NHL All Star Game Preview and Prediction

Last year, the NBA promised literal game-changing reform to fix their ailing All-Star experience. And they came back with… schoolyard pick’em. A concept the NHL tried and threw out a decade ago. They also watered down the NHL’s version, by not even televising the picking. What the hell is the bloody point then? Sigh. Moving on, let's take a look at the NHL’s actually-innovative games this weekend.

Unlike the other All-Star games in the NBA, MLB, and NFL, it's not quite as hard for the league to get the players to play hard, or frankly, give a crap. So I feel it's easier to predict and bet on NHL All-Star games. Because the players do give a damn, and talent will be a big factor in the outcome… not who tries the hardest.

For that reason, I think we can say these 3-on-3 games will favour the goaltender, with a whole lot less action to track, and fewer legit scoring chances to face. It will also favour the offensively capable defensemen who can have an impact in this type of format, I have to get behind the Central Division with Subban and Suter, with Crawford in net.

Prediction: The Central Division (+245) at Sports Interaction

So this year, you’re basically getting 3 games in 1, with the new format. We’re going to kick things off in the early afternoon at 3:30 pm with the first 1-hour game, in the Central Division All-Stars vs The Pacific Division All-Stars, with the winner advancing to the final game. Next, we have another 1-hour matchup between the Metropolitan and Atlantic All-Star players, with that winner advancing to the final game, played around 5:30 pm.

I like the short games. That means the winner of the first game won’t have to sit too long before going back out to try to win the finals. It also means a lot of fast-paced hockey, and a lot of chances will be taken. But again, I wouldn’t go so far as to call them quality scoring chances that these goalies are used to seeing every night. So I’m still giving the advantage to the guys in net to control and dictate the game.

Your Metropolitan Division will be captained by Sidney Crosby. It will also feature the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky, Braden Holtby, Taylor Hall, Alexander Ovechkin, Wayne Simmonds, John Tavares, Justin Faulk, Seth Jones, Ryan McDonagh and Cam Atkinson.

The Pacific Team is captained by Connor McDavid and also has Martin Jones, Mike Smith, Jeff Carter, Johnny Gaudreau, Bo Horvat, Ryan Kesler, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty and Cam Fowler.

Meanwhile, your Central Division team is captained by P. K. Subban and also has Corey Crawford, Devan Dubnyk, Patrik Laine, Patrick Kane, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyler Seguin, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jonathan Toews, P. K. Subban, Ryan Suter, and Duncan Keith.

And finally, Carey Price is your captain of the Atlantic Division team, and he’s joined by Tuukka Rask, Nikita Kucherov, Brad Marchand, Auston Matthews, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Vincent Trocheck, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, and Shea Weber.

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Category : Online Betting News

Tag : hockey , NHL

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