NHL ALL-STAR GAME : Players Get to Show Off Their Usual Skills Today

It was supposed to be Wayne vs. Mario.

Instead, it has become Bernie vs. Bruce.

But despite all the attention centered on the trading Saturday of Bernie Nicholls to the New York Rangers by Kings’ owner Bruce McNall, they are still going to stage an All-Star game.

This is the year, the NHL finally gets back on network television (Channel 4, 10:30 a.m.) after an absence of a decade.

This is the year Pittsburgh Penguin superstar Mario Lemieux hopes to get his revenge on resident superstar Wayne Gretzky of the Kings. Gretzky’s Campbell Conference beat Lemieux’s Wales Conference last year, 9-5, in Gretzky’s long-time home, Edmonton, with the former Oiler winning his second All-Star MVP award.

And finally, this is the year the NHL joins its big-league brothers in other sports by making the All-Star game a show. It has been moved from its former midweek spot to a two-day weekend event, complete with an old-timers’ game and skills contests on Saturday, just like the NBA.

The old-timers began Saturday’s events at the Civic Arena in front of 16,236 fans, the record for a hockey game in Pittsburgh.

The Wales Conference old-timers beat their Campbell counterparts, 7-1, led by Steve Shutt, a former King and Montreal Canadien, and Syl Apps Jr., a former New York Ranger, King and Penguin, with two goals each.

In the puck-control relay race, the Campbell team of Gretzky, Kevin Lowe (Edmonton), and Doug Smail (Winnipeg) won.

The hardest shot was hit by the Campbell’s Al Iafrate (Toronto), clocked at 96 m.p.h.

The rapid-fire competition was won by the Wales, led by Joe Sakic (Quebec), Shayne Corson (Montreal) and Kevin Hatcher (Washington), who each connected on two shots out of five.

The speed skating event went to Mike Gartner (Minnesota) of the Campbell, who hit 28.1 m.p.h.

Accuracy shooting (hitting targets with a puck) went to the Wales, led by Ray Bourque (Boston), who hit four of seven.