For the first time in two years, the NHL’s best will convene as All-Stars.
It was back in late January 2020 that we last saw them come together for the festivities. The weekend offered up its fair share of memorable moments — some highlight-reel theatrics from All-Star Game MVP David Pastrnak, a thrilling back and forth from some of women’s hockey’s best in the Elite Women’s 3-on-3, and the return of The Great One to the bench.
Even after 65 iterations and an ever-changing slew of formats, there remains something uniquely intriguing about the tradition of All-Star Weekend. For some it’s seeing the game’s elite talents temporarily put aside rivalries and post-season battles to team up side by side. For others, it’s seeing the rookies get their first taste of stardom, chatting with future Hall of Famers on the bench and eventually making their presence known when their names are called. Or it’s simply the looks on the faces of the veterans who’ve finally earned that All-Star recognition late in their big-league run, appreciating it all the more because of the wait.
With All-Star Weekend going full Vegas this time around — we’re talking Bellagio fountain shootouts and a larger-than-life blackjack sniping contest on The Strip — the 2022 festivities don’t figure to disappoint. But before we get there, let’s take a look back at some All-Star history.
From the most dominant performances in past best-on-best tilts to an in-depth look at who’s competing in 2022, this is the NHL All-Star Game by the numbers:
3: The number of times the Pacific Division has claimed the All-Star Game title in the five years since the league has gone with its 3-on-3 format. The Metropolitan Division has won twice in that span, while the Atlantic and Central have yet to win.
4: The record for most goals scored in one All-Star Game. Six players are tied for that top spot (Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Damphousse, Mike Gartner, Dany Heatley and John Tavares). Gretzky, however, scored all four in one period (during the 1983 All-Star Game), also giving him the record for most goals scored in one All-Star period.
5: The number of events, consecutively, in which the Tampa Bay Lightning have had multiple players head to All-Star Weekend: two players in 2016, two in 2017, four in 2018, three in 2019 and two in 2020 (there was no NHL All-Star Game in 2021 due to the pandemic). The Bolts have three players headed to the 2022 Game (Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos, and Andrei Vasilevskiy), the most of any club this time around.
6: The record for most points amassed during one All-Star Game. Mario Lemieux and Jakub Voracek share the top of the leaderboard, the former having accomplished the feat in 1988, the latter in 2016. Both six-point performances saw the forwards post three goals and three assists.
7: The combined number of Stanley Cups won by players repping the Atlantic Division at the 2022 All-Star Game — the most of any division. The Metropolitan Division is next with three total Cups, then the Pacific with one, while the Central has zero Cup-winners on the current roster.
8: The number of nations represented on the 2022 NHL All-Star Game rosters: United States (16 players), Canada (16), Russia (3), Sweden (3), Finland (2), Switzerland (2), Denmark (1) and Germany (1).
10: The number of people who have both played in the All-Star Game and served as a head coach for an All-Star Game. Only six have done it in the expansion era (Rick Tocchet, Wayne Gretzky, Randy Carlyle, Jacques Lemaire, Bob Gainey, and Al Arbour). Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour will join that list at this year’s event.
12: The number of seconds required for Rick Nash to score a goal during the 2008 All-Star Game. It remains the fastest goal ever scored in All-Star history.
13: The all-time record for career All-Star Game goals. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux share the top spot with 13 apiece, followed by Gordie Howe at 10 career All-Star goals.
20: The age of the youngest player participating in All-Star Weekend, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes. He will become the youngest player to play in the All-Star Game since his brother Quinn, who was also 20 years old when he played in the 2020 Game.
23: The number of NHL All-Star Game appearances by Gordie Howe, the most of any player in NHL history. His final appearance was in 1980.
25: The all-time record for career All-Star Game points, held by Wayne Gretzky. The Great One had 13 goals and 12 assists over 18 All-Star Games. Mario Lemieux sits second with 23 overall points, having scored 13 goals and added 10 assists over 10 All-Star Games.
26: The number of years that have passed since an NHL team had three players each hit 100-plus points (the Pittsburgh Penguins were the last, in 1995-96). Heading into All-Star Weekend, the Colorado Avalanche have three players on track to hit the century mark: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Nazem Kadri, who will be part of the All-Star festivities.
29: Most total goals scored in one All-Star Game. The 29-goal mark was reached during the 2015 All-Star Game, which saw an eventual 17-12 win by Team Toews over Team Foligno. There were 18 different goal-scorers in the game, with eight of those players putting up more than one goal. Tavares led with four total goals in the game, while Jakub Voracek led in overall scoring with six points.
31: The total number of goals allowed by Patrick Roy over his 11 All-Star Game appearances, most among any All-Star goalie. Martin Brodeur and Glenn Hall sit tied for second-most, with 22 apiece.
37: The age of the oldest player participating in All-Star Weekend, Dallas Stars veteran Joe Pavelski. He’ll become the oldest player to skate in an NHL All-Star Game since Jaromir Jagr, who was 43 when he did so in 2016.
70: The percentage of games so far this season heading into All-Star Weekend that were decided by a single goal (or two, if the second was an empty-net goal). Forty-two per cent of games so far have featured a comeback win. Twenty-three per cent of games have required overtime. Five per cent of games so far have featured a tying goal in the final five minutes of action.
102: The record for the total number of combined shots in a single All-Star Game. The 102 mark was reached on two different occasions: in 1994 (featuring the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Joe Sakic, Eric Lindros, Sergei Federov and Pavel Bure), and in 2009 (featuring the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla and Jonathan Toews).
169: The number of total goals scored by players representing the Central Division at the 2022 All-Star Game, the highest of the four divisions. Next up is the Pacific with 159 total goals, then the Metropolitan with 148, and finally the Atlantic with 137.
404: The number of total points scored by players representing the Central Division at the 2022 All-Star Game, the highest of the four divisions. Next up is the Atlantic with 368 total points, then the Pacific with 365, and finally the Metropolitan with 336.
Statistics courtesy of NHL Stats
