Well our CBB plays took a dip but proper unit allocation made that an even day. NBA, on the other hand, can I get some FIRE emojis?!?!?
What a week it’s been in the association: We’re 12-2 for +17 units just the past 5 days – that’s insanity! Rarely do I talk about money or inform my customers what my unit allocation is, but I’ve made $4k this week by strictly following the units and plays I’m putting out. Hopefully your bankrolls are WAY up, too.
Because of all of these wins, can I ask you a favor? Please tell your friends/colleagues/family about FarleyBets! This is no joke – we’re on a historic run and few handicappers experience this level of success. I really appreciate all your support.
Sundays in the NBA have been historically zany. In fact, my buddy on the BetUS NBA show ran some data and we found that the ROI (return on investment) for underdogs on Sundays has been pretty significant. Be careful today – I’m going light and playing it conservative on purpose.
NBA Picks:
Pistons/Timberwolves over 230 **
Hopefully you already hit this at this advantageous line after reading my newsletter yesterday. We saw this coming. There’s no reason this total shouldn’t fly over between two fast-paced teams who offer little resistance. Cade Cunningham should return for Detroit, too. OVER.
Hawks ML *
I think the Hawks are a considerably better team than Dallas, especially the way they’re scoring right now. This is worth a 1 unit ML shot – Atlanta dominated the Mavs at the start of the season and they look a lot like that version of themselves lately.
Underdog Leans, aka not official plays:
Nets +6
Rockets +6
Pro Tip: Don’t bet the damn Pro Bowl – waste of time and money!
If you ever have any questions, message me here, on Twitter, or on Instagram. I will make myself available from 9am to 5pm every day, but please don’t expect an answer outside of those hours. I gotta shut it down sometimes. All picks are 1-5 stars based on unit size and confidence. 3 star picks are rare, 4-5 star picks are VERY rare. -Chris
Coming off a 1-1 night, I’m sitting at 10-6, +2.7u in the month of February. In addition to these 2 free plays, I have 6 CBB plays reserved for my premium members today. Premium plays are hitting at a 58.7% clip and have netted my members +47.1u since Sept. 2021. Click here to become a premium member, and thanks as always for your support!
*CBB(1u): Penn State +8.5(-110) @ Wisconsin–5 PM CT
Wisconsin has been one of the luckier teams in CBB this season(#8 in KenPom’s “luck” meter), but I think that luck is starting to run out. The Badgers lost by 13 earlier this week and squeaked by with a mere 6-point win against lowly Minnesota last Saturday. Penn State is more than capable on the defensive end of the floor(60th in defensive efficiency) and is fresh off an impressive win against Iowa. Neither team likes to push the pace too much, which makes me feel even better about grabbing this big of a number in what should be a low-possession game. You could also classify this as a “sandwich spot” for Wisconsin; they’ll travel to Michigan State this coming Tuesday. I don’t think Penn State is a team you can overlook; I like the Nittany Lions to keep this one close.
*CBB(1u): Kentucky/Alabama OVER 157(-110)–7 PM CT
I’m playing Alabama Overs until I’m given a reason not to(I’ve been on each of the last 2). The Crimson Tide push the pace at one of the highest rates in College Basketball and pair that tempo with a top 10 efficiency rating on the offensive end of the floor. With that said, Alabama is putrid defensively, worse than their 76th defensive efficiency rating would lead you to believe. They yielded 100 points to Auburn earlier this week and will have to face another Top 5 offense here tonight. Kentucky runs at only a slightly above average pace, but they are more than willing to play to Alabama’s style. I’m expecting a close game that sees points, points, and some more points. There is no reason for this total to be below 160.
*CBB(1.5u): Northwestern/Nebraska OVER 146(-110)–Noon PM CT
Nebraska runs at one of the fastest paces in the country and is fresh off of a 79 point performance at Michigan. Northwestern ranks just 92nd in defensive efficiency and is no stranger to playing higher-scoring games; their games earlier in the conference slate against Ohio State and Maryland both eclipsed 180. While I do expect the Cornhuskers to score some points, this Nebraska team is very bad on the defensive end of the floor(160th in def. efficiency). Northwestern is a reliable offense(57th in O.E) and should be more than willing to speed things up. For this not to be in the 150’s is insane to me; this is my best bet for today.
*CBB(1u): Dayton/Saint Louis UNDER 132.5(-110)–1 PM CT
This should be a great environment in a very important A10 game between 2 very solid teams. Dayton is led by a 34th ranked defense and prefers to play things very slow on the offensive end of the floor(330th in pace). St Louis runs at a pretty standard tempo, but this is their first game in awhile they’ve had to face a legitimately good defense. That said, I trust the Billikens to get stops at home against a Dayton offense that barely cracks out the Top 100 in offensive efficiency. In this high-stakes A10 matchup, I expect points to be scarce.
*CBB(1u): Michigan +9(-110) @ Purdue–1:30 PM CT
I would understand this line about a month ago, but this seems to be factoring in Michigan’s early season woes a bit too much. The Wolverines have won 4 of their last 5, including an 18 point outright win on the road at Indiana. Michigan has started to click on the offensive end of the floor and should be able to go step-for-step with Purdue. I feel even greater about that given that Purdue ranks just 87th in defensive efficiency. Laying the same number against a similar Ohio State team last weekend, Purdue needed a buzzer-beater 3 to escape with a 3 point win. This is simply too many points to be giving a Michigan team that has seemed to turn a corner.
*CBB(1u): LSU -2.5(-110) @ Vanderbilt–5 PM CT
This is the ultimate buy-low spot on an LSU team that has lost 5 of their last 6, but I do think they have some things working in their favor. Even with their recent struggles, LSU still ranks 1st in defensive efficiency. Vanderbilt is basically a 1-man show with Scottie Pippen Jr and holds some of the worst offensive metrics in the SEC. While the Commodores can defend a bit, they have virtually no home-court advantage playing in front of the weakest fan base in major college sports. In other words, this won’t have the feel of a typical conference road game. When looking from that perspective, I actually think this is a great spot for LSU to get back on track.
*CBB(1u): Kansas State/TCU UNDER 130(-110)–7 PM CT
Kansas State runs at just the 253rd fastest pace, while TCU runs at the 168th fastest pace. The Horned Frogs have a Top 20 defense, while the Wildcats round out the Top 40 in defensive efficiency. Both offenses rank outside of the Top 100 in offensive efficiency. To summarize, we’ll get a slow paced game featuring 2 really good defenses and some poor offense. Why is this not in the mid-120’s? Under is the play for me.
*CBB(0.5u): Mississippi State ML(+205) @ Arkansas–7:30 PM CT
Arkansas has won 7 straight games and certainly turned a corner after some brutal early-season struggles, but this perhaps could be a look-ahead spot as the Hogs will host Auburn on Tuesday. Mississippi State, however, is a team that deserves Arkansas’s full attention. The Bulldogs find themselves squarely on the bubble and would do anything to win this game. Led by one of the top offenses in the SEC, this Mississippi State team just recently took Kentucky to Overtime in Rupp Arena. Facing an Arkansas team that might be getting a little too much love at this point, I think the Bulldogs could very well walk out of Bud Walton Arena with a W tonight. They already beat Arkansas by 13 earlier this season, for what it’s worth. This is not worth a play on the spread for me, but I will absolutely sprinkle a little something on this MoneyLine.
Gonzaga less than a 15 point favorite? I’ll be your huckleberry. The Zags once again ranks number one in all of the efficiency sits and this team really wants to stay there. The Zags have some serious talent on this team and their offense is explosive ranking number two in efficiency on Kenpom and their defense at number 16 is quite telling. BYU on the other hand is a a bit of a fraud and you can not convince me that they are the 36th best team on Kenpom. BYU had some nice wins before losing their tallest guy in Gavin Baxter to a knee injury. Height, inside shooting and rebounding is where BYU is going to get killed this game. BYU ranks 215th in height and Gonzaga ranks 8th. Gonzaga is number 2 in near proximity FG percentage at 70.9% and BYU is only 176th in defending it at 58.34%. I know BYU will put forth a big effort at first because they fell to some pretty bad teams over their last 3 games including number 70 Santa Clara and number 254 Pacific and they want to make the tournament, but Gonzaga at the end of the day, has way too much size and speed. The Zags are number two in tempo which means that they don’t just win games, they also win games by margin. I think the Zags name their final score here and it should be by around 20.
Gonzaga -11.5 – 3 stars
Kentucky vs Alabama -1 O/U 157
This is going to be one of the best games of the day with two of the three top SEC team facing off (with no apologies to Tennessee). Alabama is the fastest team in their conference and the 12th fastest playing team in all of basketball at 71.6 possessions per game. This number shows low but it is actually higher when they play good teams and you can see some of the numbers reflecting that vs Auburn at over 80 possessions vs Auburn both times, over 74 vs LSU and 80.2 vs Gonzaga. Kentucky on the other hand is a good defensive team, but they like to play pretty fast as well at 80th in the nation at 16.7 seconds per possession. Both of these teams are in the top 8 in offensive efficiency and Alabama doesn’t like to play a ton of defense. My total on this game is 161 with upside so I have to grab this over at the lower price.
Saturday Card has the BIG 12 Game of the Year in afternoon action and an Executive Level TIER at night. In NBA Action the Lead play is a rare 6* Top Level Totals Play. NCAAB Comp play below.
The NCAAB Comp play is on Memphis at 8:00 eastern. The Tigers have struggled this year after a fast start but are coming off a powerful win and cover over East Carolina 9 days ago. Tonight they have revenge on a Central Florida team that is 0-8 ats off a spread win and has failed to cover 5 straight on Saturdays as well as 6 of 8 after allowing 50 or less points in their last game. The favorite in the series has covered 19 of 25 and the host team has covered the last four. Look for Memphis to serve up revenge. On Saturday a massive hoops card is up and led by the BIG 12 Game of the Year, an Executive Level TIER 1 Move and a Rare 6* NBA Total.See us at goldencontender@aol.com or on facebook/twitter to Jump on as we continue to stay Hot in hoops. For The NCAAB Comp play. Make it Memphis. Rob V- Golden Contender Sports.
The thing about winning nonstop is that once you don’t win, it feels especially disappointing. 9-2 in NBA picks the last 4 days (FYI – I don’t count props as official plays, wager at your own discretion) is nothing to be sad about. PS; we’re 9-1 in CBB plays the last 7 days, too. Onto Saturday!
NBA Picks:
Suns -8 **
Alright so, all of these square favorite bets SHOULD hit. The Suns are a WAY better team than the Wizards, I have it at -10 in this spot. The Suns are off a loss and whooped Washington last time they faced each other; and that was a game where they didn’t have Devin Booker and the Wizards had Bradley Beal. Beal is out of this contest and the Suns are healthy. All Phoenix for me.
Bucks -8.5 **
Bucks TT over 118 *
This game is the same situation. The Bucks are on a west-coast road trip that isn’t easy, and they have LAC tomorrow, but I can’t even put into words how much better of a team Milwaukee is. The Blazers, as we saw last night in their out-right loss to the Thunder, are an even worse defense without Covington. All Bucks all day.
Suns/Bucks ML parlay for…
Okay so, is this a real pick? Officially, no. But I can’t imagine the Suns or Bucks losing. I can’t promote or support low-yield parlays like this, YOU WILL LOSE LONG TERM if you play parlays every day, no doubt about it. That being said…. YEA– idk how this one loses.
Just know that if lines like the two above don’t hit, it’s phony. But phony shit happens in the NBA all the time.
CBB Picks:
Villanova -5 * They should pull away with their 3 point shooting ability
Iowa St +8.5 * Texas will win but the Cyclones can keep this close
Purdue -9 *
Purdue TT over 76.5 ** What can I say? The Boilermakers are the vastly superior team against a shallow Michigan unit this season. Their defense won’t be able to stop Purdue.
Belmont -13 * Let’s keep riding Belmont! They’re exceedingly better than their conference opponents, even on the road.
If you ever have any questions, message me here, on Twitter, or on Instagram. I will make myself available from 9am to 5pm every day, but please don’t expect an answer outside of those hours. I gotta shut it down sometimes. All picks are 1-5 stars based on unit size and confidence. 3 star picks are rare, 4-5 star picks are VERY rare. -Chris
The offseason for the NFL is rapidly approaching, so time to expand the portfolio. I have followed EPL for quite sometime, but never officially handicapped it. This will certainly be a learning curve and by no means would I ever say I am an expert in this realm. There will be trial and error figuring out what process will work for me with this sport correlated to my NFL process. I am always welcoming any feedback as I begin this new journey and hoping to have the same level of success we had during our 2021 NFL season. Now…..LFG!
Burnley ML (+120)
Even a casual fan would know that Burnley vs Watford isn’t exactly the cream of the crop in the EPL, both are in dead last of the 20 team table. Currently Burnley carries a 1-9-8 record: 12 pts and Watford is 4-2-14: 14 pts (the middle number is the draw in EPL record keeping: WDL). That was the first thing that stood out to me: Burnley with their abysmal record is tied for 3rd overall in the draw department. They are in last place yes, but they are staying in a lot of these games; some being top tier competition.
Recent transaction news has Burnley very excited bringing in 6’6” Dutch striker Wout Weghorst. Replacing Chris Wood, Weghorst is looking to not skip a beat with this giant frame and continue to be the goal scorer he was in the Bundesliga. Not the same type of news coming from the Watford club. On 1/24 Watford decided to part ways with head coach Claudio Ranieri, this coming after a 3-0 defeat from 17th place Norwich. Watford has been sliding, since their upset of Manchester United 11/20, they are 0-1-8. With half the season remaining the club hopes this move will get them out of the conversation of relegation. My guess is it will take a little more than that.
Burnley is used to sitting back on their heals and “batten down the hatches” against competition. They make it hard for competition to score, a team that has been sliding as much as Watford has certainly showed they are struggling to score. With the new addition of the Weghorst and the floundering identity of Watford, I like for Burnley to get a home victory in a tight defensive low scoring match. 1-0 match prediction.
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.
2nd in 2020 (13.215 s), 1st in 2019 (13.378 s), 1st in 2018 (13.454 s), 1st in 2017 (13.310 s)
+200 -> +125
Cale Makar (COL)
1st Time Participant
+450 -> +500
Dylan Larkin (DET)
1st in 2016 (13.172 s)
+500 -> +600
Evgeny Kuznetsov (WSH)
1st Time Participant
+800 -> +1000
Jordan Kyro (STL)
1st Time Participant
+800 -> +900
Chris Kreider (NYR)
3rd in 2020 (13.509 s)
+900 -> +1000
Kyle Connor (WPG)
1st Time Participant
+1000 -> +1500
Adrian Kempe (LAK)
1st Time Participant
+1000 -> +1500
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
Participants
Odds
Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA)
+348
Claude Giroux (PHI)
+374
Jordan Eberle (SEA)
+401
Roman Josi (NSH)
+451
Nick Suzuki (MTL)
+451
Zach Werenski (MTL)
+551
Mark Stone (VGS)
+350
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
+551
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
Participants
Odds
Nazem Kadri (COL)
+275
Auston Matthews (TOR)
+249
Joe Pavelski (DAL)
+274
Steven Stamkos (TBL)
+250
Brady Tkachuk (OTT)
+300
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.”
2nd in 2020 (9 Save Str.), 2nd in 2019 (8 Save Str.), 5th in 2018 (3 Save Str.)
+300
Frederick Anderson (CAR)
3rd in 2020 (7 Save Str.)
+600
Tristan Jarry (PIT)
7th in 2020 (4 Save Str.)
+700
Cam Talbot (MIN)
1st Time Participant
+1000
Juuse Saros (NSH)
1st Time Participant
+500
Thatcher Demko (VAN)
1st Time Participant
+800
John Gibson (ANA)
5th in 2019 (3 Save Str.)
+600
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.
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
Participants
Odds
Krill Kaprizov (MIN)
+200
Trevor Zegras (ANA)
+199
Jack Hughes (NJD)
+250
Alex DeBrincat (CHI)
+300
Alex Pietrangelo (VGK)
+501
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.
8th in 2016* (23.362 sec.), 5th in 2015* (17.038 sec)
+750
Jonathan Marchessault (VGS)
1st Time Participant
+800
(*) – 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.
