NHL Live Betting Live betting is the pinnacle of what the online sportsbook world has to offer. Thanks to the incredible technology that surrounds us, sportsbooks are able to offer up to the minute odds on hockey games. This allows you to make incredibly daring predictions at a whim’s notice.
Looking to get started betting on hockey with the 2021 NHL season? Our NHL betting guide breaks down all you need to know to place hockey bets with a look at all the various betting markets, terms and strategies. We’ll also showcase daily NHL betting odds from the top legal US sportsbooks.
The 2021 NHL regular season runs from Wednesday, Jan. 13, through Saturday, May 8, and will have all 31 teams playing a 56-game, regionally-based schedule. The Colorado Avalanche enter the season as the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, with the 2019-20 champion Tampa Bay Lightning right behind.
NHL betting odds
NHL Betting Guide: Best betting sites
Legal sports betting is expanding across the United States, and bettors should particularly be aware of these sportsbooks:
- Best online sportsbooks for hockey betting; Hockey betting tips; How to Bet on NHL Ice Hockey. The most popular ways to bet on hockey games are on the money line and puck line, but total (over/under) bets are popular as well. For betting on the winner of the Stanley Cup, futures bets can be made at any online.
- A good frame of reference for NHL betting is to think about MLB betting. Much like betting on baseball, betting on hockey primarily consists of money line wagering and totals action. Spreads, like what we.
- All states with legal sports betting allow sportsbooks to offer single-game NHL wagering, including futures and prop bets. If you’re of legal age and inside state lines, you can bet on NHL games and the future prospects of players and teams at licensed retail and online sportsbooks. Check below for the live odds on tonight’s NHL games at the top legal US online.
- On most sportsbooks, the moneyline bets and the over/under bets are the first bets you will encounter. As you learn how to bet on the NHL, start with these types of bets because you.
DraftKings Sportsbook — Available in NJ, CO, PA, IA, IL, IN, NH, TN and WV
FanDuel Sportsbook — Available in NJ, CO, PA, IA, IL, IN, TN and WV
BetMGM — Available in CO, IA, IN, NV, NJ, PA, TN and WV
FanDuel Sportsbook — Available in NJ, CO, PA, IA, IL, IN, TN and WV
BetMGM — Available in CO, IA, IN, NV, NJ, PA, TN and WV
Each of these sportsbooks will have a wide selection of special offers and promotions for the NHL aimed at both first-time and existing customers.
NHL Betting Guide: How to bet on hockey
NHL moneyline
Unlike football and some other sports, hockey betting revolves around the moneyline. In a moneyline wager, a bettor simply selects the winning team with payouts being less depending on the odds.
In hockey, bettors only have to pick the winning team no matter the margin of victory. There will always be a favorite and an underdog, with payouts adjusted on which team you select.
For example in a matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Avalanche, the book may list the following:
- St. Louis Blues +125
- Colorado Avalanche -152
This means the Avalanche are favored and a bettor would have to risk $152 to win $100 (or $15.20 to win $10). A bet on the underdog Blues would bring $125 for a winning $100 bet. Obviously, a bet on the underdog brings more money than a bet on the favorite.
Unlike in other sports, point spreads don’t enter into traditional hockey wagering. Got a hunch on a team? Simply open your sports betting app and make a selection. It’s that easy.
NHL puck line betting
This offers bettors another interesting bet with a potential for some better returns depending on the side you bet. The puck line (similar to the run line in baseball) is usually set at 1.5 and is a version of point spread betting applied to hockey.
In an average hockey game, final scores usually are decided by a goal or two. These wagers offer some extra action on teams taking that scoring into mind.
So when considering a puck line wager, bettors are basically weighing whether a team can win by two goals or more.
For example, in a matchup between St. Louis and Colorado, the Blues may be +1.5 (-240) and the Avs at -1.5 (+190).
A $100 wager on the favored Avalanche would earn $190 if they can win by 2 or more. On the other side, it will take a $240 bet on the Blues to return $100.
Line - Wikipedia
For the most part the puck line is usually set at 1.5, but that can drift as high as 2.5 depending on the matchup. A poor defensive team against a top-notch offensive opponent might see the puck line move up.
Online cricket games ipl. Betting the puck line offers some extra incentives for picking a winner – especially when selecting a favorite.
NHL totals (over/under)
The over/under is a traditional bet based on the total number of goals scored between two teams. This is similar to wagers a bettor would find in other sports.
The bettor is making a choice whether the total goals will go “over” or “under.” For example, a marquee offensive matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers might be set at a total of 6.5.
A 4-3 win by the Flyers would reward “over” bettors with a win because the total score in the game was 7. A 3-2 Penguins win would pay the “under” bettors instead.
It’s important to note these lines can move depending on the betting action on either side. The sportsbook is looking to balance the amount of money bet on each side so that it doesn’t have too much of a liability.
Sportsbooks profit by taking a percentage of the total bet – the vig or juice. Totals can be good wagers, especially if a bettor has some insight into each team’s offensive productivity.
NHL parlay wagering
Like in other sports, parlay wagering can offer a fun sweat on multiple games or event outcomes. In a parlay a bettor makes multiple selections on one wager.
To win, all those selections must hit for a bettor to score a win. Lose on one of those and the entire bet is a loser. However, hitting on a parlay can pay much higher odds than wagering on a single game or outcome.
For example a bettor may place a parlay wager on the Stars, Devils, and Sharks. If all those teams win, a bettor could earn around 6-1 for that wager. A $100 bet would score the bettor $600, but that may depend on the selections and if they were favorites or underdogs.
Parlay wagers can be made on two teams or up to 10 or 12. Along with simply selecting teams, bettors can also mix in totals and even other sports at some books to make it even more interesting.
NHL futures wagering
This is one of the most popular forms of sports betting and futures betting offers a lot for hockey fans also. When betting on futures, a player is looking toward the end of the season for a certain outcome to occur.
Obviously the most NHL futures wagering will be on the winner of the Stanley Cup. Books will offer odds on all 31 teams to win the championship.
For example, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the odds-on favorite to win the Cup before the 2019-20 season. Those for the team to win the Cup were +750 or 7.5 to 1.
See Full List On Betonline.ag
A $100 bet on the Lightning would have brought a bettor $750 with Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup win. A wager on the Winnipeg Jets at +2800 would have paid a bettor 28-1 – a return of $2,800 on a $100 bet.
The Stanley Cup isn’t the only wager available for futures betting. Odds may be offered on:
- Conference winners
- Over and unders for points in the standings for individual teams
- Regular season point totals for individual players
- Team leading scorers
- Postseason awards such as the Vezina Trophy
NHL live betting
Some sports bettors looking for even more action may enjoy live betting. Many online sportsbooks offer this feature and it’s a way to have more bets going in the middle of a matchup.
That could include totals, puck line, and other wagers available during the first and second intermission. Bettors can add other wagers as the game plays out on the ice and adjust their betting trends as needed.
When betting, it may be important to follow the action in regards to several facts when placing those wagers. Those could include:
- Injuries
- Scoring leaders
- Ability of one team to close out a game
- Ability of a team to hold a lead
A good frame of reference for NHL betting is to think about MLB betting. Much like betting on baseball, betting on hockey primarily consists of money line wagering and totals action. Spreads, like what we see in basketball and football, are limited to +1.5 and -1.5 on most odds screens. Sportsbooks offer “alternate spreads”, but those are not widely published.
The reason why it seems easiest to compare NHL to MLB is that people are likely more familiar with the baseball betting markets. Baseball takes place in the summer when there is a lot less going on. During hockey season, football and basketball are happening and those usually take center stage, but NHL betting has steadily grown in popularity and it is important to know the bet types and how to read the odds before you dive in.
Top Sportsbooks for NHL Betting
One of the most important considerations for NHL bettors is to look at how the lines are structured. You can bet the Puck Line at +1.5 or -1.5, but most NHL betting is done with money lines and those can have big discrepancies across the betting markets. Most sportsbooks will have “20-cent lines” for the NHL, so something like -125 on a favorite and +105 on that underdog. There will be a 20-cent difference between the two sides.
Some sportsbooks have 15-cent lines. Some have 10-cent lines. Some are bigger than that. You want to look at the odds and use those to determine the best sportsbooks for NHL betting. Some suggestions to look at would be BetMGM, DraftKings, PointsBet, BetRivers, and William Hill.v
The most common bet type for hockey leagues around the world, including the NHL, is the money line. That will be the default setting for most odds screens. The concept behind the money line is simple. All you have to do is pick the winner of the game.
However, it is more complex than that. The favorite, denoted by a minus (-) sign, and the underdog, denoted by a plus (+) sign, will have odds based on the likelihood of the favorite beating the underdog. For example, the Tampa Bay Lightning would be a big favorite over the Detroit Red Wings, but they would be a smaller favorite against the Boston Bruins.
Against the Red Wings, the Lightning might be -275. Against the Bruins, the Lightning might be -120. It all depends on the implied win probability of the teams in the game.
The bigger the favorite, the lower the risk, but also the lower the reward. The bigger the underdog, the higher the risk and the higher the reward.
For example, you could bet $275 “To Win” $100 on the Lighting. You could also bet “To Risk” $100 to win about $36 and change on the Lightning. To Win and To Risk are important concepts with money line wagering.
If you wanted to bet the Red Wings at +235, you could bet “To Risk” $100 and win $235 or bet $42.55 “To Win” $100.
Because there are no spreads, the money line odds, also known as the “vigorish” or “vig” will move based on betting action, injury news, and other factors.
Puck Lines are the NHL equivalent of Run Lines in MLB. They are “spread betting” for the NHL. The favorite will be -1.5 and the underdog will be +1.5. The vigorish on the +1.5 or the -1.5 will be related to how big of a favorite or how big of an underdog the team in.
If the Red Wings are playing the Lightning, their +1.5 line will be at plus odds. The Lightning’s -1.5 would be at minus odds. If the Lightning were playing the Bruins, though, then the -1.5 would be at a high plus price and the +1.5 on the Bruins would be at a very high minus price.
In order to win a Puck Line with a favorite, that team needs to win by two or more goals. The underdog would have to lose by one or win the game outright.
NHL totals are a way to bet the combined score between the two teams. In the NHL, this usually ranges from an absolute low of 4.5 to an absolute high of 7.5. Like all forms of betting, vig is included. The industry standard is -110, but the vig will move around a lot on totals.
If the total is 6.5 and the game ends 4-3, that game goes “over the total”. If the game ends 4-2, that game goes “under the total”.
If the vig moves to -115 on the over, there will be a corresponding move on the under to -105. If the vig moves on one side, it will move on the other side as well.
Futures betting for the NHL is the same as you would expect in any other sport. You can bet on teams to win the Stanley Cup. You can bet on teams to win their conferences or their divisions. When it comes to the Stanley Cup, the favorite(s) odds will usually be somewhere around +400 and the longest of the long shots will be as high as +50000 or so.
![Online Nhl Betting Online Nhl Betting](/uploads/1/3/4/8/134896206/749543461.jpg)
Prop betting in the NHL has increased in popularity as well, including stuff like will Alexander Ovechkin score a goal or over/under saves for Carey Price.
See All Results For This Question
Another form of betting is called “derivative betting”, in which you can bet things like the first period money line or over/under.