Which players will steal the show? Who will be MVP? Our panel breaks down what they’re looking out for in Saturday’s game (3 ET, ABC).
The 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend is underway. The skills competition was Friday night and the All-Star Game itself will be Saturday at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, with coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+. The first matchup will pit the Central Division against the Pacific Division.
Which superstars will dominate the game, which personalities will shine brightest, and what else are we excited about seeing? Our panel is here to debate those very questions.
Ryan S. Clark: Watching the Central have Kirill Kaprizov, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar on the ice while the Pacific counters with Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Erik Karlsson. Or — and granted this is not a combination — but Bo Horvat getting an opportunity to score against Ilya Sorokin would be something.
The NHL All-Star Weekend begins with the Skills Competition on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+. The All-Star Game will be broadcast live on Saturday, Feb. 4 on ABC and ESPN+, beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
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Emily Kaplan: They won’t be on the ice at the same time, but I’m looking forward to seeing Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin interact as teammates. The two Russians play for massive NHL rivals, but I think it’s an under-covered story that they came over to North America as extremely good friends. Will be fun to watch them chat it up on the Metro bench and likely help each other out.
Arda Ocal: I’m looking forward to Bo Horvat being on the ice with the Pacific team, because inevitably Horvat will either score on his own net intentionally or hit Elias Pettersson with a steel chair and take off his Pacific jersey to reveal an nWo shirt.
