NHL Odds, Daily Betting Lines & Spreads

How to read NHL Odds 

The NHL odds in the tables above allow you to compare which sportsbooks are offering the best NHL betting odds today.

If you are learning how to bet on hockey, the most important first step is learning how to read NHL odds. In sports betting, a moneyline bet involves you picking a team to win the game outright. Moneyline odds at your favorite online sportsbook will look something like this:

In this scenario, Boston is the favorite and Chicago is the underdog. Faves are always shown with the minus sign (-) and dogs with the plus sign (+).

If you were going to bet $100 on the Bruins, you’d get a profit of $50. Conversely, if you were going to gamble on the Blackhawks, you’d get a $170 profit. To see how much you’d win based on the odds and amount bet, check out our Odds Calculator.

What does -110 Mean?

A -110 line is a magic number in the betting world. For sportsbooks, it represents the line they need to make money. See more on our page about what -110 means.

What Does -1.5 Mean?

In hockey, we call this the puckline. It means a team has to win by two or more goals to win the wager, much like a runline in baseball. Negative values such as -1.5 indicate that team is favored by 1.5 goals. Positive values like +1.5 indicate that team is the underdog by 1.5 goals.

Odds Shark NHL Computer Picks

Odds Shark extends free NHL picks on every game all season long. Get your puckline action and consensus picks from training camp to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Free NHL Picks

Popular Types of NHL Betting

There are multiple ways to bet on NHL hockey, from straight-up moneyline betting to betting on the total number of goals scored, the puckline and so much more.

Moneyline Bets

The most popular way to bet on hockey is moneyline betting. With moneyline bets, you’re wagering on what side wins. For moneyline NHL odds, negative and positive values are attached to favorites (-180) and underdogs (+160). Think of it as 100 sitting in the middle of these two values.

Example: If you want to bet a -180 favorite, you need to risk $180 to win $100 (or for smaller-stakes players, $18 to win $10). When betting on the underdog at +160, you would bet $100 to win $160 if the underdog wins. Without a point spread, bettors have to risk a bit more to bet the favorite, but you earn a bigger payout if you back the underdog.

Puckline (Canadian Line)

The puckline is a hybrid form of NHL odds betting that merges the moneyline and a point spread. A -1.5 value indicates that the team is favored by 1.5 goals. A +1.5 value indicates that the team is the underdog by 1.5 goals.

Betting on the NHL point spread means the favorite must win by at least two goals to cover the puckline hockey spread. The dog can lose by one goal and still cover the puckline. That’s right – a team can lose 3-2 but win on a +1.5 puckline. This means whether the underdog wins or loses, you have the chance to walk away victorious.

For example, if a team is -1.5 at +180 and you wagered $100, that means you would profit $180 if the team wins by two goals or more. On the other side, if a team is +1.5 at -135 and you wagered $135, you win $100 if they win the game or only lose by one goal.

OVER/UNDER (Total) Bets

A total bet is wagering that the total number of goals scored will go OVER or UNDER the line set by the sportsbook. In hockey, the OVER/UNDER line is typically set at 5 or 5.5. So when you see 5.5, you are hoping for six or more goals if you bet OVER and for five or fewer if you bet UNDER.

Here’s an example: If you see U5.5 (-110), that means you have to risk $110 to win $100 if the total goes UNDER 5.5 goals. Seeing O5.5 (+105) means you will profit $105 on a $100 bet if the total goes OVER 5.5 goals.

Parlay Bets

A parlay bet is a sports bet that combines multiple straight bet wagers on one ticket. Usually, you would pool straight-up bets with spreads and totals. However, you can have multiple versions of the same bet as long as it’s on different games. Some sportsbooks now offer same-game parlays where you can combine multiple bets of the same game. 

NHL Awards

You can play futures bets where you wager on who will win some of the NHL end-of-season awards like the Hart Trophy, the Norris, the Vezina or the Calder Trophy.

Player Props

Short for “proposition,” a prop bet is a wager based on occurrences or non-occurrences during a sporting event.

When it comes to NHL hockey, some of the player prop bets you’ll find in your favorite sportsbook involve goals scored, points scored and shot totals. Much like total bets, with player props you’re wagering that an individual player will produce more or less than the line proposed by the sportsbook.

For example, if Connor McDavid’s points total is O2.5 (-150), you need to wager $150 to make $100 if you believe McDavid will score three or more points. 

Live Odds Betting

Live betting lets you bet while the game is unfolding. This is a popular way to bet, giving you the chance to take advantage of live odds while you’re watching everything from the Stanley Cup Final to any regular-season game. You can read more about live betting on our “How Does Live Betting Work?” page.

Futures Odds

In futures betting, you can wager on a future event or outcome within the NHL. This could be something like betting on a team’s win total, NHL division odds, or all the way to who will win the Stanley Cup.

You can find various NHL futures odds available from the preseason through the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Understanding Live Movement

The more lopsided the betting action is in one direction, the more sportsbooks stand to win or lose depending on the final result. For this reason, sportsbooks will often move lines. To understand this further, check out this page on “Why the Line Moves”.

Plus and Minus Odds

Most sports odds are presented in the same way. The favorite is represented by the minus sign (-), while the underdog is represented by the plus sign (+). You’ll also notice that odds are usually based on bettors wagering $100. 

A -150 line means a bettor needs to risk $150 to win $100 while a +150 line means a bettor would win $150 on a $100 bet. 

True Odds vs Implied Odds

True odds are what you the bettor believe the line should be after all your research and handicapping. The implied odds are a team’s chances of winning represented by a percentage and based on the odds set by the sportsbook. You can calculate the implied odds for any bet using our Odds Calculator. 

Biggest NHL Betting Events

If you’re betting on NHL hockey, you need to jot down these events in your calendar.

Season Openers

There’s no feeling quite like getting the season off and running with the season opener. You’ve done your research in the offseason and you know if a team is supposed to be good or downright awful. It’s a great time to catch the sportsbooks napping and squeeze out some incredible value.

NHL All-Star Weekend

Not only can you bet on the actual all-star game itself, but you can also bet on the skills competition on the day before the game. Who will have the hardest shot? Who will be the most accurate shooter? With the weekend being more about fun than winning, this can be another chance to find some value.

NHL Playoffs

The 82-game regular season is all about getting into the playoffs and pushing for a Stanley Cup. It’s also the home of the upset. In a seven-game series, anything can happen. 

Conference Finals

Because anything can happen in the playoffs, you can get incredible value all season long on odds for the Eastern and Western Conference champions. 

Stanley Cup

It’s all about the Stanley Cup. If you can get incredible value on the conference finals, you’ll get even better value on the Cup. Over the last 10 years, the eventual Cup champion has had average opening odds of +1180.

Biggest Team Rivalries

New to NHL hockey? Here are some key rivalries across the league that you’ll definitely want to watch because there are guaranteed to be fireworks.

Boston Bruins And Montreal Canadiens

These two sides have faced off 756 times since 1924 with the Canadiens holding the better record at 363-279-103-11 record. This matchup represents the first NHL meeting ever between an American team and a Canadian side. And it’s been a fiery affair ever since.

Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs

If Boston vs Montreal is effectively the U.S. vs Canada, then the rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs can be seen as English Canada vs French Canada. It’s a big deal. Montreal holds a big lead in the matchup with a 366-299-88-12 record in 765 meetings.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals

This rivalry goes all the way back to the early ’90s but it reached a fever pitch between 2015 and 2018 when the Penguins eliminated the Capitals from the playoffs twice. In the third playoff meeting, the Capitals finally broke through on their way to their first Stanley Cup championship.

New York Islanders vs New York Rangers

Long Island against Manhattan. This rivalry might not be as old as Bruins vs Habs, but it’s just as intense and storied. Rangers fans still chant “Potvin Sucks” after the Islanders’ legendary defenseman laid a heavy (but clean) hit on Ulf Nilsson that injured the Rangers star all the way back in 1979. 

Calgary Flames vs Edmonton Oilers

The Battle of Alberta is a massive Western Canadian clash – and a clash that has led to a number of fisticuffs. None were more epic than the goalie fight between Cam Talbot and Mike Smith in 2020.

Ottawa Senators vs Toronto Maple Leafs

It might not be as old as the Battle of Alberta in its current form, but the Battle of Ontario is just as intense, with the Ottawa Senators holding a 70-54-3-13 edge. All Sens fans will remember the 6-5 OT win in 2021 when Ottawa roared back from a 5-1 deficit late in the second period. 

Profit & Payout

New to sports betting? Learn about some of these key sports betting terms.

Profit

Your profit is the money earned over a period of time. That can be over a single bet or over a period of betting. 

Expected Winnings

This is the amount you can expect to win on a specific bet. Let’s say you’re risking $100 on the Canadiens to win on the moneyline at -150. Your expected winnings would be $67. You can calculate your expected winnings using our odds calculator.

Expected Payout

An expected payout is your stake along with the expected winnings. Going back to that $100 bet on the Canadiens, the expected payout is that $67 of winnings and your $100 stake for a $167 expected payout.

Bet Slip

The bet slip is where you place your bets before you place your bet with your favorite sportsbook. 

Bonuses and Promotions

Depending on your sportsbook, you can get various bonuses and promotions. Here’s a list of some of the most common bonuses and promotions.

Free Bets

Exactly as the name suggests, free bets are gifted upon sign-up and allow you to make a bet using the sportsbook’s money and if you win, you keep the profits. Check with your sportsbook because certain restrictions apply to cashing out free bet earnings.

Risk-Free Bet

With a risk-free bet, bettors can make a wager without the fear of losing their stake. Again, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with your sportsbook’s rules around risk-free betting because it’s not always as straightforward as it sounds. Some sportsbooks will return your wager in credits. 

Deposit Match

This is perhaps the most common promotion. When you make a deposit with a sportsbook, they’ll match it up to a certain amount. Check with your sportsbook to see how much they’ll match.

Where To Bet On Sports

Looking to find a sportsbook? We’ve got you covered. Check out our sportsbook review page to learn how to evaluate every sportsbook. 

Sports Betting Apps

We can’t tell you which of the sites we list above has the best app because the best betting apps simply boil down to personal preference. What we can tell you is what to look for in a legal sports betting app to help you make an informed decision. Read up on what to look out for here.