Puck Line Bet
The point spread is a straight bet where a team gets or gives points based on if they are the favorite or underdog, while the money line adjusts the payout for each team winning regardless of the margin of victory. However, baseball run line and hockey puck line bets use both point spreads and moneylines to determine winners and payouts. The latest tweets from @MrPuckLine.
Looking to get started betting on hockey with the 2021 NHL season? Our NHL betting guide breaks down all you need to know to place hockey bets with a look at all the various betting markets, terms and strategies. We’ll also showcase daily NHL betting odds from the top legal US sportsbooks.
The 2021 NHL regular season runs from Wednesday, Jan. 13, through Saturday, May 8, and will have all 31 teams playing a 56-game, regionally-based schedule. The Colorado Avalanche enter the season as the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, with the 2019-20 champion Tampa Bay Lightning right behind.
Puck Line Bet
NHL betting odds
NHL Betting Guide: Best betting sites
Legal sports betting is expanding across the United States, and bettors should particularly be aware of these sportsbooks:
DraftKings Sportsbook — Available in NJ, CO, PA, IA, IL, IN, NH, TN and WV
FanDuel Sportsbook — Available in NJ, CO, PA, IA, IL, IN, TN and WV
BetMGM — Available in CO, IA, IN, NV, NJ, PA, TN and WV
Each of these sportsbooks will have a wide selection of special offers and promotions for the NHL aimed at both first-time and existing customers.
NHL Betting Guide: How to bet on hockey
NHL moneyline
Unlike football and some other sports, hockey betting revolves around the moneyline. In a moneyline wager, a bettor simply selects the winning team with payouts being less depending on the odds.
In hockey, bettors only have to pick the winning team no matter the margin of victory. There will always be a favorite and an underdog, with payouts adjusted on which team you select.
For example in a matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Avalanche, the book may list the following:
- St. Louis Blues +125
- Colorado Avalanche -152
This means the Avalanche are favored and a bettor would have to risk $152 to win $100 (or $15.20 to win $10). A bet on the underdog Blues would bring $125 for a winning $100 bet. Obviously, a bet on the underdog brings more money than a bet on the favorite.
Is Puck Line Betting Same As Spread
Unlike in other sports, point spreads don’t enter into traditional hockey wagering. Got a hunch on a team? Simply open your sports betting app and make a selection. It’s that easy.
NHL puck line betting
This offers bettors another interesting bet with a potential for some better returns depending on the side you bet. The puck line (similar to the run line in baseball) is usually set at 1.5 and is a version of point spread betting applied to hockey.
In an average hockey game, final scores usually are decided by a goal or two. These wagers offer some extra action on teams taking that scoring into mind.
So when considering a puck line wager, bettors are basically weighing whether a team can win by two goals or more.
For example, in a matchup between St. Louis and Colorado, the Blues may be +1.5 (-240) and the Avs at -1.5 (+190).
A $100 wager on the favored Avalanche would earn $190 if they can win by 2 or more. On the other side, it will take a $240 bet on the Blues to return $100.
For the most part the puck line is usually set at 1.5, but that can drift as high as 2.5 depending on the matchup. A poor defensive team against a top-notch offensive opponent might see the puck line move up.
Betting the puck line offers some extra incentives for picking a winner – especially when selecting a favorite.
NHL totals (over/under)
The over/under is a traditional bet based on the total number of goals scored between two teams. This is similar to wagers a bettor would find in other sports.
The bettor is making a choice whether the total goals will go “over” or “under.” For example, a marquee offensive matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers might be set at a total of 6.5.
A 4-3 win by the Flyers would reward “over” bettors with a win because the total score in the game was 7. A 3-2 Penguins win would pay the “under” bettors instead.
It’s important to note these lines can move depending on the betting action on either side. The sportsbook is looking to balance the amount of money bet on each side so that it doesn’t have too much of a liability.
Sportsbooks profit by taking a percentage of the total bet – the vig or juice. Totals can be good wagers, especially if a bettor has some insight into each team’s offensive productivity.
NHL parlay wagering
Like in other sports, parlay wagering can offer a fun sweat on multiple games or event outcomes. In a parlay a bettor makes multiple selections on one wager.
To win, all those selections must hit for a bettor to score a win. Lose on one of those and the entire bet is a loser. However, hitting on a parlay can pay much higher odds than wagering on a single game or outcome.
For example a bettor may place a parlay wager on the Stars, Devils, and Sharks. If all those teams win, a bettor could earn around 6-1 for that wager. A $100 bet would score the bettor $600, but that may depend on the selections and if they were favorites or underdogs.
Parlay wagers can be made on two teams or up to 10 or 12. Along with simply selecting teams, bettors can also mix in totals and even other sports at some books to make it even more interesting.
NHL futures wagering
This is one of the most popular forms of sports betting and futures betting offers a lot for hockey fans also. When betting on futures, a player is looking toward the end of the season for a certain outcome to occur.
Obviously the most NHL futures wagering will be on the winner of the Stanley Cup. Books will offer odds on all 31 teams to win the championship.
For example, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the odds-on favorite to win the Cup before the 2019-20 season. Those for the team to win the Cup were +750 or 7.5 to 1.
A $100 bet on the Lightning would have brought a bettor $750 with Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup win. A wager on the Winnipeg Jets at +2800 would have paid a bettor 28-1 – a return of $2,800 on a $100 bet.
The Stanley Cup isn’t the only wager available for futures betting. Odds may be offered on:
- Conference winners
- Over and unders for points in the standings for individual teams
- Regular season point totals for individual players
- Team leading scorers
- Postseason awards such as the Vezina Trophy
NHL live betting
Some sports bettors looking for even more action may enjoy live betting. Many online sportsbooks offer this feature and it’s a way to have more bets going in the middle of a matchup.
That could include totals, puck line, and other wagers available during the first and second intermission. Bettors can add other wagers as the game plays out on the ice and adjust their betting trends as needed.
When betting, it may be important to follow the action in regards to several facts when placing those wagers. Those could include:
- Injuries
- Scoring leaders
- Ability of one team to close out a game
- Ability of a team to hold a lead
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Hockey, specifically NHL offers new and experienced punters a great range of markets and hockey bettings for all types of wagering, be it money line, parlays or specials. Although hockey has not reached the levels of popularity in Europe that soccer and horse racing have done, the biggest European bookies still offer a huge amount of betting options. We’ve compiled a great guide for those who wanted to bring hockey into their weekly betting routine, or existing punters who want to expand their knowledge on the types of NHL bets.
Types of NHL Bets
Like every sport, hockey has its own distinct type of bets which you need to know:
Money Line
This is quite simply the wager you put on whoever you believe will win the game outright. It’s by far the most common type of betting on hockey, and even the most limited betting website will offer market.
Over/Under
For this time of hockey betting, before each game bookies will roll out the odds on whether the final tally of goals will be over or under a certain figure. This will be primarily based on team form, injuries to key attackers and how well each side has performed this season.
The Puck Line
This wager means that the bookies favourite for a particular game needs to defeat their rival by more than the point spread in order for the bet to pay out. Of all the different types of NHL bets, this one is definitely a fan favourite.
Unlike other sports, the point spread for puck line betting is always +/- 1.5. This means for the underdog to win the bet they must not lose by 2 or more goals and for the favourite to win they must win by at least 2 goals.
Regulation Time
A great alternative to money and puck line wagers, here the punter bets on the favourite at -0.5 or the underdog at +0.5. This way if the favourite and the underdog wins the punter gets a better price than they would on the money line, making it one of the more lucrative types of NHL bets.
This type of bet is great for those joining the action late who want a quick win.
Here is an example of a Parlay wager with 4 money line wagers.
Parlay
The hockey equivalent to the accumulator, it works in roughly the same manner. You can add additional money line bets to boost your odds, providing they win of course. Money line parlays can have over/under wagers included as well, but puck line bets cannot be included.
This is one of the best types of NHL bets if you want to generate some really high odds and maximise your hockey betting winnings.
Proposition
When it comes to betting on hockey sometimes you want to be precise about your wagers, and this is where “prop” bets come in. This allows players to place a bet a key elements of the game, such as team stats or individual player performances such as goals. This type of wager is ideal for players who really know their stuff.
Grand Salami
No, it’s not a large slab of Italian cured meat, it’s one of the more unique types of NHL bet that is offered in many sportsbooks. The days over/under totals are added up and punters can bet on whether the total amount of goals that day will be over or under.
First Period
No surprises with this one, this means bets are limited to the first 20 minutes of play. You may also find 2nd and 3rd period betting on hockey odds, with correspond with the different sections of the game.
Other Types of Wager
Winning Margin
This bet allows you to predict what the winning margin will be between the two teams, an ideal way of betting on hockey if you think the underdog are in for a battering!
3 Way
This wager differs from the money line types of NHL bets because it allows for the option of a tie.
There are more types of hockey betting available to punters, which rely on which operator they choose to play on, so it’s always worth familiarising yourself with whichever bookmakers are available to see if they have special markets to make the most of.
NHL Alternatives
Hockey fans are not limited to NHL betting, with many of the major bookies offering a wide range of markets on other hockey leagues and different ways of betting on hockey.
Bet365 allow players to wager on the Kontinental Hockey League, which includes teams from Belarus, Croatia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Russia, and Slovakia, making it an ideal place for Eastern European punters to wager.
There are also markets on the other top hockey leagues, including the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Slovak Extraliga, Finnish SM-liiga and of course the Czech Extraliga. All these leagues are also offered by Ladbrokes.
William Hill boast these markets as well as Italian, Norwegian and Swiss leagues, on top of the aforementioned ones, making them a great place for hockey fanatics to play.
If you haven’t had enough of ice-hockey, don’t worry, there’s more fun to coming your way! Check out the 5 most brutal fights in NHL history!