All star weekend thoughts

[sparty07]

I have very mixed opinions on the weekend and am curious on other people's takes.

Positive thoughts:
I loved the passing drill - the led markers set off the ice, although I could do without the 4 passes off the bumpers

The randomization of the LED lights combined with the 5th target was great to see

Puck Handling - The addition of the 3 holes you had to lift the puck through added a fun new challenge to this race

USA Women's hockey - It was good to see them included, but I would have enjoyed seeing more of them compete in the challenges as a 5th team


Negative thoughts:
Puck Handling - How can you not as an NHL professional get the puck onto your stick and not have to resort to using your hand to place it on your stick? That's like my disbelief in how bad Shaq was at free throws

All star semi-finals - I didn't watch anything after the first semi-final because it was so boring to watch. There was no speed and in a 3-3 OT game the flow of the game should be double what it was in that game. Back in the 90's, the all star games were extremely fast, and while there wasn't a whole lot of defense, they were fun to watch.

[RGM81]

I didn't watch any of the festivities on Saturday.

I did watch all three games on Sunday - it was fun. Nothing meant to be taken seriously though over the course of Saturday & Sunday I did see two real jerk tweets from a couple members of the Montreal media taking just really unnecessary cheap shots at Carey Price. But that's why we can't have nice things as Habs fans.

I was amused at how McDavid just couldn't buy a goal. Must have had close to a dozen breakaways and couldn't bury.

Johnny Gaudreau scoring when his legs were wrapped up in that black fuzzy thread like an AT-AT during the Battle of Hoth was pretty funny. Glad nothing bad happened to him there. That goal actually prompted one of the jerk tweets referenced above.

I was surprised to see that Ovechkin was the only guy that broke 100mph in the Hardest Shot competition. It just loses something when there's no Weber or (grrr!) Chara involved.

Loved seeing everybody boo Marchand. Good on him taking his lumps or whatever, but he really should have bowed out in light of his suspension--it's not like there aren't other Bruins players having great seasons without a dark cloud over their heads at all times.

[sparty07]

I didn't watch any of the festivities on Saturday.

I did watch all three games on Sunday - it was fun. Nothing meant to be taken seriously though over the course of Saturday & Sunday I did see two real jerk tweets from a couple members of the Montreal media taking just really unnecessary cheap shots at Carey Price. But that's why we can't have nice things as Habs fans.

I was amused at how McDavid just couldn't buy a goal. Must have had close to a dozen breakaways and couldn't bury.

Johnny Gaudreau scoring when his legs were wrapped up in that black fuzzy thread like an AT-AT during the Battle of Hoth was pretty funny. Glad nothing bad happened to him there. That goal actually prompted one of the jerk tweets referenced above.

I was surprised to see that Ovechkin was the only guy that broke 100mph in the Hardest Shot competition. It just loses something when there's no Weber or (grrr!) Chara involved.

Loved seeing everybody boo Marchand. Good on him taking his lumps or whatever, but he really should have bowed out in light of his suspension--it's not like there aren't other Bruins players having great seasons without a dark cloud over their heads at all times.

I forgot about Marchand. The NHL should have not allowed him to participate while officially suspended. That's just silly.

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[clvc0017]

I like how the NHL is trying to add new events to the Skills Challenge on the Saturday, but my 3 favorite events are the oldies (Accuracy, Fastest Skater & Hardest Shot).
I did like the Passing Challenge and the Save Challenge events. Better than watching the goalies not even try on the Breakaway Challenge. I think these two should be here to stay for future ASGs. Puck Handling Challenge was only okay IMO.

One thing I did like with the game on Sunday. The teams were playing "some" defense, with guys back checking, stick checking, etc.
I know they did not give 100% on the defensive end, but seeing them try and make it difficult for their peers to score was good.

[creasecollector]

I really liked the saves challenge. It was fun and impressive seeing those goalies get a streak going. I didn't really watch the games, but overall it wasn't too bad.

[30ranfordfan]

I have not tuned in to the AS game in years. Just have no interest in watching a game when the players that are there (at least most of them) don't want to be there. The All Star game (IMO) jumped the shark when Pavel Bure skipped the 3rd period, so he could catch an earlier flight home.

Having said that: I don't really have any problem with what they do. I certainly don't want to see guys getting hurt - it's supposed to be a fun weekend, and so I think if you enjoy what they do... that's okay, and just enjoy it.

If you really want to make things interesting: Make sure the rules are in place to keep the game "extra safe" (i.e. body contact will be called) but the winning team: Players don't have to pay escrow for the rest of the year. You'd see them try hard then!