Pastrnak a Winner at NHL Skills Competition

By Marisa Ingemi

Boston Herald

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The NHL Skills Competition displays the best finesse in the game, but David Pastrnak had to take a hit to win, too.

Pastrnak won the accuracy contest Friday night with a time a tick above 11 seconds. He had to hit five targets in the net, and four of them were masked by faces of NHL All-Stars, including his own.

It was the second-to-last target he hit to win the event.

“That hurt when it hit my face,” he said. “Top-left corner. ... It hurt. I could feel it every time I got hit from the other guys.”

Pastrnak went first in the event, and despite saying it was only the second time he’s ever done target shooting, he was nearly flawless. His time of 11.309 seconds beat the seven other All-Stars in the event. He was more than a second ahead of runner-up Kris Letang of Pittsburgh.

While he made it look easy, it certainly wasn’t. The accuracy contest was the last event in an itinerary that lasted more than three hours.

“It was tough sitting around all day. I barely touched the puck,” he said. “With the bye week, it was tough. I didn’t know what to expect coming back to the ice.”

The 22-year-old first-time All-Star also missed on his first shot, and while it didn’t sneak in his head, he didn’t think he was going to end up the winner.

“I knew I had a tough start, so I was like no way it’s going to stick,” Pastrnak said.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty placed third at 13.591, and former Bruins forward Blake Wheeler, now with the Jets, finished with a time of 18.585.

Despite missing early, Pastrnak -- who missed only three shots overall -- ended up firing on all cylinders. The Bruins forward has 27 goals this season, on pace to eclipse his career high of 35 a season ago.

For his efforts, and slapping pucks off the likeness of his face, Pastrnak won’t even take home all of the $25,000 prize money, but that’s his own doing.

“I had dinner with (Islanders forward) Mathew Barzal yesterday, and we made a deal and shook hands on splitting the money whoever wins,” he said. “I didn’t really think about me winning. I thought maybe he was going to. He’s pretty fast.”

Pastrnak also participated in the save streak contest, won by the Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Pastrnak’s shots were stopped by Lundqvist and Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.

Boston College alum Johnny Gaudreau topped Patrick Kane to win the puck-handling competition. The current Flames forward skated last in the contest and narrowly edged his Blackhawks opponent, who held the lead throughout.

Boston University alum Clayton Keller placed last in the fastest skater contest. Fellow former Terrier Jack Eichel finished second, just behind Connor McDavid.

Washington’s John Carlson won the hardest shot contest with a 102.8-miles-per-hour slapshot, and Leon Draisaitl won the premier passing event.