NHL All-Star Game 2023: Format, Rules and Full Weekend Schedule

The NHL All-Star Game is the first of three major professional All-Star events to take place over the next few weeks.

Unlike the NBA and NFL, the NHL has not switched up its All-Star format in quite some time.

The current format has been in place since 2016, with the four divisions competing in a three-on-three tournament.

The Metropolitan and Pacific Divisions have alternated victories, with the former winning last year's event in Las Vegas over the Central Division.

The 2023 All-Star Game is being held in Sunrise, Florida, at the home of the Florida Panthers.

NHL All-Star Weekend Schedule

Friday, February 3: All-Star Skills Challenge (7 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN+)

Saturday, February 4: All-Star Game (3 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+)

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Format and Rules

Each of the four divisions is represented by a team in the three-on-three event. Two 20-minute games will decide the finalists.

The division that wins the Skills Challenge on Friday will get to choose its opponent in the opening round of the All-Star tournament.

A year ago, Metropolitan beat Pacific and Central defeated Atlantic in the opening round, before Metropolitan defeated Central to win the All-Star crown.

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Preview

The Atlantic Division should be viewed as the favorite to win the All-Star Game on Saturday.

The Atlantic roster possesses two of the top three goal scorers in the NHL in David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins and Tage Thompson from the Buffalo Sabres.

NHL assist leader Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning also headlines the Atlantic roster.

Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk should have extra motivation to propel the Atlantic side to victory because the Florida Panthers duo will be playing in front of their home crowd.

It speaks to the depth within the Atlantic Division that it can be viewed as a potential favorite even with Auston Matthews ruled out because of injury.

The Metropolitan Division is typically the stronger unit out of the Eastern Conference, but the 2023 squad only has three 20-goal scorers, two of them being Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.

The Pacific has been the dominant division out of the Western Conference in the All-Star format, picking up wins in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

The Edmonton Oilers pair of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the Pacific roster, but at least one key piece will not play in south Florida. Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers was ruled out because of injury, and Bo Horvat was traded during the All-Star break from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Islanders.

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski reported on Monday that the league was not sure how to handle the Horvat All-Star situation. He has 30 goals and 19 assists, and he would be a big miss for the Pacific squad if he is ineligible to play.

The Central squad is full of Colorado Avalanche stars. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen will try to lead the division back to the All-Star final. Meanwhile, Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov, who have 55 goals between them, can provide depth.