Hockey Betting Guide: How to Bet on NHL Games

From the excitement of the regular season to the Stanley Cup Final, hockey offers sports bettors plenty of chances to make some money on pucks.

How do you bet on hockey?

To bet on hockey, choose a sportsbook, research key bet types like moneyline, puck line, and totals, read team stats and goalie matchups, and place your bet before puck drop. Successful bets come down to knowledge of NHL trends, injuries, and line movement.

NHL betting lines explained

Like most team sports, hockey wagering allows fans to pick which team they think will win the game. Also, gamblers can choose to bet on the total goals scored and a host of other alternative odds markets for each game.

The most common three hockey betting lines are the moneyline, puck line, and Over/Under goal total.

• Moneyline
• Point Spread
• Over/Under

NHL moneylines ask bettors to pick the winner of the game. Oddsmakers, taking into account the strength of the teams and other factors, decide on the implied probability of either side winning and set moneyline odds for both teams. 

Moneyline: Pick an NHL game winner

Betting the moneyline is the most straightforward way to bet on hockey, as oddsmakers are simply asking bettors to pick which team they think is going to win the game. Because not all games are created equal, each team will have a moneyline that is indicative of the implied probability of winning the game.

Moneylines are typically displayed in American odds (hundreds) by sportsbooks. The favorite on the moneyline will have a negative (-) number before its moneyline, while the underdog will have a plus sign (+) attached to its moneyline odds.

For example, the pre-game favorite to win the match — the Boston Bruins — are at -175 moneyline which means that for every $1 you wish to win, you'll need to risk $1.75 (stake $175 to win $100). The underdog — in this example, the Dallas Stars — are at +155 moneyline which means that for every $1 bet, you can win $1.55 (stake $100 to win $155).

NHL Moneyline calculator

Find out how much you'd win wagering NHL moneylines using our easy odds converter and moneyline calculator.

Vig or juice: The price of placing a bet

Some betting markets, such as puck line and Over/Unders, have an extra set of odds. This is referred to as the vig or juice, and it's how sportsbooks make money off bettors.

In the odds example above, oddsmakers have set the Over as a favorite and given it -125 juice. This means a bettor would have to lay $125 in order to win $100 on the Over. If a bettor had wagered $100, taking the Under at +105, they would have won $105 if the outcome of that game had been fewer than 5.5 goals.

Puck Line: Even the odds

The puck line is hockey's version of the point spread, in which a certain number of goals are given as a handicap between the two teams. Due to the low-scoring and traditionally close nature of games in the NHL, the default puck line is 1.5 goals, with the puck line favorite being -1.5 and the puck line underdog being +1.5. You'll notice larger puck lines in more mismatched contests, however.

If a team is the puck line favorite (-1.5), it needs to win the game by at least two goals to cover the puck line. If a team is a puck line underdog (+1.5), it needs to win the game outright or lose by fewer than two goals in order to cover and win the puck line bet.

For example, in this matchup, the Bruins are the -1.5 puck line favorite. Boston would be the winning bet if they win by two goals or more. The Stars are the puck line underdog at +1.5. The Stars would win the puck line bet if they win the game outright or lose by only one goal.

Over/Under: Wagering on the total combined score of NHL games

Hockey Over/Under wagering is wagering on the total score of a hockey matchup. Oddsmakers set an expected total number of goals to be scored by both teams. Wagerers can wager on the final score going Over or Under the total.

Most NHL Over/Under totals fall between 5 and 6.5 goals depending on the offenses and defenses involved.

Because hockey is a low-scoring game, goal totals don't change as frequently as football or basketball Over/Unders. Rather, the vig or juice on the Over and Under move.

Additional hockey ways to wager

The growth of NHL betting in North America and throughout the world has created a huge hunger for hockey odds. Sportsbooks have answered with these additional hockey popular wagers.

Parlays

NHL parlays allow you to wager one amount on a number of various hockey bets in the hopes of a larger possible payout. All the bets within the parlay must be winners in order for the parlay to pay off, however. If four of the five bets in the parlay are correct, that one wrong bet means the parlay is graded as a loss.

Parlays are recreational bettors' darlings because the potential payouts are much higher than single-game betting but at a higher risk. For example, a three-underdog winning parlay at +150 each would pay 3.375 times your wager (1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 = 3.375).

Same-game parlays

The majority of sportsbooks provide same-game parlays (SGPs) or bet builders, where a bettor can place a number of bets (moneyline, total, player props, etc.) from the same game. Betters may bet on the side, total, and various other player or team props for the purpose of placing a low-risk, high-reward bet.

If all your selections win, you tend to get higher returns than if you had made each bet separately. However, since all legs of the same-game parlay must win for you to win, they can be riskier than standard bets.

60-minute line

A 60-minute line, or three-way market, is a bet that doesn’t include overtime, so there are three possible outcomes: a visitor win, a home win, or a tie. If you’re looking to bet hockey ties, this is your market. 

Grand Salami

If you're struggling with a dilemma about which Over or Under you wish you had on the board, then the Grand Salami might be the bet for you. The Grand Salami is a unique total bet that gathers every game on the NHL schedule for that evening and puts them all into a single bet. It's the same concept as a single-game total but for all of the games on the slate, so every goal that is scored (or not scored) is vital in winning your wager.

Live/In-Game Betting

Sometimes we're late to put our bets in, or we'd like to wait and observe how the beginning of the game goes before laying down some money. For these instances, there is in-game betting, also known as microbetting. In-game betting allows bettors to place bets after the game has commenced.

How to bet on a hockey game

• Look through available games on our scores and matchups page
• Find the top NHL odds using our odds comparison tool
• Sign up/Login to a sportsbook available in your region
• Make your bet