This was a short post I was going to have up this morning before the technical issues shut me down for the day. Things will be up and running for the skills competition and YoungStars game, so please feel free to join me. 

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It's bitter cold and the all-star game has fully taken over the downtown here in Montreal. There's an incredible buzz in the city, with people spending hours in the cold to catch a glimpse of the NHLers. It's also a bit of a media circus.

I can honestly say I've never been to a media get together where I met beat writers from San Jose, Atlanta, Washington, Miami and all points in between, but just about everyone you can think of was packed into Hurley's Pub for a few hours Friday night.

I was a bit disappointed Greg Wyshynski didn't wear his funny hat.

Things get into full swing here on Saturday. Beginning at 9 a.m., the board of governors are meeting for a few hours with commissioner Gary Bettman, who will speak to the media afterward. The all-star team coaches meet the press at about 9:30, while there's an open practice right about then at the Bell Centre for the players.

The all-star jamboree, going on at Windsor Station, is going from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. and looked like a lot of fun. If you're in Montreal, it'd be a good idea to come check things out.

Then there's a red carpet from 4:30 to 5:30 and the skills competition gets underway at 7 p.m.