NHL players may be keeping an eye on the hockey leagues in Europe in hopes of unearthing the next great superstar for their team, and they may want to take advantage of the betting as well. There is only one major difference when it comes to betting on European hockey and if you have wagered on soccer recently, you will recognize it.

The European ways of wagering on hockey is very similar to money line betting in that you have to bet x amount of money to win y amount, but there is a twist. American players that use pay per head systems may remember back in the past, when the NHL had ties. But now we have the shootout to solve things after overtime, and the Europeans have decided to stick with a tie. So you will see three different numbers when you wager on European hockey: one for the favorite, one for the underdog and one for a draw. You will often a draw has a positive number in front of it, and if you have teams are very similar in talent and style of play, you shouldn’t be surprised to see a draw “favored”.

Betting on European hockey isn’t as difficult as you think, especially with the internet because you can have stats and all the information you need heading into a game. Don’t be afraid to wager on European hockey, because if you do your homework, it can be a nice little boost to your account at your favorite betting sites.

Calgary Flames fans may be looking for a reason to make their season bearable and the games more interesting, and what better way to do that than to lay a few wagers throughout the year. Here are a few concepts to understand if you’re looking to bet on the NHL this season.

Money Lines

Most sportsbooks use a 20-cent line on hockey betting, and it isn’t as difficult as you may think. For example, you may find Toronto as a -150 favorite in a game against Montreal, but the 20-cent line means the Canadiens will be rated at +130. Of course, there are larger lines if the teams are far apart in talent, but the 20-cent rule should be abided by everyone from those that buy pay head services as well as casual players.

Puck Lines

The puck lines are similar to a spread in football in that you can select a team to win by a certain amount of goals. The line always stays the same (1.5 goals), so if you use the above example, it would read, Toronto +1.5 (-150), and that means if you bet on the Maple Leafs, you win if they win or lose by a single goal.

Totals

Totals are exactly how they sound: wager on the total of goals that will be scored in a given game. For the most part, totals will be between 5-6.5 goals, although you’ll occasionally see a 7-goal total, and these are the types of things you have to research before making your sports bet for an NHL game.

Some think the Winnipeg Jets’ solid play over the first part of the season is a surprise, but remember, this team played very well in Atlanta at the same point last year. The Jets are in the midst of a huge home stand, but they do have one road game, and that’s in Detroit.

Jets Red Wings Odds – Saturday, 7:00 PM ET

Winnipeg have won two in a row coming into this week’s games against Boston and Carolina, and the Jets are in a stretch where 11 of their 12 games were at home; this will be their first road game since November 26^th, and their last until December 27^th. Those who use price per head bookmaking companies still don’t have any faith in the Jets, and for good reason, but this is a good stretch in which to consider them more than usual.

The Red Wings rattled off a seven-game winning streak when people started to doubt them, and even thought they lost on Sunday in Colorado, Detroit can get back on track in St. Louis before facing the old Jets (Phoenix) and then the new Jets. Goaltender Jimmy Howard has been brilliant over the last three weeks, and the Red Wings are hot on Chicago’s trail in the Central.

Detroit will be the home favorites against the Jets, who have dropped five of their seven trips to the Motor City while they were in Atlanta. Three of the last four have gone over the posted total, and Detroit has been excellent on home ice. Take Detroit in your online sportsbooks on Saturday.

Those following NHL scores have seen Chicago surge to the top of the Western Conference, but they’ll have a tough week ahead of their Saturday night contest in Los Angeles, where the Kings should be well rested.

Blackhawks Kings Odds – Saturday, 10:30 PM ET

Chicago’s road trip got off to a great start with a 5-1 romp in Vancouver against their bitter rivals, the Canucks, but things went downhill slowly after a 5-2 loss in Calgary and then the Blackhawks were hammered 9-2 in Edmonton by the young Oilers. The Blackhawks are still one of the Stanley Cup favorites in your bookie software, but they still have to go through San Jose on Wednesday and Anaheim on Friday before they face the Kings.

Los Angeles had a three-game winning streak snapped in a 4-1 loss at home to Detroit last Saturday, and this week they’ll be in St. Louis on Tuesday and Dallas on Wednesday. This gives the Kings a couple of days to rest their legs and get back on their normal schedule after travelling to the Midwest and Texas.

The Blackhawks are 3-2 in their last five trips to Los Angeles, with three of their games falling under the posted total. This is a meeting of two teams that have their eyes on the Western Conference crown, which the Blackhawks won two seasons ago en route to the Stanley Cup. The Kings are looking to get there and made a few moves in the offseason, and they’re going to be catching the Blackhawks at the end of a long road trip, so take Los Angeles in your online betting picks.