Kane steals show at Skills competition

OTTAWA -- Until hockey's real Superman, Sidney Crosby, returns, the National Hockey League will have to make do. So the show went on with the All-Star Skills Competition Saturday night and the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane stole the show, winning the Breakaway Challenge in a Superman cape.

Then the Bruins' Zdeno Chara shot faster than a speeding bullet. He won the hardest- shot contest again, breaking his own record with a blast clocked at 108.8 miles per hour.

Each had stiff competition, too. Chara had to defeat the Predators' Shea Weber, who repeatedly broke the 100 mark.

Kane won an event that asked fans to text their choice based on style points. The Islanders' John Tavares scored on one attempt by flipping the puck in the air and swatting it past Canadiens goalie Carey Price, fungo-style. In the last of his three tries, Tavares went behind his back and between his legs, getting Price off his feet before poking in a forehand.

"It was nice to get a couple moves off, something fans could enjoy," Tavares said. "It seemed they enjoyed the props the other guys used, so if I ever do it again, I'll try and involve some stuff other than just making a move. I tried to be creative, have fun, and after I got the first one out of the way, I felt pretty comfortable."

The Ducks' Corey Perry put up a good challenge as well, stopping in front of Blues goalie Brian Elliott, whipping off his gloves and reaching inside his jersey for a miniature stick, with which he scored.

But Kane beat everybody, wearing the cape and Clark Kent glasses proffered by teammate Marian Hossa and later firing an exploding fake puck.

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The NHL, which will hold its All-Star Game Sunday at Scotiabank Place, will need all the entertainment quotient it can get because there is no telling when Crosby will be back. In an odd confluence of events, it was during the skills competition that the Penguins released a statement saying that, along with the concussion effects that have sidelined him, the superstar center has been diagnosed with a neck injury.

Dr. Robert Bray, a neurological spine specialist, confirmed the latter diagnosis and added that Crosby's neck has healed. The Penguins' statement added that other individual specialists will evaluate the results during the next few days.

For now, hockey fans can focus on the promise of young talent. Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin, who has been a revelation with his play this season and was invited to the skills event as part of the first-year player contingent, got the night off to a literally swift start. He won two head-to-head races and won the Fastest Skater contest.

"I haven't really thought about that. But guys have been calling me 'Crazy Legs' for a while, so I had to show them that was true," Hagelin said. "This is something I'll remember for the rest of my life."

Most young players can only dream about being able to skate as quickly as Hagelin or shoot as hard as Chara.

The sport of hockey can only hope there is another Superman in the making.