Blue Jacket Zach Werenski won the first ever Fountain Face-Off last night, a new event that is part of the All-Star Skills Competition.
The event was truly one of a kind, with players traveling by boat to a floating platform in the middle of the Bellagio Fountains. In the first round, players had to hit four of five targets as fast as possible, with the top two players with the quickest times moving on to the final.
Werenski competed seventh out of eight participants, followed only by Golden Knights Captain Mark Stone. In the first round, the CBJ defenseman finished with the second-highest time of 15.163 seconds, with only Predators All-Star Roman Josi finishing with a faster time.
To make the final more difficult, the fountains rose higher, creating louder noise and more spray for the two All-Stars to cope with. Werenski started off strong and found a rhythm fairly quickly, finishing with a time of 25.634 seconds. Josi struggled with the smaller targets, and finished with a time of 47.454 seconds.
Werenski winning the Fountain Face-Off marks his first victory in an All-Star Skills Competition event. He competed in the Fastest Skater competition in 2018, finishing second only to Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point.
The Fountain-Face Off was a very unique event, and it perfectly captured the essence of Las Vegas, while also paying homage to the host city through one of their most well-loved landmarks. Players names were spelled out in the fountains during the first round of the event, along with the colors of the teams they represent.
Zach Werenski will be back in action today, at 3 PM, as the Pacific Division will play the Metropolitan Division in the first matchup of the NHL All-Star Game.