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Fourth time a charm North America finally wins skills competition
Updated: Sunday February 04, 2001 8:13 AM
DENVER (AP) -- By normal standards, Phoenix Coyotes goalie Sean Burke was pathetic. Under fabricated All-Star circumstances, he was worthy of a new car. Burke won a 2001 Dodge Stratus after stopping 11 of 15 shots Saturday night in the goaltending event at NHL SuperSkills competition. His reaction was a mix of gratitude and incredulity. "I win a car just for that?" he said. "I let in, what, four goals in 15 shots? If that was a regular-season game, I would have got pulled and my confidence would have been shaken. I might not even get to start the next game. Out here, I give up four goals and they give me a car." In addition to having the top goalie, North America boasted the swiftest skater and most accurate shooter to capture early bragging rights against the World All-Stars. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ray Bourque, who will play in his 19th All-Star game Sunday, won his eighth accuracy title to help North America defeat the World team 15-13 in the overall competition. It was the first time North America won the event since the NHL adopted the format in 1998. "I had a blast," Bourque said. "I expect to have a lot more fun tomorrow. I think everybody enjoyed the competition. It was close there at the end. I'm just happy we came out on top." Boston Bruins forward Bill Guerin became the fourth different player in four years to win the skating crown, narrowly defeating first-time All-Star Simon Gagne of the Philadelphia Flyers in a one-lap sprint around the rink. Burke, who has established himself among the league's best in the absence of Nikolai Khabibulin, capped the evening when he won the goaltending competition in a tiebreaker with San Jose Sharks rookie Evgeni Nabokov. Asked if he is shooting for another car that accompanies the All-Star MVP award, Burke said: "No way. I don't want to get greedy. I've got a three-car garage. That completes it right there." With a partial hometown crowd cheering every move by Colorado's five All-Stars, the Avalanche players did not disappoint. In addition to Bourque's 4-for-6 performance in the accuracy event, Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Patrick Roy each provided memorable moments. Roy, the NHL's winningest goalie, stopped all three shots he faced against a three-man rush, and Sakic was part of the victorious North America skating relay team. Forsberg beat goalie Roman Cechmanek in the breakaway competition, and Hejduk nearly matched Bourque in the accuracy contest. Absent from the overall event was St. Louis Blues defenseman Al MacInnis, who was unable to defend his hardest-shot crown. MacInnis recorded the most powerful shot the past four years but did not compete because of an eye injury. Fredrik Modin could prove to be a worthy successor. The Tampa Bay Lightening left wing became the first forward to win the competition, blasting a shot at 102.1 mph. "Every year that we've done this, I've been over 100, so I was expecting that," Modin said. World teammate Sergei Fedorov of Detroit was the only other shooter to hit the century mark at 100.7, turning jeers from the Avalanche faithful into cheers. Fedorov and fellow Red Wings teammate Nicklas Lidstrom were booed when introduced and periodically during the competition. Colorado has faced Detroit in the Western Conference playoffs four of the past five seasons.
"I kind of liked it. I didn't dislike it," Fedorov said. "I
didn't expect anything less. Come to Joe Louis Arena and I'm sure
it would have been a little bit different for those [Colorado]
guys."
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