Hockey fans know that the NHL is one of the most exciting and fast-paced sports out there, and it’s also a prime opportunity for sports bettors.
However, before placing a bet, it’s important to do your research and know what you’re getting into.
Let’s examine some of our favorite ways to bet on the NHL.
Moneylines
Moneyline betting is one of the most straightforward ways to bet on sports, including NHL games. When you place a moneyline wager, you’re picking the team that you believe will win the contest.
Each team is given odds by sportsbooks, which indicates its chances of winning that game.
Here is an example of what that looks like: Rangers (-125) vs Devils (+115)
The team that is favored to win, like the Rangers in this case, is represented by negative odds, while the underdog Devils have plus-money odds.
These odds indicate how much money you need to bet to win a certain amount.
If you bet on the favorite, you’ll need to wager more than your potential winnings. Going back to our example, a $12.50 bet on the Rangers would net you $10 if New York wins.
Conversely, a bet on the underdog will see you profit more than the money you outlay. In our example, a $10 wager on the Devils would net you $11.50 if New Jersey wins.
In hockey betting, moneylines include any potential overtime or shootout that may ultimately decide which team gets the two points, making it the safest wager from a bettor’s perspective.
Spreads
The puck line is the hockey equivalent of spread betting in other sports.
The puck line, like the MLB run line, is typically set at 1.5, which means that the favorite must win by two or more goals to cover the spread.
In NHL betting, the puck line can offer bettors more value than a moneyline bet, as the odds on the favorite will typically be plus-money. However, it can also be riskier because the favorite team needs to win by a certain margin to cover the spread.
Many times, puck lines can be decided by whether or not teams score an empty-net goal at the end of regulation, which – depending on your risk tolerance – can be worth the extra squeeze or avoiding altogether.
Over/Under Totals
In NHL totals betting, it’s important to consider the offensive and defensive capabilities of each team, as well as the starting goaltenders.
You may think you have a good bet until a team announces that it is starting its less-reliable backup goaltender that night, so it’s always best to wait for all the available information.
As is the case with other sports, NHL totals represent the combined number of goals expected to be scored by both teams during a given game.
The Over/Under is generally set around six goals, but can vary based on matchups. Bettors will then get the option of choosing Over or Under on the listed total. Any ties, in the case of totals with round numbers like 6 or 7, will result in a push.
Again, make sure to factor in the potential for empty-net goals at the end of games, as those can make for some extraordinarily bad (or good) beats.
What other types of NHL Betting odds are available?
While most casual NHL bettors will stick to those three bet types, there are plenty of other NHl betting markets for users to choose from.
Futures Betting
NHL futures betting is a great way to make a long-term investment on teams and players as these are season-long wagers.
Futures bets can take into account both player and team performance. Top players in the league like Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin will have individual season-long goal props, while both will also be in the running for the Rocket Richard Trophy for the league’s top goalscorer.
You can also wager on a bevy of team futures, such as the number of points a team will earn during the regular season or whether they will make the playoffs.
More traditional markets like the Stanley Cup winner, Hart Trophy winner, or the Vezina Trophy winner are open from the start of the offseason until they are awarded at the NHL Honors in June.
Prop Betting
NHL props allow you to bet on specific outcomes or events within a hockey game, rather than the overall outcome of the game itself.
This can include betting on a variety of events, such as which team will score first, how many shots on goal a specific player will have, or whether a specific player will score a goal in the game.
Some props also let you bet on smaller portions of the game, like the first period, giving bettors a quick resolution to their bet instead of having to wait for the full 60 minutes of play.
Grand Salami
The NHL Grand Salami is a unique and fun way to bet on the total number of goals scored in all games played on a given day.
Sportsbooks will set a total number of goals for all the games on that day’s NHL slate, and bettors can then wager on Over or Under that number.
For league-wide NHL enthusiasts, this is a great way to add some excitement to all the games played on a given day, rather than just focusing on one or two individual games.
Parlay Betting
A parlay in NHL betting is when you combine multiple bets into a single wager.
For example, you could bet on the moneyline (which team will win the game), the puck line (which team will win by a certain number of goals), or the Over/Under (the total number of goals scored) for two or more NHL games.
At certain sportsbooks, you can now also build NHL same-game parlays with various player and team props. These give NHL bettors the opportunity to maximize their returns if they think they know what is going to happen in a specific game.
The potential payout of parlays depends on the odds of the individual bets and the number of bets in the parlay. The more bets you include in your parlay, the higher the potential payout, but the lower the odds of winning.
Be sure to balance those factors when building your next NHL parlay.