NHL Betting Guide USA 2020
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a renowned professional ice hockey league that heats things up as the weather drops. Played from late September until mid-June, the very best in hockey go head-to-head in the NHL. This is also when US sportsbooks start offering NHL betting lines on preseason, normal season, and Stanley Cup Championship game. In the league, there are 31 teams from the US and Canada that compete to win one of the oldest professional sports trophies in North America.
For American bettors looking to get in on the action, there are various sportsbooks available to you. Shop around for the best odds and stand a chance to reap large payouts.
US NHL Sportsbooks
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What you’ll find in this NHL betting guide:
NHL Betting Odds
While NHL may not be a complicated sport to understand, the odds aren’t fixed like other sports. It’s a low scoring sports so it means that predicting scores correctly is much easier. Furthermore, when looking for a sportsbook, you’ll see that different sportsbooks promote different odds which suit their bottom line. Also, they are dependent on the whims of the betting community. The more people favor one team, the lower the payout is on that team.
Let’s take a look at the different betting lines in a hockey game.
Learn about the NHL’s conferences:
NHL Series Betting Lines
While they may not be all that different from to other betting lines, the ones in the NHL come with their own betting structures and jargon.
- Hockey Puck Line Betting
This betting line is similar to spread betting where a team has to either win or lose by a certain amount. Puck lines spreads are usually +1.5 / -1.5. Hockey League sportsbooks use the puck line bet to even the playing field between the underdogs and the favorites.
- Money Line NHL Betting
The most popular of the betting lines, the money line is simple because bettors only need to pick the outright winner. This bet is best for bettors who are new to hockey league betting. Furthermore, they have the benefit of being able to use a money line bet calculator to find the potential payout before betting. Most noteworthy, money lines payout the least when betting on the favorites.
- NHL Over/Under Betting System
Using an over/under betting system is far more successful than the outright bets. Also known as Total betting, bettors attempt to predict the overall score of the game by totalling the scores.
- Hockey Future Props
This bet is all about how clearly you can see into the crystal ball and made predictions about NHL bets early on in the season. These bets have large payouts because a bettor’s wins are over projected over a long period of time and factors can change throughout the season. This type of betting line requires dedication and knowledge of the game and the players.
Check out our guides on betting on the NHL:
Hockey Betting Rules
As with any sport, there are rules that should be followed at all times. These terms and conditions make US betting on the hockey league a much better experience for everyone.
- The bets are based on the standard game period. Anything that happens during overtime doesn’t affect your bet.
- If you’re betting on an individual player, the player must be on the field of play or they could be considered a ‘non-runner’.
- Thirdly, bets and winnings scores are calculated on the selected period.
- Finally, the outright winner of the regular NHL season bet will only be announced once all the teams have played.