NHL BETTING STRATEGY

NHL Betting Strategy provided by: GTBets While hockey betting doesn’t have a traditional point spread like basketball or football, there is the very similar puckline. A puckline is essentially a 1.5-goal spread between the favorite and underdog. And this creates an interesting dynamic because the favorite almost always becomes an underdog on the betting line. Let’s take a look at this below with an example:

Regular Moneyline                        nhl-betting-strategy-1
Washington Capitals  -145
Florida Panthers  +155

Puckline
Washington Capitals  -1.5  +185
Florida Panthers  +1.5  -170

As you can see from our made-up example, the Capitals have gone from a -135 favorite to a +185 underdog since they have to cover 1.5 goals. Because the Panthers are being spotted 1.5 goals, they’re now the favorite to win on the puckline.

Obviously it’s not easy to consistently predict if a hockey team will cover 1.5 goals. This being said, some situations are tougher than others on the puckline and it’s a good idea to use discretion with these wagers. So let’s take a look at some favorable situations where you might want to bet on the puckline, rather than making a normal moneyline wager.

A favorite (puckline underdog) playing at home is always a great bet to win. And this is even truer when the puckline is offering excellent value on the favorite. For instance let’s say that, based on extensive research, you think the L.A. Kings are a lock to beat the Phoenix Coyotes at the Staples Center. But your favorite sportsbook is undervaluing them with the following puckline:

L.A. Kings  -1.5  +225
Phoenix Coyotes  +1.5  -195

Now +225 isn’t the biggest puckline underdog ever, but if you believe the Kings are close to a sure thing, this offers nice value. Sure there’s less than a 50% chance that the Kings will win by two goals or more and make your puckline bet a winner. But if we bet on L.A., we’d only need them to cover the puckline one out of three times to show a long-term profit. Here’s a look at the math:

$100 x 3 bets = $300 wagered
1 winning bet = $325 total ($25 profit)