The Colorado Avalanche may be a smaller market team but they came up big at the. The players proved worthy of the recognition and the organization made a stunning public relations move. NHL hockey may never be the same and the Avalanche’s top trio earned some respect. Among the media frenzy surrounding hockey’s best players gathered together, the Avalanche walked away with the best prize – legitimately winning fans to the game. Mikko Rantanen’s Impressive Debut It all started with winger Mikko Rantanen.
There was no game in 1987 because Rendez-Vous 87, a two-game series between Team NHL and the Soviet Union, replaced the All-Star Game. There was no.
Rantanen, second in the league in points, in interviews with fellow teammate Gabriel Landeskog. Rantanen also represented Finland well, and NHL players Sebastian Aho, Pekka Rinne and Miro Heiskanen. He handled the media scrutiny with an amazing amount of poise for a 22-year-old.
Mikko Rantanen proved he had skills even without linemate Nathan MacKinnon. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-David Zalubowski) Though Rantanen struggled with a section in, he seemed able to laugh it off. In the end, it didn’t really matter. Rantanen stepped up where it counted – in the games. The young Finn proved he deserved every bit of recognition he’s received.
Less than a minute into the Central Division’s first game (against the Pacific), the team ran out an ironic line combination, sending Landeskog and Rantanen out with former Avalanche center Ryan O’Reilly (now with the St. Louis Blues).
Rantanen scored the first goal exactly one minute into the contest. He went on to rack up another goal as well as an assist over the course of the game, earning three points against the Pacific. While the rest of the Central team struggled in their later matchup against the Metropolitan, Rantanen managed to tally two more goals and an assist, for his second three-point effort of the night.
Over the course of the two games, he tallied four goals and two assists for a combined six-point night. Gabriel Landeskog Scored a Hat Trick Landeskog, the Avalanche’s captain, was not to be outdone by his linemate.
While he entered the All-Star Game on the Last Man In vote (after the Avalanche ), Landeskog proved the ultimate ambassador for hockey. He came across in interviews as humble and polite as he went so far as to say he never viewed himself as an All-Star. Landeskog came across as excited and he looked to be savoring every experience, a nice contrast to some players who appeared to just be going through the motions. He admitted to being nervous during the skills competition when he uncharacteristically dropped the puck twice. Landeskog portrayed the quintessential everyman, happy to be there and soaking up every minute, and then he dropped the hammer and proved he deserved an All-Star spot. “To be honest, I never saw myself as an All Star.” Well, your teammates and all your fans did, Landy!
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) In the Central’s matchup against the Pacific, Landeskog scored 33 seconds after Rantanen’s opening tally, helping the Central to a quick lead which never really seemed in jeopardy. He racked up two more tallies in the second period.
His hat trick was only the second one scored since the NHL shifted to the new format. Who wasn’t initially selected. And, oh yeah, he also managed to get an assist in the matchup, too. In the second game, the Central struggled to get on the board. Landeskog finally, hitting the net just over a minute into the second period. He later contributed two assists as the Central lost to the Metropolitan Division 10-5. Landeskog and Rantanen combined for eight of the Central’s 15 goals scored in the tournament.
They both scored as many goals as the MVP – Sidney Crosby. Landeskog earned seven points (four goals, three assists) over the two matchups – just one assist shy of Crosby. Rantanen racked up six points (four goals, two assists). Between the two of them, Landeskog and Rantanen combined for eight goals and five assists for 13 points.
The Avalanche duo came in one point behind the 14 points by Pittsburgh Penguins Crosby and Kris Letang. Yeah, Landeskog and Rantanen showed their skill, garnered some attention and earned some respect. Not a bad weekend. But the Avalanche had an ace up their sleeve.
Nathan MacKinnon Used Injury to Open a Door Nathan MacKinnon injured his foot after taking a puck to his skate in the Avalanche’s final game before the break. Though he had been selected as the Central’s captain, he ended up serving as an assistant coach, encouraging and directing players from the bench. With his cup of coffee. In a brilliant move, the Avalanche posted a tweet saying MacKinnon wanted USA women’s hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield to compete in the Fastest Skater skills competition in his place. It would be my honor! I’ll get to the rink as fast as I can!
— Kendall Coyne Schofield (@KendallCoyne) She became the first woman to compete in the NHL All-Star skills competition. At 5-foot-2, the 26-year-old forward played on last year’s that won a gold medal. She currently plays for the NWHL’s Minnesota Whitecaps.
Coyne Schofield was originally attending the All-Star festivities to participate in the the NHL players would be competing in, along with Rebecca Johnston (Puck Control), Brianna Decker (Premier Passer) and Renata Fast (Accuracy Shooting). A few hours before the skills competition was to start, she was asked to step in for MacKinnon.
She proved she belonged as she sped around the ice, less than a second behind three-time winner – Connor McDavid. Coyne Schofield did something else.
She finished faster than Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes. While she finished seventh, Coyne Schofield proved that women’s hockey had come a long way. USA women’s ice hockey player Kendall Coyne-Schofield in the fastest skater competition in the 2019 NHL All Star Game skills competition. (Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports) Fellow teammate Brianna Decker bested the men in the NHL passing competition with an unofficial time quicker than Leon Draisaitl.
Although she was there to demonstrate the skills event and wasn’t actually there to compete, CCM later said they would pay for her impressive performance. Between Coyne Schofield actually competing with the NHL men in Fastest Skater and Decker besting them in the Premier Passer, women’s hockey took a huge step forward. The Avalanche were at the forefront of the breakthrough and earned some new followers as a result. The Avalanche Made the Biggest Splash While the All-Star events are mostly an entertaining opportunity to see some of the best NHL players show their stuff, this one will stand out, especially for the Avalanche. Landeskog and Rantanen proved they could put on a show, even without their skilled linemate – MacKinnon. MacKinnon proved a good sport by taking a role behind the bench and offering his skills spot to the first woman ever to compete in an All-Star event.
Quick Tips. It’s just an exhibition and the first three quarters look like an organized rec league game, but the NBA All-Star Game still matters a whole lot to the participants in it and to fans of. The NBA’s decision last season to move away from the West-East format and instead have the top two vote-getters from each conference draft teams worked wonders. The game was far more competitive, defense was played (yes, really) and the game came down to the final minute. It was a far cry from the 48-minute unofficial dunk contest that took place the previous few seasons, and the response was positive.
LeBron James won the MVP of that game, in part to his late-game heroics that included a defensive stop on Steph Curry to win the game. Who will follow James as the next All-Star Game MVP on Sunday in Charlotte? We’ve got it all figured out with our five favorite bets. Best Bets for NBA All Star Game Most Valuable Player Kemba Walker Since 1951, there have been 14 instances of a player whose team is hosting the All-Star Game also winning MVP. It happened most recently in 2017 when Anthony Davis’ West teammates fed him all night, with the Pelicans forward setting an All-Star Game record with 52 points in New Orleans.
So it happens from time to time, and 14 occurrences is enough to call it a trend worth betting. Walker has been in Charlotte his entire eight-year career and will be a free agent this summer. This could be a last hurrah of sorts for the Hornets point guard, and he’s a streaky kind of shooter that could get hot in the up-and-down exhibition. LeBron James He’s LeBron James. It’s as simple as that. OK, here’s some more context.
James is in his first season with the Lakers and missed five weeks with a groin injury in December and January. There’s a chance he takes it easy as he’s got some work to do to get the Lakers into the postseason once the break is over. Then again, he could also go scorched earth in a game that plays to his liking while reminding the NBA what he’s still got in the tank.
James has won the award three separate times and has averaged 24.5 points in 14 games. Never count out the world’s best player on a national stage. He’ll want to show he’s still King. It makes sense that.
Russell Westbrook The league’s biggest stat padder (and we say that complimentary) playing in a game full of crazy stat lines is an obvious candidate for MVP. Westbrook won the All-Star Game MVP in both 2015 and 2016 after posting massive 41-point and 31-point outings, respectively. He probably could have won it a third straight season in 2017 when he scored 41 points in just 20 minutes, but it went to Davis in his 52-point outing.
He just set the NBA record with 10 consecutive triple-doubles, and if he’s able to accomplish that in the All-Star Game on Sunday – it’s only been done four times – then he’s going to get serious consideration. For that reason we like his. Paul George Then again, Westbrook’s teammate might be the better Thunder bet. George has absolutely exploded in Year 2 in Oklahoma City and is an All-Star starter for the first time.
He’s also playing his best basketball as the All-Star break approaches. In his last 12 games, George is averaging a whopping 36.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He’s shooting 49 percent from the field, 49 percent from deep and 85 percent from the free throw line. Quite simply he’s playing at an MVP level and has topped 43 points three times in that span. Scoring always means MVPs in the All-Star Game, and right now George is doing that as well as any player not named James Harden. Perhaps his magical season will include an All-Star Game MVP.
Given you can get him at, his odds make a lot of sense. Steph Curry Would you believe that Steph Curry, for all he’s accomplished the last six seasons, has never won an All-Star Game MVP? It’s true, and for no other reason it makes sense that Curry may gun for the award with the game taking place in his hometown of Charlotte. While players tend to feed the host player – as we mentioned in Kemba Walker’s odds – it also could happen with Curry here. Oh, and he’s also the best shooter and is an absolute showman with some of the shots he hits, and he’ll be doing on a stage that rewards both. It’s only a matter of time until Curry decides to let it fly one of these years – he’s only topped 20 points in two of five All-Star Games – and there’s a chance it happens in front of friends and family alike.
His are fourth best among participants, which is great value considering he’s going to win eventually. Recommended Betting Sites. Every online gambler deserves a safe and fair place to play. Our mission at Gambling.com is to create a safe online environment for players through free, impartial and independent reviews of the best online gambling companies in the US so that you can play with confidence and security. All ratings and reviews are made independently of the operator by our team of gaming experts and with every company being fully licensed to operate in the US they can be trusted to offer fair play. We accept compensation from the companies advertised on this page and this may affect the brand positioning. We endeavour to continuously update this list so we can bring you the most current sites and the best available offers but we cannot review every site in the market.
Every online gambler deserves a safe and fair place to play. Our mission at Gambling.com is to create a safe online environment for players through free, impartial and independent reviews of the best online gambling companies in the US so that you can play with confidence and security. All ratings and reviews are made independently of the operator by our team of gaming experts and with every company being fully licensed to operate in the US they can be trusted to offer fair play. We accept compensation from the companies advertised on this page and this may affect the brand positioning.
We endeavour to continuously update this list so we can bring you the most current sites and the best available offers but we cannot review every site in the market.