Auston Matthews’ All-Star Weekend Recap

The NHL’s All-Star Weekend was quite the weekend for Maple Leafs rookie all-star Auston Matthews/ It is not often a rookie becomes an all-star, let alone his team’s only representative, so all eyes were on Matthews all weekend, and he did not disappoint.

Let’s take take a look at some of the highlights of the events that took place this weekend, featuring Auston Matthews as part of the Atlantic Division.

Matthews Shows off his Skills at the Skills Competition

Saturday’s festivities featured the NHL’s Skills Competition, where the best of the best represent their division to compete against the other divisions in a series of fun and engaging challenges.

The events for the night included:

Gatorade NHL Skills Challenge Relay

Honda NHL Four Line 

Draftkings NHL Accuracy Shooting 

Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater 

Oscar Mayer NHL Hardest Shot 

Discover NHL Shootout

Out of these challenges, Matthews took part in the relay, accuracy shooting, and shootout challenges.

In the Skills Challenge Relay, Matthews was chosen to complete the stick handling trial for the Atlantic division, while the Metropolitan Division chose Sidney Crosby. The 19-year-old rookie all-star must have been a bit nervous however, because he lost the puck a few times. Can you really blame him though? It must be tough to match up against Crosby in an event like this as a rookie. Nonetheless, Matthews made a good effort.

In the Accuracy Shooting contest, Matthews came in and surprised many, showing off his fantastic shot by shooting 4 targets with 5 shots in only 12.28 seconds.

His achievement was short-lived however, as Sidney Crosby stepped in right after and shot all 4 targets in 5 shots as well, but in only 10.73 seconds. A good effort by Matthews still, and for the record, Matthews passes may have been a bit slower than Crosby’s.

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Finally, despite a nifty move in the shootout challenge, Matthews was unable to beat Sharks goaltender Martin Jones. The Atlantic Division was still able to win the Skills Competition however, setting up the matchups for Sunday’s games.

Sunday’s All-Star Tournament

The Atlantic Division ended up only playing in one game on Sunday, after being eliminated by the Metropolitan Division in the second game of the day.

Just under four minutes into the game, Matthews had a great scoring chance on a breakaway. But alas, he let his nerves get the best of him once again, as he lost control of the puck before even taking a shot.

In the second period, however, Auston Matthews would finally get the opportunity he had been waiting for. With a wide open lane in the slot, Matthews was able to release a smooth snipe over Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.

That was pretty much the most of what happened on the ice for Matthews at this year’s All-Star game. The Metropolitan team defeated the Atlantic Division 10-6, and then went on to defeat the Pacific Division to win the million dollar prize.  His team didn’t win, but taking part in the festivities and being around the best of the best would have undoubtedly been a great experience for Matthews, one which may help him take a step forward in his career progress.

Bonus: Receiving Love from Fellow Players

A few players also went on record this weekend, praising Auston Matthews as a player and an individual.

Here’s Connor McDavid saying how he admires Matthews shot:

And here’s PK Subban explaining how Matthews is a pretty good looking guy:

https://twitter.com/TheFlintor/status/825504723537129473