NHL All-Star Game 2024 Picks and Predictions: Leafs Trio Send Fans Home Happy

The NHL All-Star Game goes Saturday afternoon in Toronto and with an abundance of talent set to hit the ice, the spectacle shall be grand. Our NHL picks for this exciting event expect the Leafs trio to up the ante, put on a show, and take home the cash prize.

Neil Parker • Betting Analyst

Feb 2, 2024 • 14:06 ET • 4 min read

Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

The NHL odds for the 2024 All-Star Game have been released, and the festivities began with a fantasy draft to select the four teams on Thursday. The Skills Competition takes place Friday, with the All-Star games taking center stage at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

Team MacKinnon faces Team McDavid to kick-start Saturday’s action and a showdown between Team Hughes and Team Matthews follows. The two winning teams will meet in the final for all the glory and $1 million to go to the charity of their choice.

In addition to crunching the three-on-three numbers for the players involved in Saturday’s action, I also see some team chemistry angles that might impact how it all plays out. And, for reference, all the noted points per 60-minute statistics are across the past three seasons.

Here are my free picks for the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, February 3.

NHL All-Star Game odds

Team
Team Matthews	+250
Team Hughes	+265
Team MacKinnon	+280
Team McDavid	+285

Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of February 2, 2024.

Team MacKinnon vs Team McDavid odds and pick

Odds

Team	Moneyline	Total (11.5)	Spread
Team MacKinnon	-105	Over (-110)	+1.5 (-200)
Team McDavid	-115	Under (-110)	-1.5 (+165)

Odds courtesy of bet365 as of February 2, 2024.

I peg both Team MacKinnon and Team McDavid as top-heavy squads. While there’s no questioning the high-end offensive talent on both clubs, the scoring depth and overall balance is suspect.

It’s also surprising that the MacKinnon squad only has two players inside the top half of all skaters in points per 60. Additionally, Kirill Kaprizov and Sidney Crosby respectively rank 25th and 26th of the 36 players with 4.35 and 4.15 marks.

The McDavid squad has sneaky 3-on-3 producers in Robert Thomas and Sam Reinhart to complement Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak. Thomas (9.47), Reinhart (8.99), Pastrnak (8.13) and McDavid (7.81) are all top-10 scorers in points per 60 at 3-on-3.

Add Connor Hellebuyck in elite form and leading all goalies in goals saved above average per 60 (2.09) at 3-on-3, and I anticipate Team McDavid coming out on top in the opener.

Best bet: Team McDavid (-105 at FanDuel)

Best NHL bonuses

All Users
Team Matthews to win NHL ASG
+260 BOOSTED to +300! Claim Now

New Users
Wager $5 on any market
Get $158 in bonus bets! Claim Now

Eligible USA locations only. Also, see our full list of best sportsbook promotions for 2024.
21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

Team Hughes vs Team Matthews odds and pick

Odds

Team	Moneyline	Total (11.5)	Spread
Team Hughes	-105	Over (-110)	+1.5 (-200)
Team Matthews	-115	Under (-110)	-1.5 (+165)

Odds courtesy of bet365 as of February 2, 2024.

Saturday’s second game features two teams with a lot more familiarity. Team Hughes has five Vancouver Canucks and seven Americans, while Team Matthews features a quartet of Toronto Maple Leafs and five Americans.

The one thing that stood out to me watching the fantasy draft Thursday was how disinterested Nikita Kucherov was, and I was shocked to see he ranked 29th in points per 60. Additionally, I was surprised Team Hughes didn’t make an effort to select a Russian to pair with their No. 1 pick. It’s impossible to quantify team chemistry in a 3-on-3 All-Star game, but I’m interested to see how Kucherov fits into the mix.

Hughes goaltender Thatcher Demko also ranks second last among goalies in 3-on-3 save percentage (.784), goals saved above average per 60 (-1.33), and last in high-danger save percentage (.625) over the past three years. Of course, it would be remiss not to mention that the final addition to the Hughes club, Frank Vatarno, also paces all 36 skaters in points per 60.

Turning to the Matthews club, six of their players rank inside the top 14 in points per 60, with Filip Forsberg (8.06), Alex DeBrincat (7.94), Clayton Keller (7.09), and Mathew Barzal (6.73) joining Maple Leafs William Nylander (11.35) and Morgan Rielly (7.09).

I also view Igor Shesterkin and Jake Oettinger as two of the top-four goalies suiting up, so I’m anticipating a McDavid-Matthews showdown in the final.

Best bet: Team Matthews (-115 at DraftKings)

Covers NHL betting tools

NHL All-Star Game 2024 winner: Team Matthews (+260)

If there’s any hometown advantage it’s on the Team Matthews’ side, and as highlighted, the club is icing a balanced offense in front of an excellent one-two punch in goal. There’s also sneaky chemistry throughout the lineup.

Matthews, Oettinger, Keller, and Debrincat all have connections internationally and/or with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and veteran Vincent Trocheck rounds out the American component and is a teammate with Shesterkin. Additionally, Mitch Marner and Barzal were past Team Canada teammates in the World Juniors, and William Nylander and Filip Forsberg are countrymen.

In an event that has historically been prone to players going through the motions and being only half-heartedly engaged, if there’s a team to up the ante, I believe it's Matthews' squad.

2024 NHL All-Star Game Rosters

Matthews	McDavid	MacKinnon	Hughes
Auston Matthews (C)	Connor McDavid (C)	Nathan MacKinnon (C)	Quinn Hughes (C)
Morgan Rielly (A)	Leon Draisaitl (A)	Cale Makar (A)	Jack Hughes (C)
Mitchell Marner	Connor Hellebuyck	Sidney Crosby	Elias Pettersson (A)
William Nylander	David Pastrnak	Alexandar Georgiev	Nikita Kucherov
Jake Oettinger	Rasmus Dahlin	Kirill Kaprizov	Thatcher Demko
Clayton Keller	Robert Thomas	Sebastian Aho	Kyle Connor
Mathew Barzal	Sam Reinhart	Tom Wilson	Brady Tkachuk
Igor Shesterkin	Sergei Bobrovsky	Jeremy Swayman	Jesper Bratt
Filip Forsberg	Boone Jenner	Travis Konecny	Cam Talbot
Alex DeBrincat	Nick Suzuki	Elias Lindholm*	Brock Boeser
Vincent Trocheck	Tomas Hertl	Oliver Bjorkstrand	J.T. Miller
			Frank Vatrano

Connor Bedard and Jack Eichel cannot participate due to injury
*Selected as a member of Calgary, but was traded to Vancouver on January 31

Stay updated with the latest picks, odds, and news! Tap the to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.

Pages related to this topic

Neil Parker

Betting Analyst

Neil Parker is, first and foremost, a sports fan. A huge supporter of the Cowboys, Cubs, and Maple Leafs, he has managed to parlay his passion into writing gigs with Sportsbook Review, USA TODAY, theScore, DraftKings Playbook, and RotoWire, among many others. He also co-hosted the Daily Fantasy Edge podcast and can now be seen offering expert golf and hockey advice on Covers’ Before you Bet broadcast.

Neil takes a numbers-based approach to his handicapping and complements his in-depth statistical analysis with a keen eye on the markets to provide the best available odds. He loves to lean on his rolodex of idioms to offset his inner nerd. When it comes to wagering, he throws down on anything that catches his eye at bet365, Betway and BetVictor. He also keeps a close eye on CoolBet because the polar bear brand often has outlier NHL and NFL moneyline prices.

Neil graduated with honors from St. Thomas University in 2007 before completing his BEd at Acadia University in 2010. After teaching a myriad of courses and subjects, he found a groove delivering fun lessons to exceptional learners in non-traditional classroom environments. If his decade-plus teaching run taught him anything about sports betting, it’s to stay the course and use the summer – or offseason – to refresh and prepare to be better in the year to come.

Neil’s top pieces of advice for recreational bettors are to stay within your means and to remember sportsbooks aren’t bank accounts. Don’t be afraid to pull those winnings and treat yourself to a lifetime experience courtesy of a big win.