Betting Picks for the NHL All-Star Game

The All-Star draft took place on Thursday, and now we're set for the game on Saturday. Of course, this isn't the most serious event on the NHL calendar, but we do have NHL All-Star game odds on FanDuel.

Let's break down the four teams and see who could potentially win this mini tournament.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

NHL All Star Game Odds

Team Matthews (+250)

The hometown favorites in Toronto will be the team captained by Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly. To no one's surprise, they used early picks on teammates Mitchell Marner and William Nylander. This will form a good dynamic between players who are used to playing together and will want to put on a show for the home crowd.

The other players they selected include two very talented goaltenders in Jake Oettinger and Igor Shesterkin, but both haven't been playing well of late.

They rounded out their skaters with some talented players who could benefit from not having to worry about playing in a rigid, defensive system. That is especially true of Mathew Barzal, who is one of the league's best, most agile skaters. He has been one of the best three-on-three players since he joined the league.

Team Matthews is a -125 favorite over Team Hughes in the first matchup. With four players on the hometown team, they could be treating it less like a vacation than the other teams. That,vand the motivation factor of playing in front of the home fans, makes them a deserving favorite.

Team Hughes (+265)

Interestingly enough, the two teams that are the favorites among the four will play against each other in the first round.

This team is captained by Quinn Hughes, Jack Hughes and Elias Pettersson, but Jack will miss the game. This allowed the remaining captains to select Vancouver Canucks teammates Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko and J.T. Miller.

They also had the first pick of the draft and took Nikita Kucherov, who leads the league with 85 points. Between him, Boeser and Kyle Connor, this team has 3 of the top-10 players in the league in goals per 60 minutes.

A weak point in there team could be with their other goalie besides Demko, Cam Talbot. Talbot has the second-lowest save percentage in the NHL in the calendar year of 2024.

I'd like Team Hughes' chances better if they weren't facing the favorites in the first matchup. Because of that, I think I'd shy away from betting on them.

Team MacKinnon (+280)

Another set of talented teammates, it's hard to start off a three-on-three roster with a better duo than Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. These two are absolutely dynamic skaters, and, if they are putting the effort in, have a chance to play well in this event.

Being loyal in the draft is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that you get to draft MacKinnon's buddy from back home in Nova Scotia, Sidney Crosby. The curse is that you have to draft your teammate Alexandar Georgiev, who is sporting a .898 save percentage and is arguably the worst goalie in the All-Star game.

They do have some other token All-Stars for teams that needed a representative --guys like Tom Wilson and Oliver Bjorkstrand. They also have Elias Lindholm, whose mind will likely be elsewhere after being traded in the middle of his flight to Toronto for this event.

Based on the overall talent, a case could be made that this is the weakest team overall. I think they could easily be out in the first round, so I'd pass on betting them to win the tournament.

Team McDavid (+285)

How do you match the talent of MacKinnon and Makar? Well, starting with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is pretty nice.

The dynamic duo from the Edmonton Oilers are currently on a 16-game winning streak with their real team. They've played together for years and have been elite at three-on-three overtime for almost all of it.

They made some good selections in David Pastrnak and Sam Reinhart, the second and third most prolific goals scorers in the league. They also drafted two goalies having solid seasons, Connor Hellebuyck and Sergei Bobrovsky.

The bottom of the draft saw them get stuck with guys who probably shouldn't be at the game like Nick Suzuki, Tomas Hertl and Boone Jenner. Rasmus Dahlin was the lone representative for the Buffalo Sabres, but at least he will be a smooth-skating defenseman that can get the puck to McDavid and company.

This game being in McDavid's hometown might give him a little extra motivation, and that could give his team the boost to win in the first round. If they make the final game, they'll definitely have a chance to take it down.

There has to be some value in betting on a team with the best player in the world at the longest odds of any of the four.

Looking for more NHL betting opportunities? Check out all of the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.