Top 10 moments from 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sun, fun, sand, water and hockey: those all usually don't go together, but at the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in Florida, they all blended together beautifully.

Before the regular season resumes with six games Monday, let's look back at the great moments from the festivities.
Here are 10 of the best:
Sergei Ovechkin steals the show
Alex Ovechkin has electrified the League plenty during his career, but his 4-year-old son Sergei was stealing the limelight during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook on Friday. Sergei, who had "Ovi Jr" on the back of his jersey, led the Metropolitan Division onto the ice at the start of the evening and helped his dad and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby get a perfect score of 40 in the Great Clips NHL Breakaway Challenge after scoring five-hole on celebrity goalie Roberto Luongo. Sergei banging his stick on the ice to get dad to pass him the puck on that breakaway was especially great.
Speaking of that …
Crosby and Ovechkin camaraderie
They've certainly had their on-ice battles over the years since they both entered the NHL in 2005, but Crosby and Ovechkin were a tandem in a few respects over the weekend. Of course, there was their combo in the Breakaway Challenge. Then they combined for three goals, two for Crosby off primary assists from Ovechkin, and one for Ovechkin, with the secondary assist from Crosby, as linemates when the Atlantic Division defeated the Metropolitan 10-6 in the second All-Star Game semifinal on Saturday. Putting the two together was a no-brainer for Metropolitan coach Rod Brind'Amour:
"I don't know if we'll get another chance at that. We don't know how many more of these guys are going to want to do, and the whole nine yards. I want to see it, so …"
So did we.

Nurse brings "Forsberg" move
The All-Stars weren't too successful against the goalies during the Discover NHL Tendy Tandem event, but Sarah Nurse made up for it. The Canadian women's hockey forward paid homage to Hockey Hall of Fame forward Peter Forsberg with her breakaway goal against New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, going to her left then bringing the puck all the way back, keeping one hand on the stick like Forsberg did during his great NHL career. And in case that wasn't fabulous enough, Nurse was offered a job running the girls program at the Florida Panthers' future practice and community rinks at FTL War Memorial by team president and CEO Matt Caldwell on Saturday.
Splish, splash
The Enterprise NHL Splash Shot made its debut during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook on Friday, and the new event was a nice (and cool) touch to the weekend, especially for the player who ended up in the dunk tank. Hey, what better way to finish a contest on a sunny, 83-degree day than to get a quick dip in a tank at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park? Against the backdrop of blue skies and the Atlantic Ocean, it was aesthetically pleasing. For the dunkees, including Crosby and Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen, who won the contest with teammate, defenseman Cale Makar, it was refreshing.
McDavid spot-on
It's not surprising that Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid went a perfect 8-for-8 during the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting on Friday. What is surprising is that he lost. McDavid was facing Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames in the semifinals when, after hitting the first three targets on as many shots, he needed a few seconds to corral the puck before knocking out the fourth target. But in those few seconds, Kadri hit his final target and advanced to the final, where he lost to Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders.
Simply beautiful anthems
Full marks to both artists on Saturday. Sacha, a country music singer from Ontario, did a lovely rendition of "O Canada" while playing her guitar. Following Sacha was Andrew McMahon, an American singer-songwriter from Massachusetts, who sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and played piano. Nothing overly theatrical, just gorgeously and simply performed.
All in the family
Brothers Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk had a great day on Saturday. That's especially true for Matthew, a forward for the Florida Panthers, who had seven points in two games (four goals, three assists), including a hat trick in the Atlantic's 10-6 semifinal win against the Metropolitan and was named All-Star Game MVP. The hat trick was a great sight for the Tkachuk family and dad Keith, who was giving high-fives to those around him in a suite. Brady, a forward for the Ottawa Senators, had five points (one goal, four assists) in the two games.
Matthew's hat trick was one of three Saturday, with Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings also scoring three times in a game. As a result, Enterprise, which committed to donating $10,000 to the charity of the scoring player's choice for the first hat trick scored in each game, pivoted to include each scorer and will donate $10,000 to each of the Tkachuks', Gaudreau's and Larkin's hat trick charity of choice, totaling $30,000.

Memorable day for Kevin and Beau Hayes
Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes wanted to make it a great weekend for his nephew Beau, the 3-year-old son of Kevin's late brother Jimmy, who died Aug. 23, 2021, at age 31. Kevin spent a lot of the All-Star experience with Beau, including bringing him onto the ice with him for the All-Star Skills on Friday. "I think it's a memory he'll have for the rest of his life," Kevin said Saturday. "He wanted to meet Sidney and 'Pasta' (Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak), so he got to meet those guys. He was shy at the beginning, but once he saw my cousins and [Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau], some of the people he knows, he was opening up. it was a lot of fun."
Fall Out Boy rocks
Playing between the semifinal and final All-Star games on Saturday, Fall Out Boy did not disappoint. The American pop/punk band, backed by the Central Florida Community Arts Symphony Orchestra, sounded great in playing their three-song set, which included "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)" and "Centuries." As they played the latter, the video board played a montage of some of the League's greatest all-time players, including Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. Greatness.
Go to your home!
Pastrnak is a tremendous goal scorer, but during the Breakaway Challenge on Friday, he was working on his golf game. Sort of. In an homage to the 1996 film "Happy Gilmore," Pastrnak started by sending a slap shot wide of the net before his "caddy," Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark, came out to give Pastrnak a putter. From there, Pastrnak putted from the blue line, coming up woefully short. Then came the "special putter," a mini hockey stick. After Pastrnak got the crowd to make a little noise, Pastrnak "putted" to finish off the goal. Pastrnak didn't win the Breakaway Challenge, but he did entertain.