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Betting on hockey is slowly gaining momentum thanks to increased media coverage and streaming accessibility. But what made me stay and ride the exciting wave of hockey betting is perhaps the value you’re going to get backing on teams.
Unlike other sports, hockey odds are usually plus money on both sides, meaning you have a solid chance to double your stake if you play it right. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the strategies I use to remain profitable, different ways to bet on hockey, and the best sites to get started. Let’s dive in!
With popular betting sites offering juicy odds on leagues like the National Hockey League (NHL), Canadian Hockey League, Finnish Elite League, and Kontinental Hockey League, it comes as no surprise that hockey betting is becoming more popular than ever. However, there are a few things you might want to know to get the most value out when hockey betting in Canada.
Believe it or not – I started betting on hockey by accident. It was late at night and I couldn’t sleep so I checked my sports betting app only to see a closely-contested battle between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Prior to that night, I was never fond of hockey and knew so little about it.
In fact, I even thought that the only way to bet on hockey was through moneyline. As I found out later, I was wrong. Here are several ways you can join in the action and bet on hockey.
| 🎉 Type of Bets | ✨ Example |
| Moneyline | |
| Puck Line Betting | Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5; Montreal Canadiens +1.5 – Toronto must win by two goals for the bet to hit. |
| Over/Under Total | Buffalo Sabres vs Washington Capitals Over 6.5 – Both teams must score a combined of seven goals or more. |
| Period Betting | New York Islanders to win the second period – The Islanders will only need to win the second period for your bet to hit. |
| Player Props Betting | Connor McDavid to Score at Anytime – McDavid needs to score a goal for the bet to hit. |
| Futures Betting | Sidney Crosby to win MVP – Crosby needs to be named MVP at the end of the regular season for the bet to hit. |
Like other sports, moneyline is the most popular betting market in hockey. This, after all, is the simplest and most straightforward market you can bet on, where you just pick who wins the match.
It is, however, worth noting that, unlike basketball or tennis, there are three outcomes in the moneyline market. These are a home win, an away victory, or the match ends in a draw. Even more impressive is that regardless of what moneyline market you back on, you’ll likely get plus money odds, especially if both teams are dead-even talent-wise or close in the standings.
Should a game end up in a tie after regulation, overtime is played to determine a winner. That too has a separate betting market, giving you plenty of ways to join in the action. Although odds on this market are slightly lower than moneyline, they still offer some juice that betting on them is more than reasonable.
If you love handicap or spread betting at football betting sites in Canada, then you should give puck line betting a shot. At first, I was extremely confused by the term puck line betting. After all, it’s something you don’t hear in sports like football, basketball, soccer, or MMA.
However, when I dug deeper, it’s basically a variant of spread betting. The puck line betting market is similar to spread betting in a way that the bookmaker sets a point spread for the favorite and underdog to cover. What I love about this market is the fact that the puck lines are usually set at 1.5, which are not as juiced up as basketball.
For example, if the Montreal Canadiens have a puck line of +1.5, it must not lose by two or more goals for your bet to win. On the flip side, if the Toronto Maple Leafs have a -1.5 puck line, it must win the match by two or more goals for your bet to hit. What makes puck line betting quite interesting is it evens out the playing field since odds are usually at pick’em, offering you ways to cash in more profit than you expected.
If you’ve tried cricket betting sites in Canada, then there’s a good chance you know about the over/under totals market in hockey. Basically, the over/under totals market is where you bet on the goal line set by the bookmaker rather than the outcome of the game. While hockey betting is exciting, games are usually unpredictable since most teams are usually dead even talent-wise.
In this case, I usually go with the over/under totals market, especially if scoring trends are clear. For example, the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals are two of the best NHL teams right now. So, picking the winner regardless of where they are playing is always challenging. However, when you look closely at the numbers, you’ll find that both teams love to score, meaning backing the over total set by the bookies could offer some value.
Moreover, the over/under totals market can also offer some flexibility in online betting, especially in instances where the moneyline is unplayable because one team has already taken an insurmountable lead. Since totals are not tied to one team’s performance, you can adjust and bet live based on the pace and tempo of the game.
A hockey game consists of three periods, with each one lasting 20 minutes. If you are not too thrilled about waiting the full 60 minutes for your bet to cash out, then period betting might be your cup of tea. Personally, this was one of the things that drew me to hockey betting.
As much as I love staying on for the full 60 in one game, there are instances where I couldn’t, especially on the weekend when top MMA betting sites in Canada are offering exciting promotions. In this instance, I opt for period betting where I only back a particular team to win or draw the period. What’s remarkable about period betting is the fact that it doesn’t only limit you to betting on who wins or loses the period.
You can also back the over/under total goals in the period, the puck line, and several other markets. When betting on this market, it’s worth remembering that what happens in other periods doesn’t matter. For example, if you bet on the New York Islanders to win the second, you’ll only need them to win the penultimate quarter for your bet to hit. So, even if they collapse in the third and lose the entire game, you’ll still get your full payout.
Player props betting is another way to take part in hockey betting. This is perhaps my favorite market considering that player performances are often easier to analyze than overall team results since you are only focusing on a single individual’s tendencies such as usage rate, matchup, injuries, and trends.
Some of my favorite hockey betting player props markets include Anytime Goalscorer, First Goalscorer, and To Score 2 or 3-plus goals. You can also back on the Last Goalscorer market although I admit that is quite challenging, especially with how unpredictable can become in the later stages, with teams and players pushing forward.
One thing I love about player prop betting is that the result is not tied to the actual game. For example, you can back players who are expected to have strong performances despite their teams losing. This is perfect when bottom-feeder teams play top squads since the former will most likely rely on one or two players to generate some offense.
Like golf betting sites in Canada, some of the leading bookmakers also let you bet on the futures market. As the name suggests, it’s betting on a future outcome like centre forward Nathan MacKinnon winning his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy or the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since the 1966-67 season.
What I love about futures betting is the fact that they offer less variance than single-game bets since you are backing on the long-term performance of a particular team or player. It’s also perfect for someone who is looking to put some action on hockey but does not want to deal with constant research and emotional swings that are seen in daily betting.
When betting on the future outcome, you’ll need to time it right to get the value since odds fluctuate throughout the season based on team performances, injuries, trades, and public perception.
Betting on hockey requires a strategic approach to succeed, especially with how unpredictable games are and how teams are stacked with incredible talents from top to bottom. In this section, I will talk about the strategies to succeed at hockey betting in the long-term.
As mentioned, hockey is such an unpredictable sport with momentum swings happening left and right. This is why it’s always important to use effective bankroll management such as employing a unit betting approach. Unit betting is a strategy where you bet a fixed percentage or amount on each bet rather than random bet sizes.
A good rule of thumb is only place no more than five units of your bankroll on a bet. For example, if you have a bankroll of $1,000, a single unit equates to $10. By practicing this approach, you can manage risk and avoid placing bets based on emotions, which is quite common among casual bettors.
Hockey teams have insane schedules. For example, in the NHL, teams play roughly 82 games in the regular season. This means that injuries, load management, and players missing games for various reasons are always in the cards. By considering rest, fatigue, and injuries, you can determine how a certain team will perform.
Thus, allowing you to find betting angles that offer excellent value for the risk you are taking. When checking for these things, look at the current health and performance of the goaltender because they usually dictate the game.
Shopping for hockey odds is often the last thing bettors do. Like people who stay at their favorite stores despite insanely priced goods, bettors often stick with one bookmaker for all of their betting needs. However, if you are serious about betting on hockey, then you are missing out big time if you don’t look for the best odds.
The thing is some sportsbooks react slower to injury reports and betting trends. By finding out who these bookies are, you can catch softer lines before they move and gain an edge over the public.
As you can see, hockey betting is incredibly exciting with opportunities to bet on different markets. From moneyline and puck line betting to player props and futures, there are plenty of betting options for hockey at leading bookmakers such as Bet365. By managing your bankroll, shopping for odds, and keeping up with the latest hockey news, you can improve your chances of betting on hockey for a long time.
Many licensed sportsbooks offer various betting markets on the NHL, KHL, and other hockey leagues, allowing Canadians to take part in the action.
Puck line betting works similarly to handicap betting, wherein you’ll need a team to cover a spread set by the bookmakers.
Player prop bets focus on individual performances rather than the actual game itself.
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