The National Hockey League (NHL) is one of the most popular leagues in North America, and with good reason – the games can be extremely exciting to watch! But, to wager on these games can be quite difficult. Below, you will learn about how online betting on the NHL works, and if it’s the right fit for you.
Types Of NHL Bets
While it’s possible to wager on almost any sport, the NHL is particularly popular with online sportsbooks because of two things:
- the sheer number of games that take place each season
- the high number of games that are often close to the money
These factors make it more likely that your wager will be settled, meaning that you will win or lose what you initially laid down. Below, you will learn about the various types of bets that are available at online casinos and sportsbooks.
NBA Betting
If you’re unfamiliar, the NBA is the league that is primarily associated with basketball. However, over the years, it has expanded its offerings to include many other sports, such as hockey. But, for the purpose of this discussion, let’s focus on the basketball part.
Basketball is a very popular game around the world, and for good reason – it’s easy to learn, fun to watch, and there are plenty of individual skills that you can practice working on your own. If you want to place bets on the NBA, you have several options. You can play in a live betting environment, where you will compete against other users. Or, if you’re feeling nostalgic, you can go back in time and play against the teams and players that you remember from your childhood.
NHL Betting
The NHL is, as mentioned above, a very popular league in North America and around the world. And for good reason – it’s one of the most popular sports in the country, with thousands of players participating in the league each year. As a result, there are thousands of games each season, and a lot of them are highly competitive. If you’re looking to place bets on the NHL, you will find a range of options. Like the NBA, the NHL also has a league known as the “Central” that is primarily responsible for hockey. But unlike the NBA, which has multiple conferences and regional divisions, the NHL is purely a single division with only a few teams – the best of the best!
Over/Under Goals
One of the most exciting parts of an NFL game is the goal-line stands. These are moments when you can bet on the outcome of the game, and they add a whole new element of excitement to football. Goals in any sport are extremely important, and in the NHL, they are no different. However, sometimes, goals come in clusters, and you will find that there is no clear-cut favorite to win the game. This is where the fun begins when you are able to make wagers on how many goals there will be in the game – either it will be over or under the stated number.
Money Line Betting
The money line betting option is what you will find when you enter any online sports book or casino. Essentially, this is where you place a wager on which team will win the game. In the NHL, you will typically find two options: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs.
These are, essentially, bets on which team will score the most goals. In the case of a regulation win, you will have to choose between 2.00 and 4.00 goals. So, in the case of a 2.00 goal win, you will have placed a $2 win bet. The same goes for a 4.00 win bet – you will need to decide whether or not there will be six goals scored. As you can see, this is one of the more popular betting options around the NHL because there is a lot of action available on games with an increased goal-scoring potential, while the opposite is true for low-scoring games – they are generally less popular because there is not much action available on those games.
Point Spread Betting
Point spread betting is, in a nutshell, the opposite of money line betting. Instead of choosing between two teams, you will be choosing between two outcomes for a given game: either there will be a certain number of points (usually six) or there will be fewer than that. For instance, if you believe that the New York Rangers are a very strong team and are deserving of a 4.0 point spread (i.e., you believe that they will beat the Toronto Maple Leafs by 4.0 or more points), then you would put a $10 wager on that outcome, as there is a 10.0 point spread minimum bet size at online casinos and sports books (not including tax and other charges, of course).
Proposition Betting
Proposition betting is, essentially, a combination of money line and point spread betting. This is where you place a wager on whether or not a certain play will occur during the game. For example, you might wager on the final score of the game, or you might choose one of the many prop bets associated with a specific play (i.e., will the ball be knocked out of bounds on the kickoff, will a pass be caught, will a punt return go for a touchdown, etc.).
Who Will Win The Game?
The betting options listed above are the most popular types of bets for the NHL. But, as exciting as they are, there is more than one way to bet on the game. Some people like to bet on whether or not a goaltender will allow a certain number of goals, while others prefer to wager on block saves or hits that result in a goal. If you want to get technical, you can even wager on the formation of the ice, or the number of times that a certain team will be penalized during the game. But, for the everyday bettor, the above should be more than enough to get started with.