NHL Sportsbooks 🏒
At bettingscanner.com we have an international team, including people from countries where ice hockey is a major national sport. For all of us who are into ice hockey, the NHL remains the league which we all bet on.
The NHL is the league with all the best players which offers us thirty teams from the US and Canada with an 82-game regular season; what more could you want?
Well, there is more. Once the regular season (October-April) is over, the teams compete in a round-robin for a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stanley Cup final remains one of the biggest events in the sports betting industry.
So, what sportsbook is the best NHL sportsbook? Well, the first thing you need to think about is what state are you in...
What makes a great NHL sportsbook
When it comes to the NHL, some sportsbooks have decided to go all-in, whereas others have focused more on the NFL, NBA or MLB. PlayMGM are the sportsbook that we can see have really focused completely on the NHL.
But what is it that makes a sportsbook really the perfect fit forr NHL betting. Well here are the factors we look for:
- Ice Hockey specific bets: Fancy a placing a puckline or a Grand Salami? well, believe it or not, some sportsbooks don't always offer these, esecially the latter.
- Odds: We make sure we know what sportsbooks offer the best odds.
- In-play betting: No betting experience is complete without in-play. Ice-Hockey is a particularly good sport for this with two breaks between the three periods and time-outs.
- A great mobile app: Most bettors prefer to bet on their mobiles.
Best NHL Sportsbook in NJ
If you are based in New Jersey and you like to bet on the NHL then you are in luck. The state is leading the way when it comes to online sports betting in the US.
The sportsbooks which have launched in the state are also acutely aware that the NHL is huge in New Jersey.
The Garden State is home to the New Jersey Devils and Ice Hockey is simply embedded in its DNA.
BettingScanner recommends
Best NHL Sportsbook in NJ: Bet365
Early Payouts & Live Betting
The British sportsbook has created a world class product for its New Jersey customers. It has also placed an enormous amount of emphasis on its selection of NHL bets.
Best NHL Sportsbook in PA
Pennsylvania is the US state with the second largest amount of licensed sportsbooks. They all offer a good selection of NHL bets due to the popularity of ice hockey in the Keystone State. There are two NHL teams based in Pennsylvania the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers.
With this in mind it is hard to pick one standout sportsbook in Pennsylvania, but if push came to shove we would have to select FanDuel PA as our number one. The fantasy sports provider turned online sportsbook simply has the full package: excellent odds, great selection of NHL bets, a user-friendly product and generous welcome offer.
BettingScanner recommends
Best NHL Sportsbook in PA: FanDuel
Best Mobile App
FanDuel has the full package: excellent odds, great selection of NHL bets, a user-friendly product and generous welcome offer.
Best NHL Sportsbook in IN
Indiana is currently the state with the third most sportsbooks in the country and even if ice hockey is not the most popular sports in the state, they all offer a decent selection of NHL bets.
At BettingScanner we have been impressed by PointsBet's product in Indiana. The Aussie sportsbook became known for its spread bets, but since its move to the US, it has proven that it is a great all-round sportsbook. It doesn't hurt that spread betting lends itself nicely to the ice hockey!
BettingScanner recommends
Best NHL Sportsbook in IN: PointsBet
Now a Fanatics Experience
The Aussie sportsbook has a great selection of NHL bets and an excellent product optimized for Indiana. It also offers the best spread betting in the market.
NHL Sportsbooks: Moneylines
Moneylines are the most common form of bet in almost any sport. A moneyline is simply backing who you think will win the game.
The favourite will be marked with the symbol (+) and the underdog will be marked with the symbol (-). After this symbol, your sportsbook will provide you with the juice, or odds.
The New York Rangers are playing the Washington Capitals.
The Washington Capitals are the favourites for this game and the New York Rangers are considered the underdogs.
The Washington Capitals are given a moneyline of -200 and the New York Rangers are given a moneyline of +150.
The Washington Capitals are in form and you agree with your sportsbook that they should win, so you decide to put down $50 on them.
There are two potential outcomes for your bet:
- The Washington Capitals win. You receive your $50 wager back and $25 in profit ($75 total).
- The game ends in a draw or The New York Rangers win. The Sportsbook wins.
Moneyline betting is a great way to start if you are new to the world of online sports betting. It is the most common form of betting and also the most available. However, it may not always bring the most value.
We have listed some advantages and disadvantages with moneyline betting to give you an idea of when to use it.
Advantages with NHL moneyline betting 👍
- You can always find moneyline bets on the NHL. It will always be the first bet that a sportsbook offers for a game.
- They are straightforward. Moneyline betting is great for beginners.
Disadvantages with NHL moneyline betting 👎
- Especially for the big games, it will be hard to find really great value odds for the NHL. Sportsbooks will invest a vast amount of resources into getting these odds just right.
- It’s hard to place a moneyline bet on your own team. It’s a classic mistake, especially for beginners, to merge fanship with your betting. You want nothing more than your team to win outright, don’t let that blur your betting clarity. A deep understanding of your team might put you at an advantage with other bets, such as goals scored.
Plus moneylines
Let’s say you put down a $50 wager on the underdog, the New York Rangers, at moneyline odds of +150
To calculate this you can use the following formula:
- Winnings = (your stake x plus moneyline odds) /100
- Winnings = ($50 x 150) /100
- Winnings = 7500 / 100
- Winnings = $75
minus moneylines
Another way of understanding ice hockey money lines is to learn how to calculate the potential winnings.
Let’s use the same example as above where you place a $50 wager at moneyline odds of -200
To calculate this you can use the following formula:
- Winnings = (your stake / minus moneyline odds) x 100
- Winnings = ($50 / 200) x 100
- Winnings = (0.25) x100
- Winnings = $25
NHL Sportsbooks: Pucklines
Pucklines are a popular type of bet which only really exists in ice hockey. This form of betting usually places both teams with a 1.5 plus or minus handicap. Bettors using the puck line can lay 1.5 goals with the favourite or take 1.5 goals with the underdog.
Pucklines, like runlines in baseball, requires you to reverse an in-built logic in your head.
With the addition of the 1.5 goals, the favourite can become the underdog and vice versa, as it now means the original favourite must win by 2 or more goals. Your online sportsbook will always use a .5 decimal to prevent pushes.
The Washington Capitals are given a moneyline of -200 and the New York Rangers are given a moneyline of +150.
This means that the Washington Capitals are favourites, so a puck line bet could look like this
Washington Capitals -1.5 (+180) New York Rangers +1.5 (-140)
Here you can see that to win the bet, Washington Capitals must win by 2 goals to win the bet.
Say then, you still back the original favourites, The Washington Capitals (now the underdogs) with a $10 wager. This could result in two possible outcomes:
- The Washington Capitals win by two goals or more. You receive your original $10 wager back and $18 in winnings.
- The Washington Capitals win by one goal, the game ends as a draw or The New York Rangers win. The sportsbook wins.
NHL Sportsbooks: Over/Under or Totals
This type of betting is very popular with NHL fans. It simply requires you to predict whether there will be more goals in a game than a number predetermined by your sportsbook.
With NHL total betting, sportsbooks usually place that number between 5 and 6.5 but it can vary. Although betting totals is a popular betting form in many sports, sportsbooks treat totals betting in ice hockey slightly differently. Football and basketball are much higher scoring than ice hockey so sportsbooks will be more likely to adjust the odds than changing the over/under total.
Totals can be useful in certain situations, perhaps when the outcome of the game is hard to call, due to both teams either having very strong, or very weak defences.
This might make it hard to call the game but easier to call the number of goals in a game.
The Boston Bruins are playing the Maple Leafs. You have studied their head to head record and their current goalscoring stats and decided that this will be a high scoring game. The totals offered are:
- Boston Bruins vs. Maple Leafs over 5.5 (-110)
- Boston Bruins vs. Maple Leafs under 5.5 (-110)
- The bookies remain undecided and have offered the same odds for both potential over/under scores. You place $10 on over 5.5 goals.
There are two possible outcomes to your bet:
- There are over 5 goals in the game. You get your original $10 returned and $9.09 in winnings. $19.09 in total.
- There are 5 goals or under in the game. The sportsbook wins.
When the same over/under odds are offered it is known as a ‘5.5-flat’.
NHL Sportbooks: Grand Salami
This is a bet that is completely unique to ice hockey and is simply great fun. It is effectively an over/under or totals bet for the entire game day.
With a Grand Salami, your online sportsbook will offer total goals for all the games being played in a day.
There are 10 matches in an NHL game day. The bookies are offering the following:
Over 55.5 goals (-120) Under 55.5 goals (-110)
You believe that there will be a lot of goals. You place $25 on over 55.5 goals at odds of -120.
There are two potential outcomes:
- There are over 55.5 goals. You get your $25 wager back and $20.83 in profit.
- There are under 55.5 goals. The sportsbook wins.
NHL Sportsbooks: Stanley Cup betting
The pinnacle of the ice hockey calendar is undoubtedly the Stanley Cup playoffs and final.
The elimination tournament which consists of four rounds of best-of-seven series is also the most popular time of year for ice hockey bettors all around the world.
It’s also the time of year that US sportsbooks will focus primarily on the sport of ice hockey, especially around the final date, where amateur bettors will join the more experienced bettors for a wager. This means that there will be a flood of promotions and offers in the build-up to the final, as sportsbooks try and attract ice hockey fans who are flirting with the idea of sports betting.
The majority of these promos will focus on new customers, enticing them with enhanced odds, and hoping they’ll be bitten by the betting bug once they are all signed up. These promotions and bonuses can be both a blessing and a curse. The enhanced odds can seem really attractive and sometimes they are, but it is important to always read the small print and know what you are signing up for.
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