NHL Betting Tips | NHL Predictions

Whether you are looking to bet on today's NHL matches or those coming up shortly, the main betting market is the money line which is not only found in the NHL but you will also see this when looking at NFL predictions, NBA tips, and MLB tips.

This market is a simple bet on whether the designated home or away team will be successful and because this is a 2-way market it will include any overtime and penalties (check bookmakers T&Cs when it comes to European matches).

What you will see are the odds for either team, for example, the Pittsburgh Penguins may be 4/7 to beat the New York Rangers, meaning if you staked £10 and it was successful, your payout would be £15.71, a profit of £5.71.

On the other hand, if you fancy the New York Rangers to win then you would bet on them, say their money line odds were 7/4 and you staked £10 then you could win as much as £27.50 (£17.50 profit) if successful.

If NHL betting is something new to you but at the same time something you think you would be interested in then opening an account would be needed, check out our Best Bookmaker for NHL Betting article which will help you find the right one.

 You might want to add the NHL money line picks into an accumulator, this is a way of building up the odds for a better return but you need them all to win to get that return.

NHL Accumulator

1. PIT Penguins to win 4/7 (1.57)
2. FLA Panthers to win 4/6 (1.67)
3. CAL Flames to win 4/7 (1.57)
4. COL Avalanche to win 4/5 (1.80)

Converting the fractional odds to decimal odds is the easiest way to work out an estimated return, you multiply the odds together (1.57*1.67*1.57*1.80) and that will give you an estimate of your returns which in this case works out as 7.40.

That means your NHL accumulator if all four picks are successful, for a £10 stake would return roughly £74 which would be a £64 profit. We have daily accumulators built based on our expert tipster picks which you may be interested in.

As well as the money line market, you will also find expert picks on two other markets right here for today's NHL Tips. First of all, we have spread betting which is better known as Puck Line for the NHL.

In terms of comparison, this market is the same as Asian Handicap in football or the run line in the MLB, the favourite is given a handicap to overcome whilst the underdog is given a headstart to defend.

In the NHL this line is usually set at 1.5 so the favourite in the game will be given a handicap of -1.5 whilst the dog will get a handicap of +1.5, the line can on occasion be different such as 0.5 or 2.5 depending on how strong the favourite is.

To work out if the bets are successful or not, if the team with the -1.5 handicap wins by 2+ goals then that line is successful, anything else the +1.5 line is successful.

In comparison to the other US sports, Basketball is top of the pile for winning favourites, then it's the NFL with Baseball bottom of the pile. So where does the NHL fit into the list? It would be about on par with Baseball at the bottom of the list in terms of favourites not being as successful as they are in the other sports.

In the graph below, you can see how the favourites have faired over the last five regular seasons, please do remember that during the 2019-20 season, neutral venues were being used which has affected those statistics.

There have been some teams who perform better as favourites than others, maybe those are more adept at handling the pressure of favouritism, the Minnesota Wild are the most successful favourites on home ice over the last five seasons with a win percentage of .681 (156 from 229) whilst the Montreal Canadiens are the worst with a win percentage of just .449 (44 from 98) so you can see how vast the difference is between the top and bottom.

Top Three NHL Teams to Back as Favourites

1. Minnesota Wild (156-73 .681)
2. Boston Bruins (213-103 .674)
3. Colorado Avalanche (203-103 .663)

Top Three NHL Teams to Avoid as Favourites

1. Montreal Canadiens (44-54 .449)
2. San Jose Sharks (38-38 .500)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets (39-33 .542)

The other market available is the NHL Totals betting, in this market, you are betting on how many goals will be scored during the game.

Please check your bookmaker for details but nearly all NHL will include goals scored in overtime and penalties whilst for some European leagues those may not be included.

You will get an under and over option for this market, it's the same as when betting on the totals in the NBA, the runs in MLB, or the points in the NFL.

You will be given a line and when it comes to NHL totals, this line can differ from game to game, the most common line is usually 5.5.

This means that your bet will be on whether there will be under 5.5 goals (5 or fewer) or whether there will be over 5.5 goals (6 or more).

Sometimes you will get a line without a .5, something like 6.0 which means that the 'Push' option comes into play, if the game finishes with exactly 6 goals then your stake is refunded.

Below are the average number of goals scored by both the home and away teams during each season as well as the match average.

The 2022-23 season was a bumper season for goals, the average was well above normal with 6.36 goals on average per game.

The past three seasons are the only seasons from the last five where the road teams averaged three or more goals per game.

The average number of goals for the hosting team does not differ a great deal with a low of 3.07 and a high of 3.27 and the road team usually averages around three goals per game.

Four of the last five seasons have seen matches average more than six goals per game.

Noah Strang and Andy Powell, the driving forces behind OLBG's ice hockey content, blend their passion and expertise to craft an immersive experience for enthusiasts. Noah's astute observations coupled with Andy's dedication to the sport offer a comprehensive view of ice hockey. Together, they deliver engaging analysis, betting insights, and comprehensive coverage of the NHL.

Noah Strang

Hockey editor

Noah Strang is a freelance sports reporter who has worked as an accredited NHL media correspondent and contributed to a variety of publications across the web including NHL.com. Our stateside Hockey specialist, Noah knows just about all there is to know about the NHL and local league hockey in Canada too.

Andy Powell

Content editor

Andy Powell, a passionate aficionado of ice hockey, brings his lifelong dedication to the sport to OLBG's extensive hockey content. Raised as a fervent supporter of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Andy's devotion led him to stay awake into the early hours, avidly following their games. His profound understanding of European hockey competitions amplifies his expertise, enriching his comprehensive insights into the sport's global landscape.