NHL's best get together for annual Skills Competition

Hockey Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin has owned the Breakaway Challenge since the event's inception a few years ago, but with the Washington Capitals star pulling out of the league's All-Star Game, some new faces will get a chance at the title.

There are still plenty of other former winners set to participate in the Skills Competition on Saturday at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place, including All- Star team captain Zdeno Chara, snipers Daniel Sedin and Evgeni Malkin and speedster Marian Gaborik.

This will be the second skills event under the league's current All-Star format of selecting team captains and having the rosters chosen by a fantasy draft, which took place this past Thursday. Boston's Chara is the head of one team, opposed by hometown favorite Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators.

Last year, a team captained by Carolina's Eric Staal defeated a group of players led by Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom in the Skills Competition on the Hurricanes' home ice. Neither Staal nor Lidstrom are back for this year's exhibition.

The Breakaway Challenge is one of the six events on tap for Saturday's battle and has been won by Ovechkin all three times since it debuted at the 2008 event. The phase involves one player mixing skill and creativity on a breakaway attempt on a goaltender. The event differs from a penalty shot in that a skater can start from anywhere in the offensive zone.

The three shooters will be made up of two All-Stars and one rookie, while each team will also select one netminder. The winner of the challenge will be selected by fan voting via text messaging and earn his team one point.

Ovechkin would have likely been the favorite to repeat in the event, but he pulled out of the All-Star festivities after getting suspended for three games for leaving his feet to deliver a high, hard check versus Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. Ovechkin was still eligible to participate in the events, but opted out.

One event that could see a repeat champion is the Hardest Shot competition. Chara has won the event in each of the past four editions, unleashing a record 105.9 miles per hour blast in last year's get together. That broke his own record of 105.4 mph set the previous season. Nashville's Shea Weber, a member of Team Alfredsson, gave Chara a run for his money last year when he uncorked a 104.8 mph blast in the preliminary round.

Four players -- one rookie and three All-Stars -- will take their turns for each team in this event, with a point being awarded to the winner of each of the four preliminary rounds and another to the victor in the finale.

The Scotiabank Place's ice will be put to the test in the Fastest Skater event, which was won last year by Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders with a time of 14.238 seconds. Grabner is not in the competition this year, though 2003 winner Gaborik, who had a time of 13.713 seconds, is a member of Chara's team.

Four All-Stars and one rookie will take turns doing one lap around the ice. There will be five preliminary races under a new format of one skater from each team racing side-by-side towards the same end zone before turning outward, skating to the opposite end, turning back and skating past center ice to the finish line. The players from each team posting the fastest time will meet in a sixth and final race, with the winner of each of the individual six rounds getting a point for his squad.

The Accuracy Shooting bout is a simple one in which four players from each team -- three All-Stars and one rookie -- will take turns standing 25 feet in front of the net while taking passes and aiming at four foam targets in the corners of the goal. The player with the fastest time from each team will then go head-to-head in a fifth round for the title.

Each round awards one point to the winner and a few former champions could get the call. Sedin, last year's victor, is on Team Alfredsson, while Chara has three former champs on his roster in Malkin (2008), Marian Hossa (2007 co- winner) and Jarome Iginla (2002 co-winner). Sedin won last year's event by hitting all four targets in 8.9 seconds.

Back for its second year is the Skills Challenge Relay, won last year by Team Lidstrom with a time of 2:09. The event puts 14 All-Stars and two rookies from each team together.

The competition meshes together a host of skills into five successive events. A one-timer event starts it off with three shooters and one passer needing to score three goals over an eight-inch barrier. Once completed, a different player must complete a pass into six nets placed around the rink to keep things going.

Skill with the skate and stick follow. First, a player must make his way through a series of cones will keeping control of the puck before another skater stick handles the disc through a series of obstacles.

The heat then comes to a close with an accuracy portion in which a shooter takes aim at four targets. Two groups from each team go through the entire relay, with the fastest squad in each heat getting a point and the fastest combined time getting a bonus point.

Things then come to a head for Team Alfredsson and Chara in the Elimination Shootout. This competition sees 15 skaters consisting of one rookie, 11 All- Stars and three goaltenders, battle in a game of survival. Shooters take their aim at the goaltenders and need to score to move on to the next round. Netminders rotate after every third shooter and the event goes until one player scores and the others do not in a single round.

This event is sort of like the bonus round of a game show; each goal scored by a player counts for one point for his team.

Team Chara member Dion Phaneuf won the inaugural event in 2008, followed by Shane Doan in 2009. Corey Perry, also a member of Chara's team this year, was the last-man standing a season ago.

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.


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