With divisional, conference, and even century-old rivalries, the National Hockey League’s drama appeals to ice hockey betting enthusiasts of all skill levels. During the course of 82 seasons, 24 U.S. clubs and seven Canadian clubs physically abuse each other nearly every night. The All-Star Game and playoffs are even more exciting because their tough seven-game structure does a great job of ensuring that the two greatest teams at the end of the season encounter each other.
NHL Betting Lines & Odds
The moneylines provided by the leading ice hockey betting websites are based on positive and negative numbers and represent how much a bettor needs wager to win £100 or how much a £100 wager would win.
Negative numbers show the amount of wagers required to win £100.
If the money line for Washington is -140, you must wager £140 to win £100.
Positive numbers represent a £100 wager’s earnings.
Example: If Toronto’s money line is +160, a winning wager of £100 would yield £160. Compute winnings for various wager amounts by scaling the figure proportionally up or down, keeping in mind whether the number is positive or negative.
Puck lines are a way to increase the value of a money line wager and are comparable to point spreads. The favorite must win by at least 1.5 goals, or the underdog must keep the score within the same range.
If Washington’s money line is -140, a +1.5 puck line wager requires the Capitals to win by at least two goals (the decimal assures no ties). If Toronto is a +160 underdog, a -1.5 puck line wager needs the Maple Leafs to stay within that number of goals of the Capitals.
Totals wagering involves predicting how many goals will be scored by both teams in a particular game. If the Over/Under for the Washington-Toronto game is set at 6, the wager would be on whether both sides score at least six goals.
Futures wagers incorporate the season-long objectives of both clubs and players. It is possible to wager on whether a team will win the Stanley Cup, the Eastern or Western Conference Championship, their division title, or simply enough games to qualify for the playoffs.
Bets can also be placed on whether or not a player will win a variety of annual awards, such as the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player, Vezina Trophy for the best goaltender, Art Ross Trophy for the top point scorer, Rocket Richard Trophy for the top goal scorer, and the Calder Memorial Trophy for the best rookie, or if they will reach particular statistical milestones.
The chances for these long-term objectives change almost daily, thus time is essential when placing wagers. These wagers provide long-term amusement for casual followers, with the possibility of a long-term payout for early believers (or smarts).
Tips for Betting NHL games
While hockey may appear to be a simple game – score puck, save puck, and pummel the opposing team — complex factors influence game outcomes and thus wagers. Injuries are a continuous variable in all sports, but a bettor seeking consistency must constantly evaluate the wear and tear of such a fast and brutal game.
A important player becoming a late-afternoon scratch – when players don’t dress for a game due to a coach’s choice – can drastically affect odds and outcomes.
Schedule
Time and knowledge of a team’s schedule can play a significant factor in identifying the best teams to wager on in a given clash. Teams frequently engage in lengthy road journeys, which can either enhance or hinder their chances, depending on how they typically respond to them. For some teams, road trips are a chore, and crossing time zones has a depressing effect.
As teams go from the East to the West Coast, jet lag is frequently reported. Not only are teams playing on successive days, particularly in different cities, vulnerable due to fatigue, but they frequently deploy a backup goaltender only once.
Keep in mind that coaches will frequently match their best goaltender against the best team they face in a bookend situation, which could alter the projected puck line.
Other teams use the added difficulties of road trips as an opportunity to focus and connect as a team, and occasionally perform better on the road than in front of their home fans. Although days off are ideal for such a physically demanding sport, there are occasions when every NHL team must play on consecutive days.
Rivalries
There are ‘Original Six’ rivalries among the six teams that comprised the NHL from 1942 through 1967. The Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers were all founded between 1909 and 1926, giving them nearly a century of shared history, which is ample time to breed animosity.
Particularly the Bruins, Canadiens, and Maple Leafs bring a lot of hatred to most games, making them fun to wager on. There is little doubt that the finest of both teams will be on display whenever any of these six squads are scheduled to meet.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues are two of the strongest recent matchups to wager on. Regional and intrastate rivalries such as the Battle for Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, the New York Islanders versus the New York Rangers, the Anaheim Ducks versus the Los Angeles Kings, and the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Philadelphia Flyers are particularly intense.
In-Game Betting
A hockey game consists of three 20-minute quarters, so wagering within those constraints might be a fun way to wager, reevaluate, and attempt a new strategy. It is therefore advantageous to learn whether a team specializes in scoring during a given time or has a strong record when leading or trailing after a certain point in the game. Goaltenders will be heavily involved in this examination.
Few teams are able to score early and often and then clamp down for the remainder of the game. Examine their trends. The numbers will reveal mentalities and trends.
Making NHL Choices
One of the most crucial components of hockey to comprehend is how a team’s lines match up against the opposition on a given night. This is a more comprehensive perspective on the game that leads to wiser decisions. Offensive lines consist of three players, a center and two wings, while defensive pairings consist of the two defensemen accompanying them on the ice.
Line Matchups
There are typically four offensive lines and three defensive pairings, and coaches frequently switch them throughout the season and playoffs to maximize their teams’ performance and capitalize on mismatches. Certain lines, known as checking lines, are designed to slow down a very dangerous line. These lines are subject to alter at any time based on the matchup, health, or performance.
Due to the impossibility of playing for a complete 60 minutes, there is no assurance that a team’s top scorers will all be on the same line. A coach may divide his most talented players in order to make his team stronger. Familiarity between linemates fosters vital chemistry throughout the season, as a line’s chemistry may make or break a season.
Special Groups
The percentages of a team’s power play and penalty kill are a category of statistics unique to hockey that frequently delivers different advantages. Depending on the severity of the rule violation, a player is sent to the penalty box for either two or five minutes.
This gives the opposing team a 5-on-4 advantage, known as a power play, while the opposing team’s shorthanded “penalty kill” unit attempts to defend against the opponent.
Skill in either field has a significant impact on the ebb and flow of a game, since scoring on a power play or getting a kill are frequently referred to as momentum-shifting moments.
NHL Playoff Wagers
In recent Stanley Cup Playoffs, conventional wisdom has been questioned. Home-ice advantage was traditionally a major factor in determining a team’s success, but road teams have begun to disprove this notion. The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals, dropped the first two games of their first-round series versus Columbus at home before advancing by winning the following four games.
In 2018, the Vegas Golden Knights became the first expansion team to reach the Stanley Cup final, falling to the Washington Capitals in six games. Seasoned teams were expected to have the necessary fortitude to endure the rigors of the postseason.
Twenty-eight teams have overcome 3-1 or 3-0 series deficits to win, with 26 of these comebacks occurring since 1987 and seven occurring since 2010. In that season, the Flyers became the first club to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Bruins. In 2014, the Kings duplicated the feat against the San Jose Sharks.
Even statistically being the greatest team in the league confers no discernible advantage in the NHL. Even teams that finish the regular season as the odds-on favorite have lost frequently and early in the postseason in recent years.
The team with the most points in both conferences wins the Presidents Trophy and is considered the regular-season “champion.” However, just two holders of this award have won the Stanley Cup since the 2002-2003 season.
From 2005-2006 to 2011-2012, the Presidents’ Trophy winner was eliminated in the first round four times. Since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2012-2013, no hardware winner has moved past the second round (as of 2018).