NHL All-Star Game

[Udog]

All-Star Game - Best Bet
Kyle Markus

The NHL All-Star Game has gone through several different iterations, and the current setup is an interesting one. There are four teams instead of the standard two, with 3-on-3 games being played between the divisions in a single-elimination setup.

The winners of the first round will move on to the finals, where an All-Star Game champion will be crowned. The Western Division teams face off first, with the stars from the Central going up against the stars from the Pacific. In the East, the Metropolitan division standouts will face off with the all-star team from the Atlantic Division.

This is an All-Star game so a player’s motivation is never totally known, but in general the teams with the most talented rosters are expected to advance to the finals, with the Pacific Division the group to beat in NHL wagering.

The NHL All-Star game will be held at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on Saturday, January 26th, 2019. The games will be nationally televised on NBC.

Odds Analysis

The Pacific Division has been listed as the favorite to win the All-Star game at +200 odds, while the Atlantic Division has the next-best odds at +240. The Metro Division is not too far behind at +260 while the Central is the longshot at +400 odds. The Central has seven teams while the other three have eight, which contributes to its underdog status.

While the Central has the longest of chances to win the All-Star Game, it’s not completely unreasonable. The division features Blackhawks star Patrick Kane as well as Nathan McKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, who is the team captain. Predators goalie Pekka Rinne will aim to keep the scoring down, which could be a challenge since both sides will only have three skaters. Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets will be the coach.

The Atlantic Division features young Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews as its captain. Sabres forward Jack Eichel and Lightning forward Steven Stamkos are among the other All-Stars, while Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is expected to tend the net. Lightning coach Jon Cooper will guide the team and with this type of high-end talent it is easy to understand why the Atlantic Division is among the favorites to win the All-Star game.

The Pacific Division will aim to live up to expectations and win the mini-tournament. Oilers forward Connor McDavid has been anointed the captain. Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau will join him as he is in the midst of a dominant season. The Pacific could have a measure of home ice advantage as Sharks forward Joe Pavelski will play for this team. The goal-tender will be Marc Andre Fleury of the Golden Knights.

The Metropolitan Division at one point had Alex Ovechkin leading the way but he has bowed out in order to rest up for the rest of the season. Sidney Crosby will instead be the headliner, but the loss of Ovechkin unquestionably hurts the team’s odds. The Metro squad may have the best defensemen in the All-Star game but it’s uncertain how well they can do in such a wide open format.

[Udog]

NHL All-Star game betting predictions and picks: Pacific and Atlantic favored in 3-on-3 tournament
Rohit Ponnaiya

If you like betting on the NHL, there's no reason to take a break this weekend just because the rest of the league is. The annual All-Star game taking place in San Jose on Saturday night offers plenty of betting intrigue.

For the fourth consecutive year the NHL All-Star game will consist of a 3-on-3 tournament between the best players from each of the four divisions. The new format has revitalized fan interest, creating a fast-paced, high-scoring environment perfectly suited for the All-Star game - even if it might be annoying to purists of the game when used in overtime.

The All-Star fesivites begin Friday night with the skills competition, and the puck is dropped for the first game on Saturday evening at 8:15 p.m. ET between the Central and Pacific Divisions. Following that, the All-Stars from the Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions face off. The two teams that advance then play each other in the final game with the winning side receiving a cool $1 million to divide among their players. If you're also hoping to cash in on the All-Star action on the ice this weekend, we break down the odds and give you the best bets for Saturday's games.

Pacific (-124) vs Central (+112)

The Pacific enter this game as heavy favorites with good reason. They have made it to the finals in all three of the All-Star weekends under the new format, going home with bragging rights in 2016 and 2018.

Similar to anchoring the powerplay, defensemen have a vital role in 3-on-3 hockey as they lead from the point. The Pacific conference has the best group of defensemen in the competition with Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Drew Doughty leading from the back. Their blueliners are so good that Mark Giordano, second in the league in points among defensemen and first in plus/minus, didn't even make the cut.

Pacific goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury is also one of the best in the business. He's allowed only one goal on seven seven shootout attempts this season and has a .740 save percentage against shootouts in his career. That ability to stop the puck in shootouts should help him in the breakaway situations that are fairly common during the All-Star tourney.

Metropolitan (+100) vs Atlantic (-110)

This matchup has much closer odds but we're leaning towards the Chalk here as well. When you think of the top skaters in the league right now, the players at the top of the scoring charts in Toronto and Tampa Bay are among the first that come to mind. Having Matthews, Tavares, Stamkos and Kucherov combine their talents for the Atlantic Division almost doesn't seem fair for the opposition.

NHL All-Star Game Winner
Pacific +200
Metropolitan +225
Atlantic +250
Central +400

We expect to see the Atlantic face the Pacific in the finals, the same matchup we saw last year and in 2016. Motivation often plays a big factor in games like this and we think the young players on the Pacific side, like Elias Pettersson, Clayton Keller and Leon Draisaitl, will be a bit hungrier than the Leafs and Lightning players who are on Stanley Cup contenders and have more to look forward to during the regular season.

Another two guys that could have a bit more motivation than usual are Burns and Karlsson, who might be a bit more willing to perform at close to 100 percent for the home crowd in San Jose. We're backing the Pacific Division as the +200 faves to take it all again.

Betting the totals

Like most All-Star games, fans expect to see scoring, and this format is no different. The semifinals games in the tournament have seen an average of 11.5 goals per game in the six contests since 2016, with an almost identical split in total goals scored between the Eastern Conference (34) and Western Conference (35) sides.

With the O/U set at 9.5 for both games, the Over seems like a solid bet.

One trend that has continued in each year, is that the final game of the tournament often has the least amount of scoring. Players can be gassed after their first game and tend to play a little more conservatively in the finals. In 2016 the final game had a score of just 1-0 for the Pacific. The last two games had a total of seven goals apiece. We don't expect to see another shutout in the finals like three years ago, but we are confident that the total will be around seven or Under this time too.

MVP, MVP, MVP!

Long gone are the days when Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux fought it out year after year for MVP honors. The last thing any player wants to do is get injured in a meaningless game, so expect most established super-stars to take it easy in this one and try to set up their less famous teammates.

The one exception might be the young guns, or older vets that have never had the opportunity to take part in the All-Star game before. These are the sort of players that tend to compete as if they have something to prove, giving them an edge on the competition.

The MVPs of the last three games have been John Scott, Wayne Simmonds and Brock Boeser, so if you're betting on who is named MVP this year, we recommend a first time All-Star like David Pastrnak (+2500), Pettersson (+1200), Draisaitl (+2000) or Keller (+4000).