Every year the NHL makes its fans freeze their butts off as they bring the game back to its roots; playing outside. We're here to help you out with some burning hot betting tips for those frigid nights under the NHL lights.
This year we've got four outdoor games on the schedule:
| Date | Away | Home | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 29, 2023 | Calgary Flames | Edmonton Oilers | Commonwealth Stadium |
| Jan 1, 2024 | Vegas Golden Knights | Seattle Kraken | T-Mobile Park |
| February 17, 2024 | Philadelphia Flyers | New Jersey Devils | MetLife Stadium |
| February 18, 2024 | New York Rangers | New York Islanders | MetLife Stadium |
NHL Outdoor Games Betting Guide
| Record | |
|---|---|
| Favorites | 11-4 |
| Dogs | 4-11 |
| Home | 10-5 |
| Away | 5-10 |
| Over/Under | 7-7-1 |
Since 2018 we've seen 15 outdoor games. And boy have the favorites taken control going 11-4SU (73%). That's wildly impressive by NHL standards. Remember this league is built on parity. It's Gary Bettman's legacy!
In a typical NHL season, the favorite wins about 60% of the time. This year is no different with the favorite going 258-179SU on the year for 59%.
Of the six teams left to play outdoors this year, only two sides are above 60% as the favorites. That's the New York Rangers at 77% and the Vegas Golden Knights at 61%. With the way both teams are playing, and considering their opponents you'd imagine the books will favor both.
Home Team Performs For Large Crowds
The average attendance for an NHL game over the past two seasons is 17,242. But for outdoor games, those numbers swell to nearly five times the size.
In 2020, the NHL welcomed 85,630 fans to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas to see the Dallas Stars play the Nashville Predators. Dallas won 4-2 on the day.
What did the game-winning goal for the @DallasStars sound like in the Cotton Bowl?
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) January 2, 2020
Something like this. #WinterClassic // @NHL pic.twitter.com/OrIdzAsgJ7
Home sides are 10-5SU in outdoor games since 2018. Focus on just this calendar year and the home side is a perfect 3-0SU. While these games aren't actually at the team's home arena, being at "home" has its advantages.
Per the NHL rulebook, the home team gets the last change. That means they can match up strategically against whatever the away team puts out there.
On February 17, the New Jersey Devils will be the home team at MetLife against the Philadelphia Flyers. With a 5-6-1 home record at the time of writing the Devils aren't exactly in great form. But they've got two months to turn that around.
