Okay NHL betting faithful, you’re going to be treated to a fantastic weekend of action when the 2020 NHL All-Star game gets underway on Saturday, January 25th, live from the Enterprise Center in St Louis. The 65th edition of the annual All-Star Game will be the fifth consecutive year in the new format. This means there will be a four-on-four game, 3-on-3 and a single-elimination format. Each conference will have its own team, with the captains having been voted for by the fans.
This year, fans voted and selected Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (Atlantic), Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (Central), Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (Pacific) as division captains. All will appear with only Ovechkin deciding not to participate as he prepares to “get ready for the second half of the year.” Kris Letang was named as the Metropolitan’s captain in his absence.
Boston’s Bruce Cassidy (Atlantic), Washington’s Todd Reirden (Metropolitan), St. Louis’ Craig Berube and Vegas’ Gerard Gallant (Pacific) were named as they the head coaches of their teams with the highest points percentage at the halfway point of the regular season, but Vegas stunned everyone by firing Gallant on Jan and the NHL announced the following day that Arizona head coach Rick Tocchet will take his place.
2020 NHL All Star Game Betting Preview and Predictions
Metropolitan vs Atlantic
- When: Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 8:15 PM ET
- Where: Enterprise Center, St Louis, MO
- TV: NBC
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- 2020 NHL All-Star Game Odds: OFF
Atlantic Division
- Captain: David Pastrnak
- Coach: Bruce Cassidy
Roster: David Pastrnak, Tyler Bertuzzi, Anthony Duclair, Jack Eichel, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Victor Hedman, Shea Weber, Frederik Andersen, Andrei Vasilevskiy
David Pastrnak has a league-leading 37 goals and he’s added 33 assists as he sits in fourth place in scoring. Toronto’s Auston Matthews has scored 34 goals and added 23 assists as he sits in third in goals scored an 11th in scoring.
Metropolitan Division
- Captain: Kris Letang
- Coach: Todd Reirden
Roster: Kris Letang, Mathew Barzal, Nico Hischier, Travis Konecny, T.J. Oshie, Chris Kreider, John Carlson, Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jones, Braden Holtby, Tristan Jarry.
The Metropolitan Division has seen their squad rocked by the absences of Jake Guentzel, Kyle Palmieri and Joonas Korpisalo, who have all pulled out through injury. The Metro team was also shocked when Alexander Ovechkin decided to sit this one out.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
The Atlantic Division squad has far too much firepower to lose this matchup against a Metropolitan team that will be playing a bunch of guys that would have been left off of this year’s squad had the team’s selected performers been able to play. This one’s an easy call. The Atlantic Division Wins by at least two goals, minimum.
Pick: Atlantic 5 Metropolitan 2
Pacific vs Central
- When: Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 9:15 PM ET
- Where: Enterprise Center, St Louis, MO
- TV: NBC
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- 2020 NHL All-Star Game Odds: OFF
Central Division
- Captain: Nathan MacKinnon
- Coach: Craig Berube
Roster: Nathan MacKinnon, Patrick Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Mark Scheifele, Tyler Seguin, Eric Staal, Roman Josi, Alex Pietrangelo, Jordan Binnington, Connor Hellebuyck
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has scored 30 goals and tallied 42 assists as he sits in third place in scoring. Chicago’s Patrick Kane is in eighth with 25 goals and 38 assists.
Pacific Division
- Captain: Connor McDavid
- Coach: Rick Tocchet
Roster: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Tomas Hertl, Anze Kopitar, Max Pacioretty, Elias Pettersson, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Giordano, Quinn Hughes, Jacob Markstrom, David Rittich
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl has been phenomenal in scoring 27 goals ans dishing out 49 assists as he sits in second place in scoring, just one point behind teammate Connor McDavid who has 27 goals and 49 assists this season.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
I’m super fired up for this matchup, seeing as how it has the look of an all-out fight to the finish. However, in the end, I’m going with the Pacific Division because of the connection between Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the top two scorers in the NHL right now. We should see a bunch of highlight reel kind of plays in this one, but I’m expecting McDavid to star in this one first and foremost!
Pick: Pacific 4 Central 3
