The NHL skills competition takes place tonight at 7pm on Versus, but don't expect to see much of the Flyers' entrants. Broad Street Hockey is reporting that Danny Briere and Claude Giroux will only participate in the "Skills Challenge Relay" and the "Elimination Shootout," which all All Stars participate in. The relay is a new event for 2011 that the NHL describes as, "an all-around competition that will showcase the one-timer, passing, puck control, stick-handling and accuracy shooting in four exciting relays." Check out the full description of the new event after the jump.
Flyers fans know that Claude Giroux can dazzle during a shootout, so he could very well be one of the favorites in the "elimination shootout" portion of the night. Giroux and Briere both scored in the shootout against the Rangers last season than sent the Flyers to the postseason.
Here's the description of the new "Skills Challenge Relay" courtesy of Broad Street Hockey, who is down in Raleigh to cover the All Star weekend.
In the one-timer event, three shooters (with the assistance of one passer) must score three goals over an eight inch barrier; in the passing event, one passer must complete a pass into each of the six nets set up around the rink; in the puck control event, one skater will skate through a series of cones while keeping possession of the puck; in the stick handling event, one skater will control the puck through a series of obstacles; and in the accuracy shooting event, one player will take aim at four targets. Each skill must be completed before moving on to the next skill in this timed relay event worth a total of eight points. The group with the fastest time will score four points, second place will score three points and third place will score one point.