Latest NHL odds and betting lines

Traditional NHL odds are similar to NBA, NFL, and MLB odds. The most popular NHL betting odds include the moneyline, puck line, total or over/under, and prop bets.

Other types of hockey betting odds such as futures bets are set during the pre-season and will fluctuate from the moment they’re set until the betting outcome is fulfilled.

Live NHL odds are also available. For example, you can bet on Sidney Crosby to score the game-winning goal if the Pittsburgh Penguins are down late in the third period.

NHL odds are ever-changing, but that’s where we can help. Be sure to check out the latest NHL betting odds here, which compares the best hockey betting odds across a wide-range of online sportsbooks.

The most commonplace hockey bet is to place a wager on the moneyline. The only result that the moneyline cares about is the outright winner of an NHL game. It wouldn’t matter if a team won 1-0 or 5-0, so long as it’s the same team you bet on. Here is an example of moneyline odds for a NHL game:

In this instance, the Leafs are -150 favorites while the Senators are +150 underdogs. If you were to place an $100 moneyline wager on the Leafs and they won, you would get a payout of $166.67 (your $100 bet plus $66.67 profit). If you were to place that bet on the Sens instead and they won, you would receive a $250 payout (your $100 bet plus $150 profit).

It’s important to check the news prior to a slate of NHL games in order to be aware of impactful injuries and other notable information. It’s also a good way to scope out additional educated bets. For example, if the Leafs’ best player was a late scratch due to an injury, it might be shrewd to place a bet on the Sens with underdog odds.

NHL totals betting, also referred to as over/under betting, is placing a wager on the combined total of goals both teams score in a hockey game. If a game’s over/under total is set at 5.5, betting the under would refer to wagering on five or fewer total goals being scored by game’s end. Betting the over would naturally refer to the opposite, meaning you would wager on six or more total goals being scored by game’s end.

Here is an example of total or over/under odds for a NHL game:

If you were to place an $100 bet on the over -175 and won, you would earn a payout of $157 (your $100 bet plus $57 profit). If you placed that same bet on the under at +160 and won, you would earn a payout of $260 (your $100 bet plus $160 profit).

If a game’s over/under total was set at five, and exactly five goals were scored, the bettor would get their money back. In this scenario, you have basically tied with the sportsbook and thus receive a refund. This is known as a 'push.'

NHL futures bets focus on predicting the long-term result of a certain event. The most popular example of NHL futures odds pertains to individual and team awards such as the Stanley Cup winner or the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy (the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP).

Many opt to place futures bets before the NHL season begins, when NHL odds are at their most optimal. After all, sportsbooks can only be so accurate before the puck actually drops. It’s difficult to predict what will happen in a league with as much parity as the NHL, meaning there could be some value in certain NHL futures if you have a strong hunch about a certain player or team.

Any number of NHL betting outcomes can happen in the future, meaning there’s no shortage of hockey betting lines. The odds of some NHL futures bets can change drastically after just a game or two, so betting on a line with a lot of ambiguity (such as Rookie of the Year) can pay large dividends if you place your bet at the right time.

NHL prop bets refer to single-game wagers that are placed on events unrelated to the final score. These bets can be related to a team, an individual player, or other kinds of in-game event such as the national anthem.

For example, if the over/under for the total length of the national anthem is set at 2.5 minutes, placing a wager on that would be considered a prop bet. This zany example is actually quite fitting, as this variety of betting originated in the 1980s as a means of encouraging more people to bet on quirky aspects of the Super Bowl.

A very popular NHL prop bet is wagering on who will score their team’s first goal. If the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing the Ottawa Senators, every player on both teams will be assigned a negative betting value. Even the favorites to score will receive a negative betting value as guessing the right player to score first out of 36 potential options is incredibly difficult.

Another classic NHL prop bet is wagering on the over/under of total shots a team will take in a given game. For example, if a team often takes a high number of shots and their over/under is set at 30 or below, it’s likely worthwhile to bet the over.