NHL Odds & Lines

Few sports can match the excitement of professional hockey and the best way to make it even more exciting is to bet the sport.  Hockey offers end to end, hard hitting excitement and with an 82 game schedule and NHL betting odds posted every day there's no shortage of action.  There are also a variety of different ways to bet hockey and it's important to stay up to date on the latest NHL lines to find the best value prices.

NHL betting lines are somewhat different than other sports.  The primary NHL odds you'll see posted at sportsbooks is the moneyline which is the simplest way to place a bet.  You pick the winner of the game, lay (or take) the price indicated on the NHL lines screen and if your team wins you cash your bet.  There's also the over/under total which you'll see posted by NHL odds and lines.  This bet requires you to pick whether the total goals scored in a game will go 'over' or 'under' a certain number.  The final NHL betting odds concept you need to understand is the 'puck line' which is like a pointspread for hockey.  The team you bet on needs to win by a certain number of goals (usually 1.5) if you're 'laying' the number or cover the number if you're betting the underdog.

Once the 82 game NHL regular season is in the books the playoffs for the most coveted trophy in hockey—the Stanley Cup—will begin.  The top 8 teams from each conference are all hoping to claim the oldest prize in North American professional sports. The intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs is unrivaled in professional sports, and even the top seeded teams often face a tough challenge in the first round.

The first US team to compete for the Cup was the Portland Rosebuds of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in 1916, and the first American team to win the Cup was the Seattle Metropolitans the following year.  The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup 24 times, more than any other team.  Former Canadiens great Jean Beliveau’s name appears on the Cup more than anyone else—he’s listed 17 times, 10 as a player and 7 as management.

It’s doubtful that the current crop of NHL superstars will be thinking much about the history of the Stanley Cup once play gets underway.  Even though the top seeded teams face the lowest seeded teams and have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, that doesn’t mean they always have an easy time of it.  In fact, the team that usually wins the Stanley Cup is the one that finds a way to win on the road.