Central Division favored to win NHL All-Star Game
The Pacific Division has won three of the past five NHL All-Star Games, including last year, and features the past two Hart Trophy winners in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as well as three Golden Knights.
But the Central Division is the +210 favorite at Circa Sports to win Saturday’s showcase at T-Mobile Arena.
The Atlantic Division is the +225 second choice, the Pacific is +280 and the Metropolitan +450.
“I definitely think the Central is the best of the four teams,” Circa oddsmaker Jeff Davis said. “They have young kids who are ultratalented offensively and fit exactly with what this format lends itself to.
“The Pacific has a few incredible three-on-three players, but it’s much more shallow than the Atlantic or Central teams.”
The All-Star Game features a three-on-three format in a two-round knockout tournament, with each game comprised of two 10-minute halves.
The Central, which will be missing Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon (facial fracture), is a -120 favorite at Circa over the Atlantic (even) in the semifinals.
In the other semifinal, the Pacific is a -155 favorite over the Metro (+135), which will be missing Washington star Alex Ovechkin (COVID-19).
“The Metro is the one team that’s not really built for three-on-three as much as some of the others are,” Davis said. “The Metro winning would be somewhat of a surprise.”
Handicapper Dana Lane likes the Pacific to win the final.
“This format is absolutely made for guys like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl,” said Lane (@DanaLaneSports). “The Pacific Division easily has the best one-two punch of the four. The top five guys in this division have 20 goals or more. No other division can say that, so from an offensive standpoint in an offensive tournament, they have a huge advantage.”
Lane also likes that the Pacific has Golden Knights stars Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo playing on their home ice for Vegas coach Pete DeBoer.
“This is a tournament made for Vegas,” he said. “Draisaitl, McDavid and the Golden Knights are going to have a huge weekend.”
The total is 14½ for the Central-Atlantic semifinal game and 13½ for the Pacific-Metro semifinal. Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito expects to take plenty of action on the overs.
“Historically in the NHL and NBA All-Star Games, you see a considerable amount of action toward over on the totals, just because of the premium on scoring,” he said. “Everybody loves to see goals scored, and it becomes more of an offensive exhibition. You’re talking about totals that are close to three times what a normal game will have.”
Davis considers the goaltending essentially equal on all four teams.
“All these guys are so good, anybody could be good at any moment,” he said. “I don’t think any one team has an advantage or disadvantage at the position.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.