NHL Betting: Understanding Hockey Lines and Odds

 

Hockey is Canada’s national sport and a popular betting sport in the United States. It is well-liked throughout the world, especially in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. It is also an excellent betting sport because it has money lines that offer outstanding value opportunities.

Every hockey game provides various betting options to handicappers. Despite hockey’s suitability for all levels of sports bettors, it trails football and basketball in terms of popularity.

There are numerous types of odds, and except for straight moneylines, nothing is easy if you are a beginner, especially if you don’t understand it. The good news is that hockey odds are easy to comprehend:

NHL Moneyline Odds

The most popular way to wager on your favorite hockey team is the moneyline, which replaces the point spread due to the low scores. The team must win the game, not by a predetermined margin. In NHL odds, positive and negative values are assigned to favorites (-180) and underdogs (+160). Consider 100 to be situated between these two values.

For instance, if you wager on a -180 favorite, you must risk $180 to win $100 (or $18 for smaller players). When wagering $100 on an underdog with a +160 payout, you would win $160 if the underdog prevails. It is riskier to wager on the favorite without a point spread, but the payout is greater if you back the underdog.

Moneyline wagers are also excellent wagers for live betting. When there are live NHL odds, lines can change in an instant, so participate in in-play wagering and live NHL game lines to win big.

Total Score Or Over/Under

If a team’s NHL hockey odds are -1.5, +180, and you bet $100, you would win $180 (+180) if the team wins by two or more goals. On the other line of NHL betting, to back a team with odds of +1.5 and -135, you must risk $135 to win $100. If they win the game or lose by only one goal, your $100 wager is successful. Bettors in the NHL frequently use these spreads when they believe an underdog will win a game but are concerned that it may lose in a close contest.

Puck line

The puck line or also known as the “Canadian line” is a hybrid NHL odds wagering format that combines the money line and a point spread. A team must win by two or more goals to win the wager, similar to a runline in baseball. A negative value like -1.5 indicates that a team is the favorite. Positive values such as +1.5 indicate that the team is a 1.5-goal underdog.

To cover the puck line hockey spread, a team must win by at least two goals . Even if the dog loses by one goal, they can still cover the puck line. a team can lose 3-2 but still win the puck line if the puck line is +1.5 goals. This means you have a chance to win regardless of whether the underdog wins or loses the match.

NHL Props

NHL prop bets are an exciting way to wager on NHL odds because they allow sports bettors to expand their wagering options and wager on more specific game events. An anytime goalscorer bet is a prime example of this, as a bettor may wager on a particular player to record a goal at any time.

The team props and the hockey lines are also excellent areas for wagering. Team props function similarly to player props, but their emphasis is on collective effort instead of individual success. Bets include winning margin and the total number of goals scored on a given day.

Other prop bets include under/over wagers on a goaltender’s saves, a player’s shots on goal, etc. Similar to puck line odds and money lines, they will vary based on matchups and player abilities.

NHL Futures

Futures odds in the NHL are hockey wagers in which sports bettors wager on a team to win an event later in the year or season. Once a futures wager is placed at an online sportsbook, the odds are officially locked in at the time of the wager. Depending on the NHL betting site you use and when they post their odds, you can wager on NHL futures either before or during the season.

Final Thoughts

As someone who’s just starting out to bet on the NHL, you must understand the odds and lines before wagering on a game. The things mentioned above will provide you with the necessary information to make a basic bet. Of course, winning your bets requires strategy and a bit of luck, but knowing what you’re betting on in the first place maximizes your chances of winning your bet overall.