NHL Skills Competition Preview & Picks – February 4, 2022

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place on Friday, February 4th at 7:30 PM ET. It will take place at the home of the Vegas Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will have the broadcast in the states while Sportsnet will have the broadcast in Canada. This will be the first All-Star Game held since 2020 as last years festivities were cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.

This year there will be seven events that a variety of players participate in. Five of them are returning events including the Fastest Skater, Save Streak, Hardest Shot, Breakaway Challenge (first time since 2016), and the Accuracy Shooting. The two new events will be the Fountain Face-Off and the NHL 21 in ’22. The winner of each individual event will win $30,000 which may not seem like a lot to an NHL player, but at least offers some sort of reward.

DraftKings is sponsoring the event so you know they’re going to have betting lines on every event. Also, DraftKings is hosting a $1,000 free-to-play pool which is available nationally. You can submit your entry using the following link.

A description of the events is provided below in addition to a breakdown of the rules and format. I also offer some insight into the participants in each event as well as a prediction for who I think will win. Let’s get started…

Fastest Skater

• Participants
  • Eight players
• Procedure/ Rules
  • The course is one full rink lap.
  • Each player has one attempt to establish their time.
  • Skater may choose direction of their lap.
  • Skater is positioned a maximum of three feet behind the start line located on the penalty box side of the center line.
  • Skater starts on the referee’s whistle.
  • The timing device starts when the skater crosses the start line.
  • In case of a clock malfunction, the official time will be recorded from the referee’s stopwatch.
• Winner
  • The player who has the fastest time
• Tie Situation
  • If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the fastest time the two players will skate again to determine the winner.
• Odds- DraftKings

• Preview/ Pick(s)
  • This year there will be a new champion as Matthew Barzal of the New York Islanders, did not make the All Star game. He won the event in 2020 upsetting the favorite and three time champion Connor McDavid with a time of 13.175 seconds. With Barzal out, McDavid is the odds on favorite to win the event. That being said, Dylan Larkin won this event in 2016 and finished with a time of 13.172 seconds. With that time, he broke a 20 year record eclipsing the mark of 13.386 seconds established by Mike Gartner in 1996.  Cale Makar, who will make his debut in this event, is also one of the favorites and currently at +450. Personally this feels like a three horse race as I feel like it will come down to McDavid, Makar, and Larkin. Larkin will make his first appearance in an All Star game since his rookie year (2016) where he won the event. He has never had to face him or Cale for that matter. Looking at McDavid’s time’s in his previous years, they’re really not that impressive compared to other previous winner’s times. In this matchup, I’m going to fade McDavid, which is a bold strategy and go with Makar and Larkin. While it does limit our ROI, it allows us to increase our chances of winning.
  • PICKS:
    • Cale Makar (+500)
    • Dylan Larkin (+600)
      • McDavid’s odds continue to shift and may be incorrect but I don’t think it’s justifiable. Larkin has already beaten McDavid’s best time and Makar certainly has a shot in this event.

NHL Fountain Face-Off

• Participants
  • Eight participants
• Procedure/ Rules
  • Competition takes place on the iconic Bellagio Fountains. Players will travel by boat to the “rink” and are required to successfully shoot pucks into five targets in the least amount of time. Qualifying players move to the head-to-head final. Fountain spray and the breeze off The Strip will add to the challenge of this unprecedented NHL All-Star Skills™ event.
• Format
  • Qualifying round
  • Head-to-head final
• Winner
  • The player who successfully shoots pucks into the targets in the fastest time.
• Odds – Sports Interaction

• Preview/ Pick(s)
  • This will be the first edition of this event so we don’t have any past data to use to our advantage. This is kind of a shot in the dark here when trying to pick a winner. My approach to this event was to look at passing and shooting percentages to try and find an edge.
  • PICK(S)
    • Jordan Eberle (+401)
    • Nick Suzuki (+451)
      • We’re going to fade the NHL’s leading scorer in Huberdeau and look for guys who have some great hands.

Las Vegas NHL 21 in ’22

• Participants
  • Five players
• Procedure/ Rules
  • Shutting down part of Las Vegas Boulevard to hang a full deck of oversized cards on a rack puts a new twist on street hockey. 21 in ’22 is a game of chance, strategy and skill. The object of the game is to achieve a hand of 21 without going bust, in the least number of shots. The player who wins two rounds is crowned Puck Shark.
• Format
  • Six rounds maximum
• Winner
  • The first player who wins two rounds. A round is won by the player with highest hand or is first to achieve 21.
• Odds- Sports Interaction

• Preview/ Pick(s)
  • Just like the Fountain Face-Off, we don’t have any past data for this event as this is the first time it’s taking place. As a sports better and gambler, I love this event as the NHL tries to incorporate the Vegas atmosphere into the Skills Competition.
  • PICK:
    • Auston Matthews (+249)
      • He’s known as a big card player based on some previous interviews. He’s calm cool and collected. It’s short odds but I think he’s the favorite for a reason.

NHL Save Streak

• Participants
  • A minimum of four goalies
  • 36 players
• Procedure/ Rules
  • Each scoring attempt is officiated in accordance with NHL shootout rules and begins on the referee’s whistle.
  • Each goalie will face all players from an opposing division.
  • Players from each division will shoot numerically, lowest to highest with the divisional captain shooting last.
  • If a goalie saves the divisional captain’s shot, he will continue to face shooters until a goal is scored.
  • A goalie’s round ends on a goal and cannot end on a save.
  • Order of shooters after the divisional captain remains the same as the original order.
• Winner
  • The goalie with the longest “save streak.”
• Tie Situation
  • If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the longest “save streak” the winning goalie will be determined by the total number of saves made in their round.  If two or more goalies remain tied based on the total number of saves made, then the tied goalies will compete in a sudden death round of “Goalie Goals.”
• Odds – DraftKings

• Preview/ Pick(s)
  • The Save Streak made its debut in 2018 so there’s only a few years of data to go off of. In 2020, Jordan Binnington won this event with a Save Streak of 13 in front of his home crowd (STL). He slightly edged out Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay to win who finished with a Save Streak of 9. Vasilevskiy has actually been the runner up in this event twice, losing to Henrik Lundqvist in 2019 who finished with a Save Streak of 12. He also competed in the inaugural event back in 2018 but finished 4/5. Frederick Anderson has also competed in this event before, finishing 3rd in 2020 with a Save Streak of 7. John Gibson is also a veteran of this event finishing 5th in 2019 with a Save Streak of 3. The last returning member in the field is Tristan Jarry, who was 7th in 2020 with a Save Streak of 4. Jack Campbell, Thatcher Demko, Juuse Saros, and Cam Talbot will all be making their All-Star debuts so they haven’t had any prior experience in this event. The Save Streak is an interesting event as no goalie has won it twice in the short time it’s been around. In terms of individual goalie statistics (GSAx), the list is as follows; Frederick Anderson (+22.4), Juuse Saros (+19.3), Andrei Vasilevskiy (+17.4), Tristan Jarry (+13.6), John Gibson (+13.0), Jack Campbell (+11.9), Thatcher Demko (+7.7), and Cam Talbot (0.0). However, those statistics haven’t meant much as Fleury had a +6.1 GSAx in 2018, Lundquist had a -3.3 GSAx in 2019, and Binnington had a +0.1 GSAx in 2020.
  • PICK(S)
    • Juuse Saros (+500)
    • Jack Campbell (+700)
      • I’m going with two picks here and trying to beat the favorite. While Vasilevskiy does have the most experience here, first timers have had success in this event in the past. Sarros and Campbell both have the best SV% in the field, excluding Vasilevskiy.

NHL Hardest Shot

• Participants
  • A minimum of four players
• Procedure/ Rules
  • Two attempts for each player.
• Winner
  • The player who records the fastest speed.
  • A single puck is positioned on the ice 30 feet from the center of the goal. A player, starting no further than the nearest blue line, may skate towards the puck and shoot it from its positioned spot into the goal.
  • Shots must be on goal to be calculated and all shots are recorded by radar in miles per hour.
  • If a puck enters the goal uncalculated due to a malfunction of the radar equipment, the shooter will be allowed an additional attempt.
  • If player breaks his stick, he will be given another attempt.
• Tie Situation
  • If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the fastest speed the two players will shoot again to determine the winner.
• Odds – DraftKings

• Preview/ Picks
  • The Hardest Shot competition will crown a new champion this year as Shea Weber who won in 2020, is out for the year. The only other entry that participated in the 2020 Hardest Shot was Victor Hedman who registered a 102.1 MPH Shot. In 2019, Steven Stamkos was in this event finishing last registering a 96.2 MPH shot. In 2018, Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin took place in the Hardest Shot. Stamkos registered a 95.9 MPH Shot finishing 4/5, while Ovechkin won the event with a shot registering 101.3 MPH. In 2017, Victor Hedman, Alex Ovechkin, and Nathan MacKinnon were in this competition. Hedman finished 6/7 recording a 94.2 MPH Shot, Ovechkin finished 4/7 recording a 97.8 MPH Shot, and MacKinnon finished last recording a 92.3 MPH Shot. The reigning champions of this event in the past few years have been Zdeno Chara (2007-2012) and Shea Weber (2015-2017,2020). The NHL was hoping to bring Chara back for this event despite him not qualifying for the All-Star game but it looks like that isn’t happening. Adam Pelech, Timo Meier, and Tom Wilson will all compete in this event for the first time. Tom Wilson is replacing Alex Ovechkin who unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19.
  • PICK:
    • Victor Hedman (+125)
      • Based off height and weight, Hedman should be able to generate the most power in this weak field.

NHL Breakaway Challenge

• Participants
  • Minimum of four players & two goalies
• Procedure/ Rules
  • Shooters can start their routine from anywhere in the neutral zone and have full access to the offensive zone, including behind the net (NHL penalty shot rules do not apply).
  • Each skater will attempt two shots.
  • Order of players for second shot is based on first shot score: lowest to highest
  • Panel of judges will rate each shot on a scale of 1 – 10.
• Winner
  • Shooter with highest score.
• Tie Situation
  • If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the highest score, the tied players will take one final shot to determine the winner.
• Odds

Goalies: Manon Rheaume & Wyatt Russell

• Preview/ Pick(s)
  • The Breakaway Challenge made it’s debut in 2008 but was discontinued for the 2017-2020 Skills Competition. This event has given us some incredible content including the Patrick Kane super-man costume, the PK Subban Jaromir Jagr tribute, and Alex Ovechkin showing us his best beach wear. It’s certainly one of the fan favorites as players get to show off a bit of their personality. In addition to the All-Stars, Trevor Zegas of Anaheim, who’s gone viral several times for pulling of the “Michigan” will participate along with Manon Rheaume, the first woman to play in an NHL game, and actor/ former college goaltender Wyatt Russell (Kurt Russell’s son). I doubt there will be any odds on this as Zegas would be the heavy favorite. It’s also judged by a panel of judges so the outcome is really based off any metrics.
  • PICK:
    • Trevor Zegras (+199)
      • The guy was given a special exemption for a reason… to participate in this event. Out of all of these guys he has the best personality as well which should be on full display.

NHL Accuracy Shooting

• Participants
  • Two players from each division & four passers
• Procedure/ Rules
  • Four destructible styrofoam targets 15 inches in diameter are attached to the goal posts, one target in each corner.
  • Two players, one on each side of the net, alternately pass pucks to a shooter positioned 25 feet out from the goal line.
  • Shooters compete at opposite ends of the rink, alternating attempts.
  • Any contact of a target by a puck that is shot is scored as a hit.
  • Time stops when the player has successfully hit all targets.
• Winner
  • The player who hits all four targets in the fastest time.
• Tie Situation
  • If at the completion of the event there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.
• Odds – DraftKings

(*) – in 2015 & 2016 it was head to head competition

• Preview/ Pick(s)
  • The NHL finally did something right and listened to the fans! Instead of the electronic targets that have been used in recent years, they’re bringing back the stryofoam targets for players to hit. In 2020, Jacob Slavin of Carolina won the event with a time of 9.505 seconds. However, he was not chosen to represent the Hurricanes in this years All-Star game so a new champion will be crowned. Leon Draisaitl, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Alex Pietrangelo competed in this event last year. Draisaitl finished 2nd with a time of 10.257 seconds, Huberdeau finished 3rd with a time of 13.74 seconds, and Pietrangelo finished 4th with a time of 13.763 seconds. Patrice Bergeron has made the All-Star for the first time since 2016. He competed in the Accuracy Shooting Challenge in 2015 and 2016 which were head to head formats. He recorded a time of 17.038 seconds in 2015 and 23.362 seconds in 2016. Clayton Keller, Rasmus Dahlin, Sebastian Aho, Jake Guentzel, Jonny Gaudreau, and Jonathan Marchessault are all first time participants.
  • PICKS
    • Leon Draisaitl (+500)
    • Johnny Gaudreau (+650)

Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.