LAS VEGAS -- Dallas Stars center Joe Pavelski stood 35 feet away from his target, staring into the cool air. He slapped the puck with his stick and took a shot. Not at a goalie. Not even at a goal. At a large playing card: the ace of diamonds, which the puck punctured like a dart.
"Ace!" exclaimed Pavelski, taunting the four other NHL players with whom he was competing.
The players were in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard, which had been shut down for two hours so Joe Pavelski could shoot at a rack of 52 cards with a glowing red puck.