NHL All-Star Game 2022: Format, Rules and Full Weekend Schedule

The sixth iteration of the three-on-three NHL All-Star Game format takes place Saturday inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Pacific and Metropolitan Divisions are the only two to win the All-Star Game in the current format. The former is the reigning champion from 2020 and owns three victories. The Metropolitan has two wins.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have made the Pacific team incredibly hard to beat in the current format. The Edmonton Oilers duo is back to lead the Pacific for the 2022 edition alongside Johnny Gaudreau. All three players rank in the top eight in points.

The Atlantic Division has the best chance to be a first-time winner in the three-on-three format. Auston Matthews is the captain of the squad, which features NHL points-leader Jonathan Huberdeau.

Central may be at the biggest disadvantage of the four squads since Nathan MacKinnon will not participate because of a concussion and facial fracture.

Saturday's tournament will be the conclusion to two days of festivities, with the skills competition set to take place Friday night.

Weekend Schedule

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Friday, February 4: Skills competition (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) 

Saturday, February 5: All-Star Game (3 p.m. ET, ABC)

          

Friday's skills competition features all of the usual events we have seen throughout the years.

The fastest skater, hardest shot and accuracy challenge return, and they will be accompanied by some new events that are specific to the surroundings in Las Vegas.

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski outlined the two new events, including one that will take place on a rink built on the famous Fountains of Bellagio.

The All-Star Game has the same format it has had for the previous five events. The semifinals pit the two Eastern Conference and Western Conference divisions against each other.

The winners of the two semifinal games will meet in the championship round.

Pacific Division Should Be Favored

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Any team that boasts Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl stands a good chance to win a three-on-three tournament.

The Pacific Division has reached the championship round in four of the five versions of this All-Star Game format.

The Edmonton Oilers duo should wreak havoc on opposing defenses that will be weaker because of the three-skater format.

The presence of Johnny Gaudreau and Alex Pietrangelo around the Edmonton skaters should boost the offensive profile of the squad. The Calgary Flames wing ranks eighth in points in the NHL.

The Pacific could also receive a boost from the home crowd in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights play in that division, and they are represented by Pietrangelo and Mark Stone. The division already has the advantage in star power over the Central in the semifinal clash because the Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon will not be on the ice.

Kirill Kaprizov and Cale Makar mean the Central will present a challenge, but it is hard to pick against a unit with two of the game's top stars.

Atlantic Division Has Potential to Win 1st All-Star Game

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The Atlantic Division has advanced to three finals during the three-on-three All-Star Game era, but each time it came up short against the Pacific Division.

The division comes into Las Vegas with a top goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy, a superstar captain in Auston Matthews and the league's points-leader in Jonathan Huberdeau.

Huberdeau and Matthews are just two of the terrific scoring options for Atlantic, with Dylan Larkin and Steven Stamkos both over the 20-goal mark as well.

The Florida Panthers man and in-state rival Victor Hedman both rank in the top five in assists, and they should have ample opportunities to dish out scoring chances.

The mix of top scorers and some of the best passers in the league makes the Atlantic a force to be reckoned with.

If the scoring comes through and Vasilevskiy makes some big saves, the Atlantic has a real chance of landing its first All-Star Game win.