NHL All-Star Game odds: Central Division favored to win event for first time

The NHL All-Star Game is Saturday night in St. Louis, but it's actually All-Star Games if not familiar with the league's unique format as the two divisions in the Western Conference face off and the two in the Eastern Conference do with the winning divisions then playing in the championship game. This year, the "host" Central Division is the slight favorite to win on the DraftKings NHL odds.

This format has been in place since 2016. The divisions in each conference play just one full period of 20 minutes split in 10-minute halve against one another. It's three-on-three hockey and of course includes a goalie. If there's a tie after 20 minutes, it goes to a three-round shootout. Same for the championship game between the winning West division against the winning East division.

The captains for each division are: Edmonton's Connor McDavid from the Pacific, Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon from the Central, Boston's David Pastrnak from the Atlantic, and Pittsburgh's Kris Letang from the Metropolitan. Washington's Alex Ovechkin was the original Metropolitan captain but pulled out for the second straight year to rest his body for the second half. That decision means Ovechkin is suspended for the Caps' first game out of the All-Star break Monday in Montreal.

Another big star, Toronto's Auston Matthews, pulled out of the game, but he's legitimately injured with a wrist problem. Matthews is tied for second in the NHL this season with 34 goals. He has been replaced on the Atlantic Division roster by Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk.

Interesting that the Central Division is favored considering it has yet to win this event. The Central has only reached the "final" once and that was last year when it lost 10-5 to the Metropolitan. The Pacific has won the All-Star Game twice and is +275, and the Metropolitan twice and it is +315. The Atlantic is +300. The Over-Under totals on the NHL picks for each game are going to be in double digits because there is little defense played.