When placing a bet on NHL hockey games, you can choose between three main bet types: moneyline, puck line (spread), and total goals. Moneyline bets are the easiest to place as they simply require predicting which team will win outright, either in regulation or overtime. These odds will fluctuate throughout the course of the game, based on real action taking place.
Puck line bets are a popular way to make a wager without having to pick a winner, and they differ from baseball run lines in that the team must not only beat the spread, but also lose by no more than a certain number of goals. Typically, the puck line is set at -1.5 goals for the favorite and +1.5 for the underdog. However, this can change depending on the quality of the teams involved and how much money is being bet on one side or another.
Unlike baseball, where over/under bets are commonly placed on the individual player’s performance, NHL puck line and Over/Under totals tend to be more popular than their MLB counterparts. This is likely because the lower scoring nature of the sport means that a lot more bettors will be tempted to place Over/Under totals on the overall game outcome rather than betting on individual player’s performances.
As is the case with all sports, NHL clubs will experience winning and losing streaks throughout an 82-game regular season. Understanding this dynamic is a key component to success when betting on NHL games. It is important to identify when a team is on a hot streak and then take advantage of the lines by making bets on their chances to continue their winning ways.
Betting on NHL games is easy thanks to a wide range of online NHL betting sites, many of which have live streaming options. While these live streams are not available everywhere, they offer the unique ability to follow a game as it unfolds and bet on its outcome with updated odds. This allows you to place your bets while the action is still taking place, allowing you to maximize your profits.
The National Hockey League is one of the few major professional sports that does not feature a shootout after overtime. This unique rule makes betting on the game more difficult than in other major leagues, but it is still possible to win moneyline bets if you accurately predict the winner of the game in either regulation or overtime.
While NHL player props are less popular than those on NFL and NBA games, a few popular props do exist. One of the most popular is the NHL Over/Under, which is a bet on whether the combined total of all the teams’ goals in a game will be over or under a set number. While this bet is not as lucrative as Over/Under bets on football and basketball games, it can still offer juicy payouts. This type of bet is particularly lucrative if you are able to spot the discrepancies in the Over/Under odds that the oddsmakers have established for each game.