NHL Betting

Welcome to the NHL betting section of SportsBetListings.com, your ultimate sports betting resource.

This section has something for everyone.  If you are an NHL betting veteran you can sharpen your skills by checking out our NHL betting tips page for some general winning NHL picks strategy.  If you are new to NHL betting then be sure to read this page in its entirety to learn how to bet on the NHL and the various betting options you can choose from.  Then you can go ahead and sign up at one of our recommended online sportsbooks to start placing your NHL bets right away!

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How to Place NHL Hockey Bets

There are a variety of NHL hockey bets you can place, but the most popular NHL betting wager would definitely be NHL money line betting.  Other betting options include NHL over/under betting, puck line betting, prop betting and futures betting; each of which are explained in detail below.

NHL Money Line Betting

Money line betting is by far the most popular type of bet placed on NHL hockey games.  With money line betting you simply select which team will win the game.  The odds are displayed for each team with underdog wagers paying out more per dollar wagered than bets on the favorite.  Here is a quick example using the American odds style:

  • Ottawa Senators +150
  • Toronto Maple Leafs -170

In this example the Toronto Maple Leafs are the favorites so a wager on the Leafs would pay out quite a bit less than the same wager on the Senators.  You would have to bet $170 on the Maple Leafs to win $100, while a $100 bet on the Senators would win $150 ($250 payout) if they pulled off the upset.

NHL Puck Line Betting

The NHL is a very even league with parity throughout and this is the main reason that NHL puck line betting isn’t extremely popular among bettors.  Puck line betting is similar to MLB run line betting, or NFL spread betting, in that the favorite must win by a set number of goals for a puck line bet on the favorite to payout, while the underdog must either win or lose by a set number of goals for a puck line wager on the dog to payout.  In the NHL the pucklike is nearly always 1.5 goals.  This means the favorite must win by 2 or more goals, while the underdog must either win or lose by 1 goal.  Here is an example:

Ottawa Senators +1.5 (-180)
Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 (+160)

In this example a puck line bet on the Maple Leafs will pay out if they win by 2 or more goals, while a puck line bet on the Senators will win if they win or if they lose by 1 goal.

NHL Over Under Betting

Over/under betting does not factor in the outcome of the game.  Instead over/under betting involves wagering on how many combined goals will be scored by both teams during the game.  The oddsmaker will set an amount and then you can wager on whether you think the game will feature more or less goals than that set amount.  For example, if the over/under is set at 6.5 goals for a game then an over bet would payout if 7 or more goals were scored, while an under bet would payout if 6 or fewer goals were tallied during the game.  Sometimes the over/under number will be set as a whole number such as 5 or 6.  In these cases the over/under bets will push (be refunded) if the game ends with that number of goals scored.

NHL Prop Betting

NHL prop bets include any wagers that are not directly affected by the outcome of the game.  NHL prop bets are becoming more popular as sports bettors are becoming more interested in the details of the games.  Some typical NHL prop bets could include which team will score first, which team will win the first period, which team will register more penalties, whether a player will score a goal, whether a player will register an assist, and pretty much any other basic NHL statistical category you can think of.

NHL Futures Betting

NHL futures bets include any wagers where the outcome is decided over a long period of time.  Some examples of NHL futures bets include which team will finish the season with the most points, which team will win a specific playoff series and of course which team will win the Stanley Cup.  Wagering on which team will win the Stanley Cup is the most popular NHL futures bet by far.