NHL All-Star Skills Competition odds, picks, predictions: Three bets to make

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

There are seven events on the slate, but only three of them are listed at sportsbooks since the other four are pre-taped.

All of the odds below are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.

Let’s take a look at the odds for the Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, and Accuracy Shooting challenges:

NHL All-Star Skills Competition odds

Fastest Skater odds

• Dylan Larkin +250
• Chandler Stephenson +300
• Cale Makar +320
• Kirill Kaprizov +500
• Andrei Svechnikov +600

This race opened up once it was announced that Connor McDavid, a three-time winner of this event, opted to participate in the Accuracy Shooting over the Fastest Skater. 

The odds for these events are often based on reputation more than anything, so it’s no surprise that Dylan Larkin is the favorite. The Red Wings captain won this challenge back in 2016 but is also known as one of the smoothest skaters in the NHL. 

Even with that experience, Larkin’s price seems a little too short in a race against some of the best skaters in the NHL. 

Instead of looking toward the favorite, bettors can find some value in Cale Makar. Although no defenseman has won this competition since Scott Niedermayer did it in 2004, Makar is arguably the best skating rearguard the league has ever seen.

If he were a forward, Makar would likely be the favorite, so take advantage of the discount on the Avalanche star.

The Bet: Cale Makar +320 (FanDuel)

Hardest Shot odds

• Alex Ovechkin +300
• Elias Pettersson +350
• Rasmus Dahlin +380
• Seth Jones +400
• Josh Morrissey +400

As the odds suggest, this race is wide open. But if you’re going to back a favorite in any of these contests, this would be the place to do it.

Elias Pettersson could be an exciting shout at +350, but Alex Ovechkin has won this contest before and still packs a ton of heat on his patented one-timer. He’s also quite the showman and doesn’t miss these kinds of opportunities.

The Bet: Alex Ovechkin +300 (FanDuel)

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Accuracy Shooting odds

• Connor McDavid +500
• Leon Draisaitl +600
• Jack Hughes +600
• Nikita Kucherov +650
• Artemi Panarin +700
• Aleksander Barkov +700
• Vladimir Tarasenko +900
• Nazem Kadri +900
• Kevin Hayes +1100
• Brock Nelson +1100

This is probably the most exciting betting board because this contest features the most competitors and is also the hardest to predict. Although we’ve seen some stars (Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and David Pastrnak) win this event in recent years, we’ve also seen some unheralded players like Jaccob Slavin and Brock Boeser take the honors, too. 

So while it’s tempting to take the +500 price on Connor McDavid, it’s probably worth jumping to the bottom of the board and hoping you get lucky. 

This brings us to the two biggest longshots on the board, Kevin Hayes and Brock Nelson. While neither player is considered an elite player, both of these centers are known for being deadly accurate with their wrist shots, and this challenge should suit their skillset. 

Moreso than any other challenge, this one comes down to who is in the zone at the time, and we could see anybody win, so why not back the two highest prices on the board?

The Bet(s): Brock Nelson, Kevin Hayes +1100 (FanDuel)