The NHL All-Star Game is headed to South Florida. Sunrise will host the annual festivities that celebrate the best talent the National Hockey League has to offer. Or should we say some of the best talent the league has to offer?
While most teams have one representative at the all-star game, some have none and others have three.
The Vancouver Canucks, who traded captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders this week, won’t have a representative. Horvat is going and will play for the Pacific Division, but during the skills competition he’ll be wearing an Islanders jersey. So will Brock Nelson and Ilya Sorokin (who was voted in by fans).
What’s going to happen if the Metro takes on the Pacific? Will Bo Horvat, now a member of the Metropolitan Division, do his new division a solid and score one on his own net? Probably not, but man would that be hilarious.
2023 NHL All-Star Game Rosters
Before you decide where to put your money, you might want to know who’s representing each of the four divisions at the NHL All-Star Game.
| Atlantic Division | Metropolitan Division |
|---|---|
| David Pastrnak (Boston) | Andrei Svechnikov (Carolina) |
| Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo)* | Johnny Gaudreau (Columbus) |
| Dylan Larkin (Detroit) | Jack Hughes (New Jersey) |
| Matthew Tkachuk (Florida) | Brock Nelson (NY Islanders) |
| Nick Suzuki (Montreal) | Artemi Panarin (NY Rangers) |
| Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa) | Adam Fox (NY Rangers) |
| Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay) | Kevin Hayes (Philadelphia) |
| Mitch Marner (Toronto) | Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) |
| Auston Matthews (Toronto) | Alex Ovechkin (Washington) |
| Linus Ullmark [G] (Boston) | Igor Shesterkin [G] (NY Rangers) |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy [G] (Tampa Bay) | Ilya Sorokin [G] (NY Islanders) |
*Replaced injured teammate Tage Thompson
| Central Division | Pacific Division |
|---|---|
| Clayton Keller (Arizona) | Troy Terry (Anaheim) |
| Seth Jones (Chicago) | Nazem Kadri (Calgary) |
| Cale Makar (Colorado) | Connor McDavid (Edmonton) |
| Mikko Rantanen (Colorado) | Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton) |
| Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado) | Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles) |
| Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota) | Erik Karlsson (San Jose) |
| Jason Robertson (Dallas) | Chandler Stevenson (Vegas)* |
| Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis) | Elias Pettersson (Vancouver) |
| Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg) | Bo Horvat (NY Islanders)** |
| Juuse Saros [G] (Nashville) | Logan Thompson [G] (Vegas) |
| Connor Hellebuyck [G] (Winnipeg) | Stuart Skinner [G] (Edmonton) |
*Chandler Stevenson takes Matty Beniers’ spot after the Kraken rookie was forced out due to injury.
**Horvat will still play for the Pacific Division but as a member of the Islanders.
2023 NHL All-Star Game Outright Odds
| Teams | Odds |
|---|---|
| Atlantic Division | +250 |
| Central Division | +250 |
| Metropolitan Division | +300 |
| Pacific Division | +300 |
OK, now you know the rosters. Which ones look better, in your opinion? Which one can win the 3-on-3 tournament?
I’m not sure why the Pacific Division has longer odds than the Central Division. We shouldn’t forget that the Pacific has won the all-star game (in this 3-on-3 format) three times in the last six years. The Metropolitan has won it the other three years.
The Pacific has three of the top 10 scorers in the NHL with Connor McDavid (92 points), Leon Draisaitl (76 points) and Erik Karlsson (66 points). The Central has two in Jason Robertson (66 points) and Mikko Rantanen (61 points).
And the Central is forced to take players from two of the worst sides in the NHL with Chicago’s Seth Jones and Arizona’s Clayton Keller. Jones and Keller have combined for less production than Karlsson’s 66 points.
2023 NHL All-Star Game Odds & Picks
Remember this is going to be a casual game of hockey and literally anything could happen. So don’t go poring over a bunch of NHL data to try to figure out which side is the best. You’re overthinking it.
PS: Watch how quickly I overthink this thing.
Metropolitan vs Atlantic - NHL All-Star Game Odds
| Prop | Odds | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan | +100 | O11.5 (-115) |
| Atlantic | -120 | U11.5 (-105) |
Personally, as an Islanders fan, I’ll be hoping my guys Brock Nelson and Ilya Sorokin can push the Metropolitan Division deep. But that collection of talent in the Atlantic Division is scary.
David Pastrnak is on another level this year with 72 points in 51 games for Boston. Nikita Kucherov is level on points with Pasta but in 48 games for Tampa. Oh and don’t forget the Toronto duo of Marner and Matthews, who’ve combined for 113 points this year.
And then you’ve got brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk playing together? The Atlantic Division has talent (obviously) and a fun duo. That’s a winning combo at the NHL All-Star Game. I know I said not to overthink this, but of all the players at the ASG, Brady Tkachuk has the most overtime goals this season (2).
Pacific vs Central - NHL All-Star Game Odds
| Prop | Odds | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Central | -125 | O13.5 (-105) |
| Pacific | +105 | U13.5 (+105) |
Since 2015-16, no player has more overtime goals than Connor McDavid’s 14. Teammate Leon Draisaitl isn’t far behind him with 11 OT goals of his own.
With so much open ice, no checking, no hacking and no real defending to speak of, the McDavid-led Pacific Division should win this matchup. Should.
The Central Division, while weaker on paper, has a few top OT performers of its own. The Colorado trio of Makar, Rantanen and MacKinnon have combined for 11 OT goals since the 2018-19 season. That line alone could do some damage for the Central.
What Is NHL All-Star Game Betting?
Betting on the NHL All-Star Game is just like betting on any other hockey game. Read our hockey betting expert’s breakdown above on who will win or cover in the all-star contests.
NHL bets can range from betting on the moneyline (which is simply which team wins), to whether the total goals scored in a contest is OVER or UNDER a certain number.
Here are examples of NHL bets you can find at our top sportsbooks:
- • Moneyline: Will the Metro (-200) or Atlantic (+140) win?
- • Total: Will the Metro and Atlantic combine for OVER or UNDER 13.5 total goals?
Calculate exact profits for our NHL All-Star Game betting picks using Odds Shark’s sports betting calculator, and check out these other hockey betting resources to help inform your bets:
