NHL All-Star Game: Top 3 bold predictions for John Carlson

SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals takes the ice during player introductions for the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals takes the ice during player introductions for the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals skates against the Central Division All-Stars during the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals skates against the Central Division All-Stars during the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Washington Capitals fans, we’ve reached the midway point of the season and one player representing the team in the All-Star Game is John Carlson.

John Carlson will be one of three Washington Capitals players participating in the festivities in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues will be hosting and will be excited to have Oshie back, one of their former players.

But Carlson will be another offensive player the fans who come out to the game should watch for. With the season he’s been having, he may carry his momentum into the exhibition festivities which feature more than just a hockey game.

There is also the NHL All Star Skills competition the night before pitting the league’s best against one another. These events include the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, Bud Light NHL Save Streak, Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting, Elite Women’s 3-on-3 presented by adidas, Enterprise NHL Hardest Shot, and the Gatorade NHL Shooting Stars.

Some of these events are returners from previous years while others are new editions looking to keep hockey fans from the casual to the diehard engaged as we patiently await the second half of the season.

For Capitals defenseman John Carlson, here is our predictions on what to watch from him at the NHL All Star Game.

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 25: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals competes in the SAP NHL Hardest Shot during the 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills at SAP Center on January 25, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 25: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals competes in the SAP NHL Hardest Shot during the 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills at SAP Center on January 25, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

3. John Carlson will compete in two events in Friday’s NHL Skills competition, the Hardest Shot and Accuracy Shooting

Washington Capitals fans would love nothing more for John Carlson than the rest of the hockey world see their star defenseman get recognition for the Norris Trophy. He could help his case by competing in two events Friday night. Before we see how he wins, let’s see how he could do in accuracy shooting and hardest shot.

Accuracy shooting per NHL.com:

Eight players will compete in the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™, a timed event where a shooter is positioned 25 feet from the goal line and shoots pucks at target images that appear on an LED screen placed on the goal line. Time will start at the referee’s whistle and each player will shoot pucks at the target images, which will disappear from the screen after being successfully hit. The clock stops when the player has successfully hit all target images. The player that hits all target images in the fastest time will be crowned the winner of the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™. If there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.

Hardest Shot per NHL.com:

A minimum of four players will compete in the Enterprise NHL Hardest Shot™. Each player will attempt two shots measured in miles per hour (mph), with the highest speed of their two shots recorded. For each attempt, a single puck is positioned on the ice 30 feet from the center of the goal. Starting no further than the nearest blue line, the shooter may skate towards the puck and shoot it from its positioned spot into the goal. Shots must be on goal to be calculated and all shots are recorded by radar in miles per hour. If a puck enters the goal uncalculated due to a malfunction of the radar equipment, the shooter will be allowed an additional attempt. If the player breaks his stick he will be given another attempt. The player who records the fastest speed is the winner of the Enterprise NHL Hardest Shot™. If there is a tie for the fastest speed, the tied players will shoot again to determine the winner.
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 25: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals competes in the SAP NHL Hardest Shot during the 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills at SAP Center on January 25, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 25: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals competes in the SAP NHL Hardest Shot during the 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills at SAP Center on January 25, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /

#2. John Carlson will defend his Hardest Shot title

For the third year in a row, a Washington Capitals player will take home the Hardest Shot title. It was a trend started by Alex Ovechkin and for the second straight year it’ll be continued by John Carlson.

Last year Carlson went up against Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Seth Jones of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. Carlson’s first attempt went 102.8, a harder shot than Ovechkin.

Carlson led all shooters in the first round. He had 100.8 miles per hour in the second round and was the winner.

There’s been something about the Washington Capitals and the big stage the last few years and I expect this weekend to be no different. As for Carlson’s competition in the event I predict it’ll be two defensemen and a  forward.

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) during the NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) during the NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

My prediction: Carlson will be up against Alex Pieterangelo of the St. Louis Blues, Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. His closest will be Pastrnak who’s the NHL’s leading scorer. Yup, it’ll come down to the leading defensemen and goal scorer.

That’ll be entertaining to watch but what about the game itself?

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils, Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes, md75 shake hands with members of the Atlantic Division All-Stars after their 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils, Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes, md75 shake hands with members of the Atlantic Division All-Stars after their 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images) /

#1 John Carlson will have a multi-goal and assist game in both contests, leading the Metropolitan Division to a win

John Carlson will help lead the Metropolitan Division to another win in the NHL All Star Game with two goals and two assists in both games. It’s obvious at the rate he’s been climbing, he’ll bring it into All Star Weekend.

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: The Metropolitan Division All-Stars players pose with their one million dollar check after winning the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: The Metropolitan Division All-Stars players pose with their one million dollar check after winning the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Carlson’s first goal will be a rocket from downtown and his second will be up close on a tap in during the 3-on-3 play. In the second game, Carlson will do a split breakaway, then have a blast from downtown on his second.

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 and goaltender Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals pose together during warm-ups prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: John Carlson #74 and goaltender Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals pose together during warm-ups prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Carlson will assist on T.J. Oshie’s goal in the second game on the first goal to tie the game while Oshie will win it later on with a breakaway. Carlson will also assist on goals from Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders as well as Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers.

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This is all just for fun and that’s exactly what this game is. Fun. Have fun watching the game Caps fans! Keep it locked here for more All Star Game content.

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