The NHL's Skills Competition took place in Las Vegas on Friday evening. Here are the names (minus sponsors) and winners of each competition:

Fastest Skater: Jordan Kyrou

Save Streak: Jack Campbell / Andrei Vasilevskiy

Fountain Face-Off: Zach Werenski

Breakaway Challenge: Alex Pietrangelo

21 in '22: Joe Pavelski

Hardest Shot: Victor Hedman

Accuracy Shooting: Sebastian Aho

If it were up to me, Trevor Zegras would have won the Breakaway Challenge. Not just because of the Dodgeball props, but because of the sheer skill that it would take to do something like this. Highlight of the evening for me.

What did Trevor Zegras just do!? pic.twitter.com/kC7WR1OPK6

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 5, 2022

Honorable mention to Kirill Kaprizov with his Alex Ovechkin impersonation. I know that goal celebration irked a lot of people when it happened, but I was impressed by the creativity of it.

KIRILL AS OVI IS TOO GOOD. 🤩@mnwild | #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/trMHU4tgac

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 5, 2022

Having a hockey competition at the Fountains of Bellagio is not something I would have envisioned whenever I used to travel to Las Vegas (pre-kids and Covid). Heck, getting a hockey fix in Vegas used to involve getting into a cab to go from The Strip to the Orleans Hotel, then walking all the way through the hotel to get to the arena where the old Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL used to play. I made that trek during the heat of September to watch a Sharks/Ducks rookie game over a decade ago. Yet here we are in 2022, watching the Fountain Face-Off.

These visuals though. 😍 pic.twitter.com/YWY1KcK5RS

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) February 5, 2022

We also learned a new way to play Blackjack. One that takes skill of a different kind.

Joe Pavelski (@jpav8) of the @DallasStars played all his cards right to win the one-of-a-kind Las Vegas NHL 21 in '22 event. #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/5O4hkE3C7L

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 5, 2022

Staying in Vegas, Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer has stated that Jack Eichel could be cleared for contact in practice after the All-Star break. He won't be ready to return immediately after the All-Star break, but I had projected he would be ready at the end of (what was) the Olympic break at the end of February. It sounds like he is on track to be in the lineup by that time. Imagine what an Eichel – Max Pacioretty – Mark Stone power play and perhaps even top line will look like.  

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With the break in NHL action, I'm taking the time to scan the Frozen Tools Top Searches list and why these player profiles might be so popular. Yesterday I discussed recent hot players Mason Marchment, Anton Lundell, and Matt Boldy. Today's it's two goalies and a defenseman.

Semyon Varlamov

Varlamov missed the first month of the season because of injury. Then he got off to a slow start, failing to earn a win in his first seven games while posting a 3.29 GAA and .884 SV%. That meant he didn't earn his first win of the season until December 16 – two months into the season. Moreover, Ilya Sorokin had been significantly outperforming him, seemingly claiming the "majority starter" role that Varlamov held last season.

Since December 16, Varlamov has posted a 1.87 GAA and .943 SV%, including six quality starts over his last seven games – much better numbers. Wins are still an issue, as only three of those games have resulted in wins for Varlamov. No team has scored fewer goals than the Islanders this season (93 GF). Arizona and Montreal have fewer goals per game, but you get the idea. The Islanders are a low-scoring team as we expected, although we probably didn't think it would be this bad.

Varlamov might be worth a buy-low right now, however. The recent play demonstrates that. As well, don't forget that the Isles have played fewer games (39) than any other team because of various game postponements. That means the potential split with Sorokin is less of an issue than it usually is. In other words, Varlamov could provide elite-level ratios in the second half, but he shouldn't cost an elite-level price to acquire.

Noah Dobson

Here's another example of a player who will provide more bang for the buck than similarly-priced options. If I were rostering Kevin Shattenkirk in a single-season format, I would consider making a pitch for Dobson. Why? You'll gain nine extra games out of Dobson. And based on the performance of both players, the Dobson owner might accept the deal. If you can't make this exact deal, perhaps you can apply this type of thinking to two or more other players with a significant gap in games played.

Compare Players: Dobson/Shattenkirk

With Nick Leddy out of the picture, Dobson has assumed first-unit power-play duties. The 22-year-old former first-round pick should hold that role for the foreseeable future, as Ryan Pulock has simply not brought the offense the past two seasons. The Islanders' power play hasn't exactly been potent, but Pulock is tied for third on the team with six power-play points. In addition to his power-play icetime rising nearly a minute from last season, Dobson's overall icetime has increased nearly five minutes from 16:24 per game last season to 21:10 per game this season.

This is the first season in which we can say that Dobson can be rostered in the majority of league formats. Still available in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues, Dobson makes for a great add. Tying it back to the trade scenario I described earlier, if you can find a similarly-valued d-man that has played several more games, feel free to make the swap.

Cam Talbot

Remember the Winter Classic when Kyrou and the Blues scored a whole bunch of goals and Talbot got injured? In the one-month span since, the Wild have the league's best team goals-against average (2.10 GAA). With Talbot on the shelf, Kaapo Kahkonen has done much of the heavy lifting with seven quality starts in eight games and no more than three goals allowed in any of those eight games. However, Talbot has recently returned, posting a 1.13 GAA and .958 SV% in the three games he has appeared in. Most recently, Talbot earned a 30-save shutout against the Blackhawks on Wednesday.

With Talbot now back, this is going to be an interesting goalie battle. I didn't quite know how to project it in the Midseason Guide with Talbot injured at the Winter Classic, but I still gave Talbot about two-thirds of the remaining starts since Kahkonen had barely been used prior to Talbot's injury. If I could have a do-over, though, I would project it closer to 50-50, or maybe even 55-45 in Talbot's favor. Talbot will be the starter come playoff time because he has the bigger contract, but Kahkonen has definitely played his way into the mix. I took a flier on Kahkonen in one league moments after Talbot's injury and he's exceeded my expectations. And he has the better numbers than Talbot at the moment, albeit in fewer starts.

Like the Islanders, the Wild goalie tandem is one in which both goalies are worth rostering. They're more likely to earn wins than the Isles goalies as well. A little competition might be good for Talbot, and he may be more effective on a per-start basis now that he isn't going to be leaned on as heavily.  

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Dobber was answering questions on Reddit on Friday. Read the full discussion here. Maybe he shares a tidbit or two about a player on your fantasy team, so it's worth a look.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding