NHL Skills Competition betting guide and picks

I can't help but think of this clip when I hear Makar's name. That wasn't breakaway speed by any means, but that shows me a guy who can cut on a dime. I have never seen this event so I have absolutely no idea if this is true, but I feel like it's all about how you get off the gates.

For that reason, I'm riding with Cale Makar in the Fastest Skater competition.

Accuracy Shooting

• Leon Draisatl (+500 DK)
• Sebastian Aho (+600 FD)
• Patrice Bergeron (+750 DK)
• Johnny Gaudreau (+750 FD)
• Jonathan Marchessault (+800 DK)
• Troy Terry (+950 FD)
• Jake Guentzel (+950 FD)
• Rasmus Dahlin (+1000 DK)
• Clayton Keller (+1000 DK)

Off the bat, I'm quite certain I will be avoiding Sebastian Aho in this competition. For regular readers, Aho broke our hearts on a massive four-leg goal scorer parlay last Saturday, missing multiple open nets in the span of minutes.

I can never forgive that.

Let's stay on the topic of open nets here for a moment, which is powering my pick here. 

There's some level of accuracy needed to put the puck in an empty net to put a game on ice. When looking at the NHL ranks for empty net goals this season, there's one man in this competition who has more than the others: Leon Draisatl.

Draisatl has three empty net goals this season, with no one else on this list having more than two.

Pick #1: Leon Draisatl +500

We'll add one more pick here to give us a better chance of cashing a winner. This is an accuracy competition, so why not look at shooting percentage?

Shooting percentage is a simple metric that quantifies how many of a player's shots are a goal.

It's Troy Terry who has the overwhelming edge in that category in comparison to his peers in this competition, ranking third in the NHL.

 Pick #2: Troy Terry +950

Hardest Shot

• Victor Hedman (+150 DK)
• Adam Pelech (+300 FD/DK)
• Tom Wilson (+350 FD)
• Timo Meier (+500 DK)

When I think hard slap shots, I think defensemen. So, that immediately narrows this field to just Hedman and Pelech.

Hedman competed in this event the last time it was held, and came in fifth.

One has to think Hedman has been losing sleep at his poor showing in 2020, with a focused vision on taking home the win the next opportunity he could.

For a deeper scientific look, Hedman has 10 goals this season to Pelech's two. He's clearly shooting more, and ready to launch a rocket to win this competition Friday night.

My Pick: Victor Hedman +150

Save Streak

• Andrei Vasilevskiy (+430 FD)
• Juuse Saros (+500 FD/DK)
• John Gibson (+600 FD/DK)
• Frederick Andersen (+600 DK)
• Jack Campbell (+700 DK)
• Tristan Jarry (+750 FD)
• Thatcher Demko (+800 DK)
• Cam Talbot (+1000 DK)

For a competition like save streak, the simplest thing we can do is look at who has the best save percentage in the NHL.

Of the competitors here, the top mark goes to Frederick Andersen, at 92.9%. Juuse Saros and Jack Campbell are right behind him, at 92.7% and 92.5% respectively.

A percentage is just a piece of the pie, what I'm looking for here is volume, and one goaltender takes the cake there.

My Pick: Juuse Saros +500

Saros is getting peppered by shots this season, with 1,122 (the most in the NHL). While he's played a few more games than others, that's still nearly 200 more than the next closest competitor here.

He's seeing this flood of shots and still sporting an elite save percentage. That's enough for me.

Let's have some fun Friday night!