Given the incredibly large role that the Chicago Blackhawks now play in the NHL (outdoor games every year, five All Stars, etc.), it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the five members of the Hawks that were sent to Columbus for the 2015 NHL All Star Game played a large role in virtually everything that unfolded throughout the weekend. From Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both wearing letters in the game, to their individual performances, it was a weekend chalk full of members of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Let’s take a look at how the weekend played out for the Blackhawks:
NHL All Star Fantasy Draft
Regardless of your opinion of the actual worth of All Star Games in general, it’s hard to argue with the fact that the players made the draft fun to watch on Friday night. With Jonathan Toews part of the ‘Team Toews’ trio, along with Ryan Getzlaf and Rick Nash, and Patrick Kane wearing an ‘A’ for Team Foligno, it was definitely interesting to see which Blackhawks ended up on which side.
It was a night that featured plenty of playful banter between the captains, as well as allowing the Captain to showcase some of his humor, as he referred to Phil Kessel as “coachable” immediately after drafting him (and, of course, eventually trading him). When the dust settled, Duncan Keith ended up as a part of Team Foligno, along with Patrick Kane, while Brent Seabrook (as an admittedly strategical move on the part of Toews) and Corey Crawford ended up donning white sweaters for Team Toews.
NHL All Star Skills Competition
The captains handed out roles for the Saturday night skills challenge in Columbus, with each of the Blackhawks playing a role in the festivities there. Toews and Kane both competed in the accuracy shooting, going head-to-head with each other. Kane took down all four targets in 13.529 seconds, while Jonathan Toews knocked out three before firing three consecutive posts off the pipe and falling to his teammate.
Kane also competed in the relay challenge, handling the puck control portion of the event, with Duncan Keith also contributing as a part of the one-timer aspect. Brent Seabrook was a part of the hardest shot competition, going up against (and subsequently falling to) Alex Ovechkin. He fired a 96.9 MPH shot in his first attempt, before going for 98.6 in his second. Ovechkin went for 101.4 in each of his attempts. Division rival Shea Weber stole the show with a 108.5 MPH shot, just 0.3 shy of Zdeno Chara’s record.
Corey Crawford contributed to the breakaway challenge, in which goaltenders serve primarily as just a body while the shooters find absurd ways to fire it past them. He also participated in the shootout challenge, as did each of the Blackhawks’ All Stars. When the scores were added up, Team Foligno took the Skills Competition by a 25-19 count.
NHL All Star Game
Team Toews would have their revenge in the All Star Game, however. In what was a typical game in that it lacked physicality and anything resembling any sort of defense, Team Toews claimed a 17-12 victory over the hometown Team Foligno. Ryan Johansen stole the Most Valuable Player award, which was voted on by the fans, out of John Tavares‘ very deserving hands.
In terms of individual performances, each Blackhawks skater that took part in the game did notch at least a point in the tilt. Jonathan Toews finished with a five point night, with a goal and four assists, which was second of anyone in the game, behind only Jakub Voracek. Patrick Kane did Patrick Kane things, finishing with a pair of goals and an assist. Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith each contributed an assist to their respective teams. Corey Crawford handled the second period for Team Toews, stopping 14 out of 18 shots.
All in all, while the game itself didn’t provide the highest of quality, Columbus ran a quality weekend in hosting the All Star Game, and it was a pleasure for Blackhawks fans to see members of their team play such a large role in the festivities throughout the weekend. We’ll see them back in action, and back on the same side, on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Randy Holt is a staff writer for Second City Hockey. You can follow him on Twitter @RandallPnkFloyd.