While the NFL has revamped its Pro Bowl weekend, the NHL has also taken a different approach to the generic All-Star game. It isn't the first year of the change, but it's a mini-tournament with 2 semi-finals between the 4 divisions. The 2nd one of the day takes place at 4 p.m. ET between the Metro and Atlantic Divisions. The winner goes on to face the winner of the Central vs Division matchup, and we have our best bet here. Let's check out who our experts think will advance to th e final round from the Eastern Conference.
Along with our NHL All-Star game best bets, be sure to check out all our upcoming NHL analysis for the 2nd half of the season.
Metro vs Atlantic Division Best Bet – Atlantic ML (-125)
Looking at last year's results may not provide much confidence for the Atlantic Division. However, they won't be facing the firepower of the Central Division and even if they were, the script has flipped. That's primarily due to the B's; the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres have brought significant depth to the Atlantic. Rather than just the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning leading the way, the Bruins are on pace to set the NHL record for wins and points. David Pastrnak is having an MVP-caliber season and will be leading the All-Star team.'
Both sides in this matchup feature world-class goaltenders in Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy, but the x-factor could be Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark. He is having a career year and set the all-time record for the fastest goaltender to reach 25 wins; it took just 28 decisions. He'll also have the benefit of the superior firepower in front of him with the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Matthew Tkachuk and Pastrnak. The Metro has the Hurricanes and Devils looking great, but they are very top-heavy. Even the high-flying Panthers aren't even in playoff position in the Atlantic, so we'll back the deeper division.