Best Sites to Bet on NHL Games
Although you can find numerous MGA and Curacao licensed casinos to bet on NHL games, these are the most popular sites with a lucrative sportsbook for NHL enthusiasts.
- Bet Inferno
- 30Bet
- Quickbet
- Snatch Casino
Bet Inferno has various betting options, including money lines and puck lines. You can also enjoy a live betting feature. If you want to leverage odds on all NHL games, you can use 30Bet. Likewise, Quickbet is famous for its user-friendly interface, allowing bettors to place bets on all NHL games without hassle. Snatch Casino offers betting options like “prop bets” and “futures” on NHL games. These casinos also promote responsible gambling and lucrative sports betting, allowing players to prevent losses.
Different Types of Bets in NHL Games
If you want to make informed decisions and increase your chances of winning, then it is important to understand different types of NHL betting. Doing so allows you to:
- Make good decisions
- Increase potential returns
- Manage risks
However, each bet type has its own advantages and downsides. So, understanding these can help you choose suitable options based on your knowledge, experience, analysis, and betting strategy. Let’s explore each type of bet in NHL games.
Moneyline Betting
Moneyline is the simplest form of NHL betting. It requires you to pick a team that you think will win the game. For example, there is a match between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs are favorites with -150 odds.
So, this means you will bet $150 on the Leafs to increase your chances of winning $100 profit. Remember, teams with negative odds are favorites. But teams with positive odds are less or not favorite. Simplicity is the most significant advantage of moneyline betting, particularly in NHL games. However, it also has a disadvantage of low returns.
Puke Line Betting
Puke Line Betting in NHL games is like point spread betting. For example, your favorite team must win the game by more than 1.5 goals. On the other hand, the underdog or least favorite team can win or lose the match by less than 1.5 goals.
If New York Rangers have a -1.5 puck line, you can win the bet if the team scores and wins the match by one goal. The primary benefit of puke line betting is its attractive odds. However, it is also riskier because your favorite team with a good puke line must win by at least two goals.
Over/Under Betting
Over/under betting refers to the total number of goals by competing teams. So, this type of bet considers both teams scoring in an NHL game. The sportsbook or bookmaker usually sets a goal limit between 5.5 and 6.5.
You bet on whether the combined score is below or above the limit. For example, if you bet on “over” and the limit is 6.5, you will win the bet if the game has seven or more goals. Over/under betting does not involve predicting the winning team. It focuses on the scoring trend, but forecasting this is very challenging.
Strategies for Betting on NHL Games
You can use the following strategies to bet on NHL games and increase your chances of winning.
- Line Matching
- Schedule Analysis
- Special Teams Performance
- Advanced Stats Analysis
- Starting Goalies
- Examining Players’ Injuries
Line Matching
Understanding opponents’ weaknesses is integral to NHL games, and most coaches match their lines to exploit the other team’s weaknesses. For instance, some coaches neutralize the threat of the opponent’s top-scoring line by putting a defensive line against it.
So, if you are an experienced NHL bettor, you must have a good understanding of these matchups and how coaches of different teams deploy their lines to confuse the opponent or gain a competitive advantage.
Schedule Analysis
Bettors who study and analyze schedules have an edge in winning the bet. Whether you are a fan who does not bet or an experienced bettor, you have the idea that teams in NHL leagues usually play back-to-back games.
Likewise, teams also travel across different time zones. For example, a team playing its fourth game in five nights may experience severe fatigue. And this can significantly affect their performance. So, you can find value in betting against a team with tired players.
Special Teams Performance
The outcome of an NHL game also depends on power play and penalty kill percentages. So, a team with a high power play percentage is a good bet because the opponent takes too many penalties.
Do you remember the 2015-2016 NHL season? The Pittsburgh Penguins won the tournament and came out stronger than all other teams. But do you remember anything about Anaheim Ducks? The team had a 23.1% powerplay percentage. So, they scored a goal in 23 out of 100 powerplays.
However, they also had an 87.2% penalty kill percentage, which means they successfully defended 87 out of every 100 penalties. Therefore, NHL enthusiasts who betted in favor of Anaheim Ducks had higher chances of winning. However, this is not the only factor that influences the game’s outcomes.
Advanced Stats
Corsi, Fenwick, and PDO are metrics that provide useful insights to bettors. NHL enthusiasts use these metrics for more data and insights than traditional stats. You can use these to predict future performance. For instance, a team with a high “Corsi For” Percentage (CF%) has better control of the puck, which allows players to score more goals against their opponents.
Corsi considers short attempts, blocked shots, and missed shots. It focuses on the offensive zone to track shot differential and possession. But how do you calculate this metric? Learn the following:
- CF means Corsi For Percentage. It is the number of shots taken by a team.
- CA means Corsi Against, and it is the number of shots taken against the team.
The formula to calculate CF% is:
CF% = CF / (CF + CA).
The higher the CF%, the higher the chance for a team to score goals.
Starting Goalies
Goalies often rest. If you come to know that a team’s goalkeeper is resting, it can influence the game’s outcome. For instance, the main goalie has practiced a lot in the past couple of months, which makes the goalie ready to block shots.
But if this goalie is resting for some reason and the coach deploys another goalie who hasn’t practiced or played games for a few months or weeks, in that case, you may think that this goalie is less reliable. The opponent team has increased chances of scoring more goals. So, this gives you a good opportunity to bet against a team playing with a secondary goalie.
Examining Players’ Injuries
Unlike other sports, NHL teams hide the specifics of player injuries. And this is very usual in the NHL. However, bettors who can interpret a player’s upper or lower body injuries can influence their betting strategy. For example, a top goal scorer playing with a slight injury can significantly impact the team’s performance.
Final Words About Betting on NHL Games
Betting on NHL games is very entertaining, but if you want to win, you must understand the game, analyze teams’ and players’ statistics, and master betting strategies. Each betting strategy has its own benefits and downsides. So, make sure you consider the pros and cons of the strategy. Also, analyze schedules, line matching, starting goalies, and examine player injuries to increase your winning chances and reduce the risk of losses.
