How to Bet on the NHL
The National Hockey League is the most dominant and most popular ice hockey league on the globe. The league is also a part of the Big-4 major North American leagues, with its 1300+ games every season attracting hockey fans from American, Canada, and worldwide. The NHL ranks fifth on the list of profitable sports leagues globally, generating a massive revenue of over $5 billion in 2018-19. Beyond offering fantastic hockey to fans, the NHL also provides dozens of thrilling betting opportunities to worldwide hockey fans.
If you’ve ever thought you needed to be an ardent hockey fan to bet on the NHL, you thought wrong. All you need to enjoy a fun, safe, and legal NHL betting experience is to get familiar with the basics of betting on the league. Our experts have put together this thorough betting guide that contains everything you need to know about betting on the NHL.
How Do I Read NHL Lines, odds, and bets?
Moneyline
Like with every other sport, an NHL moneyline bet means you’d be staking your money on the team you expect to win the game. The team that’s more likely to win (favorite) would have odds accompanied by a negative (-) sign, and the team more likely to lose will have positive (+) odds. If you’re betting on the favorites, the negative odds indicate how much you must wager to win $100. For the underdogs, the positive odds show how much you’ll win on a $100 wager.
NHL moneyline bets differ from other sports in that there are two types of moneyline bets you can place -a two-way and a three-way. With the former, you’ll predict the game’s winnerafter regulation time, overtime, or a shootout. However, with three-way moneyline wagers, you have the option of settling on a ‘tie’ if you don’t want to choose a winner between both teams.
Spreads
Oddsmakers offer NHL spreads as a means of leveling the playing field when two mismatched teams takeeach other on. When two hockey teams are set to face-off, there are usually noticeable differences that will point to the chances of one team winning the game ahead ofthe other. Sportsbooksoffer a spread (line) on both teams to equalize these variances. These spreads make it such that the team with a higher chance of winning mustwin by a specified number of goals before a bet on them will payout.
Meanwhile, the team considered as underdogs can afford to lose within a specified goal margin, and a bet on them will still be successful.
Let’s take a match between the Penguins and the Flyers, for example. The sportsbookset the spread at -1.5 for the Penguins (favorites)and +2.5 for the Flyers (underdogs). The sportsbook expects the Penguins to beat the Flyers, and to beat them by at least 1.5 goals, so for your spread bet to win, the Penguins must win by a minimum of 2 goals. If you bet on the Flyers, your bet will payout if they lose the game by less than three goals or win outright. You should note that the oddsmakers will adjust the lines as they try to ensure balanced betting on either side of the line.
Totals
Totals are a very prevalent option amongst NHL bettors,thanks to their simplicity. All they entail is betting over or under an estimated total number of goals that the sportsbook sets. Generally, games have their totals set somewhere around 5.5. If the game involves the best goaltenders in the NHL, the total could go down to 5.When two very offensive teams face-off, it could go as high as 6. If the sportsbook sets the total at 6, and you bet the over, both teams must combine to score at least six goals for your bet to win. If you bet the under, the game must produce a maximum of 5 goals, oryour wager loses. NHL totals could get a little tricky whenever a game goes to a shootout, as only one shootout goal will be added to your total bets.
Props
NHL prop bets are pretty much your game-to-game ‘other’ bets. The makeup of these bets ismostly statistical outcomes from the game (e.g., shots on goal, blocked shots, goaltender saves, player assists, and power-play points). The best game to place your NHL prop bets is the NHL All-Star Game. Players and fans alike are generally very involved in the game, and there are loads of celebrity appearances to spice up the action. There’s also a lot less pressure as the outcome hardly matters, so you can comfortably opt for any of the fun prop bet options you wish to get in on.
Is Betting On The NHL Legal In The US?
For decades, Nevada was the only place in the US where you could bet on the NHL. That era came to an end in 2018 after the Supreme Court repealed PASPA and gave each US state the right to legalize sports betting. Since then, states like New Jersey, Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana have allowed sports betting. Several states are in the process of joining, too, meaning that legal NHL betting is becoming widely accessible in the US.
To place an NHL bet in a state where sports betting is legal, all you have to do is visit a retail or online sportsbook and make your wagers. You do not need to be a state resident, but of course, you need to be old enough to gamble. Fans of the Detroit Redwings can place bets on their team at any sports betting counters in Michigan, and Penguins fans can visit a legal sportsbook operator from wherever they are in
Pennsylvania. There has never been a better time to bet on the NHL, so find the method that suitsyou and start today.
