With All-Star Weekend upon us, "On the Fly," theScore's NHL roundtable series, will look at four predictions leading up to the festivities in Los Angeles.
McDavid scorches record books
Hagerman: Dylan Larkin made one hell of an impression at the NHL skills competition last year.
The Detroit Red Wings dynamo set a skills competition record winning the fastest skater competition in a time of 13.172 as a rookie, besting Mike Gartner's previous mark of 13.386 seconds which had stood since 1996.
This year we could see the record broken once again.
Connor McDavid has quickly become the premiere offensive talent in the league. He paces the NHL in scoring with just over one full season under his belt. Sure, his hands and vision are unworldly, but his most deadly asset is his skating.
What makes McDavid so lethal is that he can beat the fastest skaters in a foot race and even more impressively, can set up and make plays at that speed.
So is he fast enough to break Larkin's record? Absolutely.
The Oilers held their own skills competition on Jan. 15 where McDavid also bested Gartner's mark, finishing his lap in a time of 13.382 seconds. McDavid doesn't have to go much faster to earn the official record and with the entire hockey world watching, one has to believe the phenom will deliver.
Metro takes the tourney
Vaswani: The Metropolitan, the best division in hockey - four teams have 60 or more points at the break, with Washington's 72 leading the NHL - will win the All-Star three-on-three tournament. It must, because an All-Star Game victory is about the only accomplishment - albeit minor - missing from Sidney Crosby's resume.
Somehow, Crosby will play in only his second All-Star Game on Sunday. He last played in the showcase in 2007, in Dallas, when the Western Conference took down the East 12-9. Somehow, again, Crosby didn't register a point.
Think about it for a minute: Thanks to injuries and the Olympics, it's been 10 years since a Crosby All-Star appearance.
That's nuts.
So be sure to enjoy No. 87 out there with the rest of the best. With Sid shooting 20.4 percent this season, it's more than likely he scores a bushel Sunday.
Oh, and he could be out there at three-on-three with Alex Ovechkin by his side. Yeah, that'll do.
Crosby vs. McDavid replaces John Scott story
Sachdeva: It’s going to be tough to match last year’s theatrics, as this year’s All-Star festivities will be without what was arguably the most intriguing part of the 2016 iteration - John Scott.
The veteran’s unexpected presence helped fans avoid thinking about how lackluster the All-Star games have become, but with no outsider aspect this time around, we’ll see how interesting the new format truly is.
But there are still a few noteworthy storylines heading into the event. Key among them - how Crosby and McDavid fare in a full tournament of 3-on-3 action.
With half of 2016-17 in the books, the two centermen have made it clear they remain a step above the rest of the league, with Crosby leading the way in the goals department and McDavid ranking as the NHL’s scoring leader.
They’re both ultracompetitive, in a different stratosphere in terms of skill, and surely well aware of all the talk surrounding who takes the crown as the NHL's true No. 1. Here’s hoping they spice up All-Star weekend with a few highlight-reel head-to-head performances.
Rookie sensation will earn MVP
O'Leary: The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets will be represented in Los Angeles by their two brightest stars: Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine.
The two phenoms - likely to be linked together for the entirety of their careers because of their draft positions - have ushered in a new wave of talent in the NHL in style, manufacturing electric seasons to start their NHL tenures.
Their first meeting was as hyped as an NHL game in October can be, and this time, with extra ice at their disposal, Matthews and Laine are sure to put on a show again.
Think about the space Laine will have to unload his lethal shot. Think about the opportunities Matthews will have to put his extraordinary puck skills on display. Excited yet?
All four teams are chock-full of elite NHL talent, but as evidenced at the World Cup in September, fans are rabid for the youth movement. Laine and Matthews are 1-2 in rookie scoring, and are both in the top 10 in goals, there's no reason to believe one of them won't steal the show in Tinsel Town.
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