Use this NHL betting guide, we’ll go over how to bet on hockey, hockey betting tips, and more.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced, contact-driven sport to wager on, hockey betting might be the best method for you. NHL gambling may not be as highly coveted, but this could allow for some unexpected moments of cashing in on one of the most physical sports.
Table of Contents
How to Get Started
Getting started with hockey betting is easy, and here, we’ll go over the steps on not only how to get in on the action, but also provide you a roadmap for how to make your first wagers as impactful as possible.
Find a Hockey Betting Site
Finding the perfect hockey site is different for everyone. That being said, there are some general principles to keep in mind.
The first thing to do when betting on the NHL is to find a reputable hockey sports betting site. There are many to choose from, but to make it easier for you we’ve provided our top five NHL betting site options in the table above.
Generally speaking, you want to find a site that has a great welcome bonus, promotions, banking options you’re comfortable using, and has the bet types you’re looking for, such as NHL Stanley Cup Finals futures, division and conference futures, and any player awards.
Establish Bankroll
Now that you’ve found the best hockey betting sites, it’s almost time to start wagering.
You’ll want to ask yourself how you want to approach hockey betting, though. Do you want to do some here and there, or do you want to make it into more of a long-term game?
For a long-term solution, you’ll want to establish your bankroll and bet a smaller percentage on each bet. This can be for a week, per slate, or per season—whichever you’re most comfortable with.
For hockey betting lingo, that small percentage is now your “unit.” You may see some analysis that says, “bet one or two units on the Buffalo Sabres tonight” — this means taking that small percentage and betting it.
We recommend units being anywhere from 1% to 10%.
Pick a Deposit/Withdrawal Method
The best NHL sportsbook sites always have a plethora of deposit and withdrawal options to choose from.
However, you’ll want to check if additional fees are incurred for deposits or withdrawals, which we consider when ranking hockey betting sites.
Below, we have three different banking methods that are common across NHL betting sites, as well as some of the types available.
Credit Cards
While Visa and Mastercard are most common, several top sites also offer AMEX and Discover.
Digital Wallets
Popular for everyday transactions and splitting bills with friends, these P2P (person-to-person) payment apps can be used at to NHL betting sites as well. You can even certain P2P apps like Cash App when betting with crypto.
Cryptocurrency
You can bet on hockey using crypto. Whilst bitcoin is the most popular crypto, online sportsbooks also offer Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and more.
Utilize Bonuses
While welcome bonuses, like deposit bonuses, may be what draw you into a hockey betting site, there are plenty of other offers to be aware of. These might not be available everywhere, some sites may offer reload bonuses, rebates, free bets, parlay insurance, and more. All of these, like casino bonuses, can be used to propel your bankroll further when applied strategically.
Hockey Betting Explained
Hockey Odds Explained
Learning how betting odds work is the foundation of hockey betting.
These are notated as, for example, -110 or +150.
These odds indicate which team is favored or underdogs and the payout.
Below, we’ll look at examples for both “-” and “+” odds. We’ll focus on winning $100 or betting $100.
Example: For “-” odds, think of it like this — whatever the number attached to the “-” is, you’ll need to wager that much to win $100. So, if it’s -200, you need to wager $200 to win $100.
Example: For “+” odds, you’ll win whatever the number is when wagering $100. If the odds are +200, you’ll win $200 when wagering $100.
Moneyline
The moneyline bet is the easiest in all sports, including hockey betting. You’re simply picking which team will win the game outright. This can cause outlandish odds such as -400 due to the disparity in power between the two teams.
Example: The Tampa Bay Lightning are -375 to win outright against the Arizona Coyotes.
Depending on how the game is going, the moneyline wager can also be a lucrative live bet offer, especially if you want to bet on the underdog. The odds could be even longer than before the game, but if the team pulls of a comeback, you reap all the benefits.
Puck Line Meaning
One of the most popular ways of betting on sports is the point spread. The point spread is a bet in which the sportsbook accounts for the superiority and inferiority of each team and assigns a number of points in which the teams differ. However, in hockey, it’s a bit different.
For NHL betting, t’s not called the point spread, but rather the puck line. Here, we’ll learn about how the puck line bet types work.
With hockey being a lower-scoring game than the NFL or NBA, the puck line is always the same — 1.5 goals. This can allow for exciting odds scenarios based on the two teams playing.
Over/Under
In hockey over/under betting, also known as the totals line, you’re wagering how many goals get scored in the game. The odds are almost always around -110, whether you bet on the over or under.
NHL Betting Strategies
Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are some of the most exciting professional sports playoff moors betting online.
While this factors into hockey betting in general, factoring in player fatigue is more significant than ever for Stanley Cup betting. Players play more consistently across four to seven moors betting online against the same team. Also, this is at the end of the season, so the wear and tear are also there.
From there, some other tips include focusing on teams that have an elite goalie and teams coming back home following a loss.
Thanks to that player fatigue, elite goalies tend to rise to prominence in the postseason.
Also, in the playoffs, home-ice advantage is genuine. A team coming back home following a tough road loss means the crowd will be in an uproar which does help teams out.
Parlay
For a parlay, you’ll be wagering on multiple contests on one betslip. We strongly recommend not focusing on the final odds of a parlay and instead focusing on teams that you think will win.
This happens more than you think — bettors rationalize adding a leg to parlay because it boosts the odds dramatically. This is a poor parlay betting strategy that can lead to a loss, so instead, focus on lower-legged parlays and teams you think can win.
Props
With NHL betting, you’ll have player, game, and team props. These are micro-events within the game that you can bet on if you weren’t too sure of where to wager on the over/under, puck line, or money.
Example: Steven Stamkos Over/Under 0.5 Goals.
When betting on NHL prop bets, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to teams performing well over extended periods. Riding the hot teams with few goals and points scored game-by-game is essential because they score points.
You also want to focus on elite players for NHL player props because coaching staffs always find ways to get them on track, including changing the lines they play on.
Futures
Futures bets can be some of the most profitable when it comes to hockey betting, but the reason why a lot of new bettors avoid them is that these are events happening, well, in the future — sometimes months out. With these, you’ll generally get plenty of “+” value but you’ll need to have your money tied up for quite some time.
Example: Stanley Cup winner, MVP winner, division winners.
When engaging in NHL futures bet types, such as the Stanley Cup Finals winner, you’ll want to be flexible in how much you can wager and be ready to do so across multiple teams. This can also apply to NHL playoff betting, as futures bets mainly center around that.
Hedging is vital with futures betting because picking the winner on a single bet is challenging.
So, if you’re allocating $100 toward futures betting, maybe use 10% to 20% on each bet.
Live Betting
Live betting is exciting, especially in hockey, as the game is fast-paced. Still, the results of that fast-moving pace don’t always equate to immediate scoring and can allow for longer times in which odds on live wagers are available due to how points are scored in the game.
Live betting provides a great avenue to, once again, hedge your pre-game wager.
Example: If you bet on the Boston Bruins -1.5 puck line with odds of +100 and they’re up by two goals, but the feel of the game is in favor of their opponent, you can bet on them in a live betting setting to set yourself to win money either way potentially.
Note: Make sure you’re actively watching the game that you want to live wager on. It’s impossible to be successful when live betting without watching the game because there are too many variables to consider that you can’t get without watching it — is a player dinged up? Are there a lot of close calls goal-tending-wise?
Line Shopping
The best part about hockey betting online is that there’s no limit to how many sites you can register with. While one sportsbook may have a certain set of odds, you may be able to find odds at other online sportsbooks that provide more value and profit upside depending on what you’re looking to bet on.
With line shopping, you can visit each site and compare odds to see which is most beneficial to what you want to bet on based on your analysis.
How to Find a Sportsbook for NHL Betting
Safety & Security
When analyzing the best NHL or hockey sportsbooks, safety and security is paramount. Without this, there’s no sense in even attempting to play at that specific site.
If there’s even a shred of doubt around the safety of a site, we won’t recommend it, and it could even end up on our blacklisted sports betting sites list.
When recommending the best safe and secure gambling sites, we look for information about the encryption software deployed and if the online sportsbook has a license to operate from a reputable governing body.
Betting Options
There are multiple ways to bet on hockey, and the best sports betting sites have all of them. Some sites may be limited on available bets, but we look for places with a range of options.
Bonuses & Promotions
We mentioned that deposit bonuses are the most common welcome bonus. However, other promotions are available for all players, including parlay insurance, rebate offers, and other boosts.
With these offers, we look beyond the surface level and dive into the terms and conditions because this is where the true information lies.
Example: The sportsbook offers a 100% deposit bonus of up to $1,000. On the surface, this is a fair offer. Still, suppose the wagering requirements — the amount you need to withdraw the bonus funds you received — is 40x. In that case, this is something that most players may not be able to meet, thus making the bonus funds you received irrelevant.
Banking Options
Simply put, the more, the better. We look for hockey betting sites with ample ways of depositing and withdrawing, as this provides flexibility for all players.
From there, we look for fees. We look down on sites that require fees for deposits and/or withdrawals because, well, if other sites don’t have them, the sites that do require them shouldn’t either.
Customer Support
With options like live chat so prevalent now, there’s more to gauging a customer support staff than just the available methods.
So, we actively engage with the support teams, whether FAQ, live chat, email, or telephone, to see if they’re knowledgeable enough to help out and swift in their actions to assist.
UI & Mobile Compatibility
Let’s face it — most hockey betting is going to be done from your phone, and understandably so. Everyone is busy doing their own thing, so the ability to bet on your phone from anywhere is an absolute necessity.
When looking at the user interface, we look for readily apparent ways to get betting options, banking methods, support, and bonuses.
For the best mobile apps, we look for a static menu across the bottom of the page that allows for ease of travel across the site.
Note: When referring to a mobile app, our top hockey betting sites play through your mobile web browser.
FAQs
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Yes, online NHL betting is legal in the United States. However, certain states have laws centered around legal in-state operations. The sites we focus on are out-of-state operators and are available right now.
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Yes! Most sportsbooks are safe and we focus on providing recommendations for those that are. So, if you play at any of our top sites, we can assure safety and security.
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This all depends on the game in question. You’ll need to rely on analysis — both independently and from experts — to decide which is the best course of action. For moneylines, if the odds are too misaligned (such as -375), there’s a good chance that team will win, but the odds are so lopsided that a loss would be even more monumental. Instead, look to the puck line if a team is that favored over another.
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The limits for betting on hockey vary from site to site, but you’ll also be able to set your own limits through the sportsbook as well.
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Absolutely! There are multiple professional hockey leagues, such as the Swedish Hockey League. You’ll need to check your sportsbook to see if it’s offered or not, though.
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Looking at the 2021-22 season, the “over” for over/under bets hit more often than when betting the under, so this could be something to consider when betting during the 2022-23 NHL season as offenses become even more evolved.
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As with any bet type, this can vary from site to site. Usually, you’ll begin seeing NHL Draft props appear in the back-half of the season and right before the draft.
