2008 NHL All Star Game

[BoDangles 0]

With the Breakaway Challenge being in it's first year, it seemed like players were unsure just what exactly to do or how far to go. Ovy had the right idea, just trying to have fun with it and not so worried about scoring like some of the other guys were.

I think next year will be better, players will try to be more creative and just have fun with it.

[chippa13 1844]

  SRI said:

Another fat one in the NHL's ass!

Does NOBODY at the NHL do research on this shit?

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Quick, someone gripe about a total non-factor.

  mack said:

Yeah, the "I fucked up my hip again" which will cause GMs to sweat even more about these.

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My first thought when I caught that, how's that 15 year contract looking now, Mr. Snow?

I agree with folks who say that goalies should be taken out of the judged shootout. Make it a target. One other idea I had, have a second accuracy competition for one-timers from the tops of the circles. Same idea, 8 shots at the four targets but guys wiring slappers on the fly.

I kind of missed the puck-handling relay. I always thought that was a good event.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Fastest Skater straightaway for 3/4 of a rink? Why dont they just call it the fastest acceleration. Seriously, that was sad.

[Dean_ 0]

  kovalchuk71 said:

Fastest Skater straightaway for 3/4 of a rink? Why dont they just call it the fastest acceleration. Seriously, that was sad.

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I liked it but not as much as the old way.

[Eazy_b97 1]

  mack said:

I think the YoungStars game either needs to change or just be gone. Yeah it's great to see the young guys get a shot to come out but it's a waste if it's going to be like that. They won't even bring young goalies? Legace may have been one of the better parts of tonight's "festivities" but give a young guy a shot at playing.

Dead horse, but they need non-stars in the skills comp. Kurtis Foster could have easily beaten some of those guys, least of all Phaneuf and his whiff.

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Maybe the Young Stars should be an actual game? 5on5, maybe 10 minute periods. Have it sophmores vs. Rookies, 10 people on each team. If there aren't rookie goaltenders, use goalies who were called up. Rask - Price for example. I also agree that the best in each category should be there in the skills. Focus on your main 3 events (skating, hardest shot and accuracy) for them. Then have the "all-stars" in your break-away relays, 2 on 0s, and that crap. I didn't mind the first "challenge" with the saucer passes, but they need to tweak it. I'd have the first guy come through the pucks (against the other team coming from the opposite end) and have him come up all the way to the blueline, where he has to make a saucer pass over the barrier, then under a stick to a guy who comes down the ice, and feeds a few saucer passes over the barrier to the guy one-timing it. Have the goalies in net making the saves, not shooting pucks.

Also, what happened with some of the events? Why did Campbell skate last for the East when he was the slowest? Why not St. Louis or Kovy (who I thought won his race)? How did Malkin's team "win" their relay, when he missed a puck in the stick handling? Sad to see the "trick competition" go into the crapper. Nobody pulled off anything, even AO's were very simple tricks. Maybe if they gave points for "real dekes" it would've been better. The one where AO dekes Osgood out of the net and then shoots it behind him into the corner is a good example. Phaneuf's dekes are another one. Even Datsyuk's last deke. Give those better marks than AO missing a puck that he batted out a few times.

[Fury of One 6]

DiPietro's the man. That's what I wanna see in an all-star game.

[Rustpot 1]

I still hate the Vs. announcers.

[dalebert 8]

  Rustpot said:

I still hate the Vs. announcers.

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Agreed 100%

[TBLfan 25]

  Fury of One said:

DiPietro's the man. That's what I wanna see in an all-star game.

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I dislike "The Rick" a lot but he was pretty entertaining on the mic and he played well. If there was anything that I always gave him credit for is that he's one of the best puckhandling goaltenders in the league, in fact, he's probably the best.

[mack 44]

Brodeur's still the best around but it's almost a moot skill now with the crapezoid.

I could pot 20 in the NHL if I played with Spezza. Christ. I'm going to write me in for the East next year.

[hunterphfr 12]

  Dean_ said:

Overall the skills competition was pretty good, the young stars game was probably the best part, and the breakway challenge wasn't a good as i thought it would be, the players need more time to pratice for it.

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The freestyle shootout I thought was a huge embarassment for the league. The cream of the crop of the NHL and 1/2 of them just came in made a move and took a shot. The other half actually got creative and all of them to a man muffed. The highlight of the wole shootout was a 9 year old kid recorded earlier who pulled off a sick f'in move and embarassed every single one of the pros. The judging was a bigger joke than the shootout itself. I didn't catch much else of the night but this portion felt like something you might catch on a Tuesday night at the local small town Junior C game.

[Jim A 4]

I think you are selling yourself short Mack, playing with Spezza is akin to being the modern-day Rob Brown...-hell he had Alyssa Milano, 50 goal seasons and All-Star berths...

[mack 44]

Plus I'm like 2' taller than that guy and I don't have a weird mullet/beard combo.

[raygunpk 0]

mohawk/goatee?

[RadioGaGa 162]

  Eazy_b97 said:

What happened with some of the events? Why did Campbell skate last for the East when he was the slowest?

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I think they said there was a goof up in the timer, and Campbells time was the only legit time they had for the East.

[TBLfan 25]

  mack said:

Brodeur's still the best around but it's almost a moot skill now with the crapezoid.

I could pot 20 in the NHL if I played with Spezza. Christ. I'm going to write me in for the East next year.

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A couple years ago, hands down Brodeur. Currently, I hate to say it, but I think "The Rick" holds the title.

[mack 44]

He can deke a little bit, so that much I'll give him. I don't think he makes as good a pass as Brodeur can though, but I haven't seen a lot of DiPietro to say that's concrete.

[Eazy_b97 1]

  RadioGaGa said:

  Eazy_b97 said:

What happened with some of the events? Why did Campbell skate last for the East when he was the slowest?

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I think they said there was a goof up in the timer, and Campbells time was the only legit time they had for the East.

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I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. The fact Kovalchuk appeared to beat Horcoff, but did not get credit for it sucks. Then picking the slowest of all the Eastern players, and lost handily to one of the Western skates who didn't make it. Common sense says throw St. Louis out there, since he won his heat. That's how they did it for the other competitions.

  mack said:

He can deke a little bit, so that much I'll give him. I don't think he makes as good a pass as Brodeur can though, but I haven't seen a lot of DiPietro to say that's concrete.

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Brodeur plays safer. Dipi does alot of risky things and gets away with alot of them. I think Dipi is better overall it, but he also gets burned on it more than Marty.

[KingPest19 0]

  Eazy_b97 said:

  mack said:

I think the YoungStars game either needs to change or just be gone. Yeah it's great to see the young guys get a shot to come out but it's a waste if it's going to be like that. They won't even bring young goalies? Legace may have been one of the better parts of tonight's "festivities" but give a young guy a shot at playing.

Dead horse, but they need non-stars in the skills comp. Kurtis Foster could have easily beaten some of those guys, least of all Phaneuf and his whiff.

Read more  

Maybe the Young Stars should be an actual game? 5on5, maybe 10 minute periods. Have it sophmores vs. Rookies, 10 people on each team. If there aren't rookie goaltenders, use goalies who were called up. Rask - Price for example. I also agree that the best in each category should be there in the skills. Focus on your main 3 events (skating, hardest shot and accuracy) for them. Then have the "all-stars" in your break-away relays, 2 on 0s, and that crap. I didn't mind the first "challenge" with the saucer passes, but they need to tweak it. I'd have the first guy come through the pucks (against the other team coming from the opposite end) and have him come up all the way to the blueline, where he has to make a saucer pass over the barrier, then under a stick to a guy who comes down the ice, and feeds a few saucer passes over the barrier to the guy one-timing it. Have the goalies in net making the saves, not shooting pucks.

Also, what happened with some of the events? Why did Campbell skate last for the East when he was the slowest? Why not St. Louis or Kovy (who I thought won his race)? How did Malkin's team "win" their relay, when he missed a puck in the stick handling? Sad to see the "trick competition" go into the crapper. Nobody pulled off anything, even AO's were very simple tricks. Maybe if they gave points for "real dekes" it would've been better. The one where AO dekes Osgood out of the net and then shoots it behind him into the corner is a good example. Phaneuf's dekes are another one. Even Datsyuk's last deke. Give those better marks than AO missing a puck that he batted out a few times.

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Easy wasnt that the format when they first started the Young Stars game? frosh vs soph and all that?

The Malkin team win had me shaking my head. Were there not judges watching to make sure they did what they were supposed to.

[#96 0]

I'm not gonna lie...when it was 7-7 late in the gamee, I was smellin OT and shootout, on purpose. Yes, conspiracy. After the Outdoor game went to a shootout and NHL Poster boy got the winner, I thought it smelled a little funny. When the All Star game seemed to be goin that way, I was def. thinking how the NHL would love to show off the shootout. But Savard put that one, thankfully, to rest.

Seemed a little more shlockier this year than in the past. I know people don't go 100%, but I thought there was a little more doggin. Must have been all the Europeans...

[Dean_ 0]

  hunterphfr said:

  Dean_ said:

Overall the skills competition was pretty good, the young stars game was probably the best part, and the breakway challenge wasn't a good as i thought it would be, the players need more time to pratice for it.

Read more  

The freestyle shootout I thought was a huge embarassment for the league. The cream of the crop of the NHL and 1/2 of them just came in made a move and took a shot. The other half actually got creative and all of them to a man muffed. The highlight of the wole shootout was a 9 year old kid recorded earlier who pulled off a sick f'in move and embarassed every single one of the pros. The judging was a bigger joke than the shootout itself. I didn't catch much else of the night but this portion felt like something you might catch on a Tuesday night at the local small town Junior C game.

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It wasn't great but i wouldn't call it embarassing, i think it will be better if they have more time to pratice and prepare for it, it will also be better when younger players come up like Stamkos, Tavares, Schremp, Perron, etc.

[jww83 0]

I think it was absolutely classic to hear the crowd boo Bettman when he was introduced before Staal was awarded MVP. Why can't the NHL get rid of this guy. Not one person thinks he is doing anything other than negative things for the NHL, who is keeping him in the position he is in???

[Drewhunz 3]

So WTF was up with the chick singing Oh Canada? That has to be one of the worst performances of the national anthem ever televised.

[PWBIII 0]

  Drewhunz said:

So WTF was up with the chick singing Oh Canada? That has to be one of the worst performances of the national anthem ever televised.

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Exactly! Me and the guys i was watching with were all just looking around when she was singing it like... is this chick for real? Damn it was awful

[RadioGaGa 162]

Kathleen Edwards??? She's got a pretty big following here, and is loved by lots of singer/songwriters (the artsy kind that don't get a lot of airplay)

I recorded the game 'cause I had hockey, and watched it late last nght...so I FF'd through the anthems.