The NHL has a long season, 82 games per team, meaning there are 1,000 opportunities to bet on the NHL each season. Many people have questions about hockey and NHL betting. There are a bunch of picks and props available for bettors, all with unique terms. This is a look at what you need to know to become an NHL betting guru.
Where Is NHL Betting Legal?
First, being in a state where you can bet on sports legally is important. As of today, most of the states, along with Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting. These are the states where some form of sports betting is available:
Mississippi
North Carolina
Washington DC
West Virginia
Being physically located somewhere on that list, even if you’re visiting, provides you the opportunity to bet on the NHL.
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Types of NHL Betting
There are a ton of ways to bet on NHL games and the NHL season. NHL Moneyline, over/under, and NHL puck lines are the most common bets placed on the NHL. Some of the other popular betting options are NHL parlays, NHL prop bets, and Futures bets. There’s no right or wrong way to bet on hockey, but you should know what you’re betting on before placing any wagers.
NHL Moneyline Betting
The simplest way to bet on a game, picking an NHL team on the Moneyline means that you believe they will win the game. It doesn’t matter how many goals they end up winning. If they win the game, your bet wins. Any loss means the bet loses, though, even in overtime or a shootout. The NHL eliminated ties, so an NHL Moneyline bet won’t result in a push. Each game has a winner.
NHL Over/Under Betting
Sportsbooks will set a total for the number of goals in an NHL game, and bettors wager on whether the final score will have over or under that many goals. If a game is set at 5.5 goals, a 3-2 score would be a win for under bettors, as the game only had five goals. If the game ended with six or more goals, the over would win. It doesn’t matter who wins, only how many times someone lit the lamp. An NHL total set as a whole number will result in a push if the final score has that many goals.
NHL Puck Line Betting
For NHL betting, the spread is called the puck line, and it functions similarly to the MLB run line. The NHL puck line is almost always set at -1.5 for the favorite, and the odds change to reflect the gap between the teams. For the favorites to cover at -1.5, they have to win the game, and it has to be by at least two goals. For the underdogs at +1.5, they beat the puck line losing by only one goal or winning the game. An NHL puck line is never a whole number, so there won’t be pushes.
NHL Prop Betting
NHL prop bets focus on the performance of players and teams during a game rather than the outcome of the game itself. There are options for skaters and goalies, such as the number of assists, goals, and saves. For teams, you can bet on things such as who scores the first goal or who wins a certain period. Every NHL game will have a wide selection of props available for it.
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NHL Parlay Betting
For most of the season, the NHL will have multiple games per day. One way for NHL bettors to bet on them all without paying too much is by playing the bets as a parlay. This combines all of your selections into one bet, with better odds than the individual bets. The catch is that each leg of the parlay must win for the parlay to pay out. NHL parlays are at higher risk but yield higher rewards.
NHL Futures Betting
NHL Futures are focused on how the dominoes will fall after the season. Futures options open before the season starts and remain open until the betting option has a winner. The Vezina winner, Hart recipient, conference champions, and the team that lifts the Stanley Cup are among the many open NHL Futures options.
NHL Odds, Picks, and Predictions
The season may be long, but you can come right here to look at NHL odds, NHL best bets, and NHL expert picks every day. We have you covered from the first puck drop of the season until the final whistle of the Stanley Cup Finals. This is a great place to take a look at expert predictions all season long.
