Everything you need to know about the 2022 NHL All-Star Game

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) reaches back to block a shot by Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) in the NHL hockey All Star final game Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, in St. Louis.

Published: 22:30 PM ET February 02, 2022

By hook or by crook, the NHL was determined to stage an All-Star Game in 2022 after a year off. Covid and the Winter Olympics be dammed, the league was adamant they would mark the traditional halfway point in the season in style. Having got their way, the league’s best and brightest are heading to Las Vegas this weekend for a two-day hockey extravaganza.

We’ll aim to answer all your questions about the All-Star weekend in this article so you are up to speed on what to expect before Friday’s All-Star Skills contests.

Where will the 2022 NHL All-Star Game be held?

For the first time ever, Las Vegas will play host to the All-Star weekend with both Friday’s skills competition and the All-Star Game taking place at the T-Mobile Arena, home of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Strip will also see some hockey action with the addition of two new skill games. Fountain Face-Off will see players fire pucks at targets at the world-famous Fountains of Bellagio, while a game of blackjack will take place – hockey-style of course – on Las Vegas Boulevard involving players hitting oversized cards.

With Vegas being the Entertainment capital of the world, the NHL are rolling out the red carpet with musician Machine Gun Kelly, actor Jon Hamm and magician Dustin Tavella amongst those scheduled to make an appearance.

What is the format of the 2022 NHL All-Star weekend?

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition kicks things off on Friday, 4 February with the return of all the old favorites, including Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Save Streak and Breakaway Challenge. Things to watch out for in the skills portion of the weekend include Connor McDavid bidding to become the first four-time winner of the Fastest Skater title.

The main event takes place on Saturday with the All-Star Games. For the sixth consecutive All-Star weekend, a 3-on-3 tournament will be held with each of the four divisions represented by their top stars. The tournament is a single-elimination event with the two victorious divisions from the semi-finals going on to meet in the final. The games will be 20 minutes long, separated into two periods.

The Pacific All-Stars are the reigning champions having seen off the Atlantic All-Stars 5-4 in the 2020 final. Boston’s David Pastrnak was named the tournament’s MVP after finishing with four goals and two assists.

Who will be playing in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game?

The four divisions are represented by a roster of 11 players, usually broken down into seven forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders, although the Pacific are only carrying one defenseman this year.
As is often the case with All-Star games, the rosters have changed a bit since they were first announced in mid-January and are liable to alter in the run-up to the event. Already we’ve seen Nathan McKinnon and Adam Fox drop out, opening the door for Roman Josi and Evgeny Kuznetsov to be added to the party.

In total, 19 players will be making their first appearances in the All-Star Game with Kirill Kaprizov, Cale Makar, Rasmus Dahlin, Nazem Kadri and Mark Stone amongst the debutants.

With only 44 spots available and some divisions boasting more star quality than others, snubs were inevitable with Sidney Crosby, Artemi Panarin, Brad Marchand, William Nylander, Vladimir Tarasenko and Anze Kopitar the headline absentees.

How to bet on the NHL All-Star Game

Given the exhibition nature of the event, betting on the outcome of the All-Star tournament should be approached with caution. One good thing about All-Star Game is that it does offer a bit of value in the outright betting for what is a four-horse race.

Since the tournament switched to a 3-on-3 tournament, the favourites have triumphed just once when the Metropolitan Division secured the $1million top prize in 2017. When considering your options this year, it’s worth keeping the reigning champions the Pacific Division on side. They have developed a tendency to show up in this event, winning three of the past five editions and have assembled a good-looking roster this year.

The Pacific are led by skipper Connor McDavid, who will be pairing up with fellow Edmonton points machine Leon Draisaitl. Having a couple of Golden Knights on the roster can’t hurt either, while Johnny Gaudreau and Timo Meier rank in the top-20 point scorers this season. The main concern with the Pacific is the lack of defencemen with only Alex Pietrangelo on the roster, meaning John Gibson and Thatcher Demko will need to play well.

With it being 3-on-3, goals tend to be the order of the day. The Pacific are the All-Star’s top-scoring team across the last five years, netting 46 goals at an average of 5.75 goals per game, with the Metro not far behind. Those two have been largely responsible for All-Star Games average 10.8 goals per game since the switch of formats with both having hit double figures on combined four occasions.

Sportsbooks are sharp on the total goals line in games given the event’s history and looking at individual players to light the lamp, rather than totals might offer more value. The Central Division are carrying the two top-scoring defencemen in the NHL this year in Cale Makar and Roman Josi and are certainly worth considering to find the net.

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