The Ottawa Senators are the proud hosts of this year’s All-Star festivities, but the unique format of drafting players could make it tough to handicap. Meanwhile, the NFL holds its annual Pro Bowl in Hawaii, but don’t expect the intensity of a regular-season game (or even a preseason game). One thing you can expect in both games, though, is a lot of scoring.
NHL All-Star Game Odds – Sunday, 4:00 PM ET
5Dimes players shouldn’t expect to see any odds for the All-Star game until Friday morning as the fantasy draft takes place on Thursday night. Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa and Zdeno Chara of Boston (but he started his career in Ottawa) will be the captains and they get to pick their own teams. You can imagine that both players will look to their teammates first, while most of last year’s fuss surrounded Toronto’s Phil Kessel being picked last; he won’t be picked last this year as he is tied for eighth in the league in points. There have been no fewer than 10 combined goals scored in each of the last 10 All-Star games and last year’s game was an 11-10 win for a team captained by Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom over Carolina’s Eric Staal and his squad in his city. If you’re a smart player, perhaps one that works with price per head sports systems, you’ll consider the over, no matter what the total is: anything over 15 is fair game.
Pro Bowl Odds – Sunday, 7:00 PM ET
The NFC is favored by four points in Hawaii, where the game made its return after a year in Miami last season, and they’ve won three of the last four Pro Bowls. Last year’s 55-41 victory for the NFC gave them a 21-20 lead in the series since they went to the conference format, and over the last five years, 51 combined points is the fewest scored; last year’s 55 by the NFC set a record. Those watching Super Bowl odds know they’ll get nothing like that for the big game as the total for the Pro Bowl is 73.5 points, and that is definitely a reachable number with the lack of defense that is played in the game, not to mention, offenses have been flying high this season thanks to rules that benefit them and take away from the defense (which is another argument altogether). Over the last five games, the smallest margin of victory has been seven points, but things tend to get a little closer in the fourth quarter as pride take over; no one wants to be on the losing team. Whichever team you pick, making an ATS pick will be a tough decision in your best online sportsbook.
