
14. Elliott, Helene (January 26, 2017). "Blue Jackets' Cam Atkinson will replace Penguins' Evgeni Malkin at NHL All-Star Game". Los Angeles Times . tronc . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
15. Russo, Michael (January 9, 2017). "Owner, coach celebrate All-Star assignment". Star Tribune . Star Tribune Media Company LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
16. "Atlantic wins Skills, will play Metropolitan". NHL.com. New York City: NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
17. "The NHL calls on Hollywood to mount celebrity-studded All-Star weekend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
18. "Ducks fans get a look at the NHL's 'Centennial Fan Arena'". Los Angeles Times. Tronc. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
19. "Jon Hamm to Host NHL Gala Honoring Top 100 Players in League History (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
20. "Courtney Daniels, NHL ice crew, saves anthem after Fifth Harmony cancels". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
21. Feldman, Kate (January 23, 2017). "Nick Jonas, Carly Rae Jepsen and Fifth Harmony to play NHL All-Star Game". New York Daily News . Retrieved January 23, 2017.
22. "Snoop Dogg to perform at NHL All-Star Skills Competition". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
23. "Justin Bieber highlights from the NHL Celebrity Shootout". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
24. "Alan Thicke patch, Snoop Dogg among NHL All-Star surprises". Yahoo! Sports.
25. Halford, Mike (November 28, 2016). "Back on NBC: The NHL's All-Star Game returns to network TV". ProHockeyTalk.com. NBC Sports . Retrieved November 28, 2016.