Islanders' Mathew Barzal added to Skills competition at NHL All-Star Weekend
New York Islanders' Mathew Barzal reacts after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens last Thursday. Credit: AP/Graham Hughes
Connor McDavid will get another crack against the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal after all.
The NHL announced on Tuesday that Barzal has been added to the 12-player field for Friday’s Skills competition in Toronto, part of the league’s three-day All-Star Weekend.
Barzal was selected to replace the injured Jack Hughes. Devils teammate Jesper Bratt was named to replace Hughes for Saturday’s All-Star Game.
Barzal was not selected by the league for a spot in the original field, and the Canucks’ J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes filled the final two spots via fan balloting.
Barzal, headed to his third All-Star Weekend, won the fastest skater competition in 2020 in his second try with a time of 13.715 seconds as he edged out McDavid. The Oilers superstar had won the fastest skater competition the previous three seasons.
Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck, goalie Igor Shesterkin and coach Peter Laviolette are also heading to Toronto for All-Star Weekend.
Along with Barzal, McDavid, Miller and Quinn Hughes, the Bruins’ David Pastrnak, the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl, the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews and William Nylander and the Canucks’ Elias Pettersson will participate in the Skills competition.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
