NHL betting Guide: How does NHL betting work?

Here in the US we like to think that the NHL is the biggest hockey league in the world. Other countries have strong divisions. Those nations have also enjoyed success at world championships and winter Olympic games - it’s true.

But at domestic level, the National Hockey League has a genuine claim to be the best. It’s certainly the busiest area of our hockey betting site and we’re here to guide you through NHL betting.

From start to finish, this is your roundup of all you need to know.

We’ll Face-Off with two questions:

1. What are NHL Odds and what can they tell us?
2. What are the different NHL betting options?

What are NHL odds and how do they work?

Here’s a real-life market from the NHL. It’s not all about the US so we’re taking it north of the border as Montreal take on Arizona.

There are two sets of odds here. One has a minus sign while the other has a plus prefix. What do they mean?

The Canadiens have the minus odds and that means they are the favorites.
The Coyotes, with the plus prefix, are the underdog this time.

That’s your probability right there: The market shows that Montreal have a higher probability of winning.
They are the favorites while Arizona are an outside bet.

The second question related to payouts.
Those odds will tell us exactly what we will be paid if we make a winning bet.

At -167, you would need to bet $167 on the Canadiens to win 100 Dollars.
If you fancy the Coyotes, a stake of $100 would win $138.

You don’t have to stake those exact sums and you don’t have to work it all out in your head.
Choose the amount you are comfortable with and the betslip will do the math.
If you’re happy with outlay and potential returns, click to confirm.

NHL Public Betting

Does it matter what the public think? Actually it does.
The general view can influence the market before our odds setters settle on the final numbers.
The public will have looked at that Canadiens / Coyotes match up and the majority of stake money is placed on Montreal.

The strengths of the two teams are assessed and the public identifies a favorite.
The favorite won’t win every time - wouldn’t that be boring - so you need to decide if they’ve made the right call.

What are the different NHL betting options

When it comes to NHL betting online you have a lot of options.

Here are some of the popular NHL bets you'll come across:

#1 NHL Moneylines

You’ve already seen one: That image shows the match result betting for a game between Montreal and Arizona. This is known as the Moneyline bet in the NHL and it asks you to pick between the two teams.

If you look at the image again, you’ll see that it includes the possibility of Overtime and a Shootout.

As an alternative to the moneyline, you can take the Regular Time 3-Way

Now we have a third option for the tie.
The odds for Arizona and Montreal have also changed and this market excludes any overtime. It’s all about the result at the end of regular time.

To summarize, NHL moneyline bets includes OT and shootouts.
A Regular Time Line finishes at the end of the third period.

#2 NHL Pucklines

If you’ve bet on other sports, then you may know about the points spread. In the NHL , the puck line is the correct term for the spread. If we’ve lost you, let us explain.

The puck line is all about a winning margin. Instead of betting on a team to win, you are staking on them to win by a certain amount of points.

This how NHL puckline odds looks like on Unibet:

In the game between the Ducks and the Rangers, the 11.5 figure here means that New York would have to win by at least two clear goals for the bet to convert.

A 2-0, 3-1 or 4-2 scoreline will be enough. As long as there is that two-goal winning cushion, the bet pays.

If you were to stake on the Ducks, a defeat by a solitary goal would be enough. The bet would also pay if Anaheim won or tied the match at the end of regular time.

Puck lines will usually settle on the 1.5 line but you can change them. Check out that big green circle at the bottom of the image. That’s a slider and you can move it from left to right to set your own puck line.

Pucklines work a bit differently in the playoffs and the Stanley Cup. We recommend you to check out our pages on NHL playoffs betting and the Stanley Cup Betting for more intel.

#3 NHL Total Goals Bet

Hockey betting includes the popular Total Goals market. How many goals will be scored in the game? You don’t have to come up with an exact number here as we make some suggestions.

Here’s another NHL game to demonstrate:

This is a game between the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The goal line has been set at 6 and you have two options: Over or Under.

If you back Over, there has to be at least 7 goals for the payout to land. If you go Under, 5 goals or fewer will trigger that payout.

It doesn’t matter who scores the goals. As long as the teams combine to match your target, your bet wins.

But what if there are exactly six goals in this match? This is called a ‘push’. It’s another piece of jargon that we need to bust. A push occurs when the bet hits the line exactly. There are no winners or losers so we simply put (or push) your stake back into your account.

#4 NHL Prop bets

Here’s another betting term - ‘prop’. Prop is short for proposition and it refers to something that could happen in a game. It’s best if we list some examples:

First up, props are split into two sections:

Game Props:

These could include

• Correct Score
• Both Teams to Score
• Team to win without conceding

Player Props:

Player Props can include:

• First goal scorer
• Player to score at least one goal

Want to get involved with props? Find the game and scroll past the main markets. Go through the Moneyline and Puck Line and all of the options for that game will show up.

#5 NHL Parlays

A parlay is a multiple bet. Any combination of two or more selections comes under the parlay umbrella. It has the power to increase odds but it will also mean higher exposure.

The main point to remember is that all your selections need to win for a parlay to pay out. If one or more legs fail, the bet is lost.

Keep that in mind when you consider your options. Parlays come in two categories. There are single game parlays which are placed - you’ve guessed it - on one game.

Here’s an example of a 3 leg NHL parlay on a single game:

In the game between Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild, we’ve made three selections. Wild to win, Over 6 goals and Both Teams to Score.

Next up is the multi-leg parlay spread over two or more games. Here’s another example.

Over three games, we’ve staked on the Wild, the Blue Jackets and the Flames all to win. This time we’ve selected a stake. Odds are showing and the betslip tells us how much we can win. If you’re happy with those numbers, click on that yellow button and the bet is placed.

NHL Parlay Promos on Unibet

Did you know that you can boost the odds on your NHL parlays thanks to our parlay boosts.
Make sure you grab your NHL parlay booster below!