From Montreal Canadiens fans to those who like the Columbus Blue Jackets (all eighteen of you) and all teams in between, people like to bet on hockey and they have for years now. Although the game may not be as popular in the United States as football, basketball or even baseball, it is still growing in popularity. But if you’re going to wager on hockey, you should first understand how money line works.
While players that follow Super Bowl odds will usually stick to the point spread, which is when Team X has to beat Team Y by a certain amount of points for betting players to win, the money line has to do with an amount of cash laid to win a certain amount. For example, you could find the two above teams matched up, as Montreal is rated at -170 and Columbus at +150. This means Montreal is the favored team (shown by a minus sign), and you would have to wager $170 to win $100 on the Canadiens. On the other hand, you have the underdogs (as shown by a plus sign) from Columbus, and you would win $150 on a $100 bet.
Then you have the puck lines, which adds a point spread-like aspect to money line betting because you’re wagering on a team to win by X amount of goals (usually 1.5), but your first mission should be to familiarize yourself with money lines before you start utilizing puck lines in your sports betting wagers.
Feel like betting on the Winnipeg Jets through the week? How about the Boston Bruins? Hockey betting is growing and while it will never reach the heights of football, NHL fans can carve out a nice little niche for themselves if they move into the sports betting arena. Here are a couple of tips when it comes to betting on the favorites on the ice.
The Bounce-Back Game
The best teams in the league show an ability to recover after a poor game, especially if they’re playing at home after putting up an awful performance. Consider a team that is a massive favorite on the money line if they struggled in their last game, and if they’re at home, you have an excellent chance of winning your wager as teams will definitely show more of a spark in front of their own fans. Home teams usually have an edge to beginning with (Superbowl betting players will tell you that as well), and if they are coming off a loss, ride them to the bank.
How About On The Road?
Those big favorites aren’t so successful when they head out on the road, however, and that means you should stay far away from them, no matter if they’re the best team in the league. They’re usually even worse when they’re the favorite, and that can be for any number of reasons, such as fatigue or possibly an injury. Wait until they return home to consider these favorites at your betting websites.
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 26th, and their last until December 27th. 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.
