Atlantic Division vs. Central Division: NHL All-Star Game Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/5/2022

Time: 4 p.m. ET

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV

Where to watch: ABC

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

We talked earlier about how everything would be a crapshoot when it comes to All-Star Games, but perhaps not as strong in the matchup Saturday between the Atlantic and Central divisions in the NHL's midseason classic at T-Mobile Arena.

If you're looking for some form of excitement, this will be the matchup. And while there are some exciting names on the Atlantic side -- Auston Matthews, Steven Stamkos, Patrice Bergeron, to name a few -- it's all about the Central in this matchup.

We as a hockey contingent are glad to get Kirill Kaprizov in a 3-on-3 tournament. We as that contingent also could see Kaprizov with Cale Makar on the same line. If only Nathan MacKinnon wasn't hurt; the possible ridiculousness that would have resonated off that would've been absurd.

That's not to say that the Atlantic won't put up a fight; there's so much talent on the Atlantic to believe that this will be the highest-scoring game of All-Star weekend. Any time you can get the previously mentioned three that can score goals at will, combined with defensemen like Victor Hedman and Rasmus Dahlin that will move the puck up ice whenever they want, the puck movement is going to be so fun.

But there's something about the goalie tandem of Juuse Saros and Cam Talbot that intrigues me. A couple of guys that will do everything they can to show they belong, whereas Andrei Vasilevskiy really doesn't need to do much in a game like this, is going to be fun to watch. Jack Campbell getting the nod for his first All-Star Game, he'll want to try hard and make a good impression. And much like goalies that try hard, there will be a few that will go by the wayside.

As a Kaprizov stan, I really want him to go scorched-Earth and dominate for minutes on end at 3-on-3. And if you really think defenses won't let him walk in from time to time with the puck on his stick, make sure to understand how we'd come to that conclusion. Central 7-6

The Central has made it to one championship game all-time, losing 10-5 in 2019.

The Atlantic has gone 0-3 in the final round the past five seasons.

Atlantic:

F Patrice Bergeron, BOS (3rd)
F Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA (2nd)
F Dylan Larkin, DET (2nd)
F Auston Matthews, TOR (4th)*
F Steven Stamkos, TBL (7th)
F Nick Suzuki, MTL (1st)
F Brady Tkachuk,  OTT (2nd)+
D Rasmus Dahlin, BUF (1st)
D Victor Hedman, TBL (3rd)
G Jack Campbell, TOR (1st)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (4th)
+ replaced OTT F Drake Batherson (injury)

Central:

F Kyle Connor, WPG (1st)
F Alex DeBrincat, CHI (1st)
F Nazem Kadri, COL (1st) 
F Kirill Kaprizov, MIN (1st)
F Clayton Keller, ARI (2nd)
F Jordan Kyrou, STL (1st)
F Joe Pavelski, DAL (4th)*
D Roman Josi, NSH (4th)+
D Cale Makar, COL (1st)
G Juuse Saros, NSH (1st)
G Cam Talbot, MIN (1st)
+ replaced COL F Nathan MacKinnon (injury)