NHL Betting Sites & Hockey Odds 2026

Similar to baseball’s run line, a puck line assigns a goal spread to each side. The spread is usually 1.5 goals, as you can see in this example:

• Detroit Red Wings -1.5 (+220) – Despite being favored, Detroit pays $220 for every $100 wagered because it has to win by at least two goals.
• Nashville Predators +1.5 (-270) – The underdog Nashville can lose by one goal, hence why it pays just $100 for every $270 risked.

Puck lines include overtime and shootouts. But since the favorite can only win by one goal in either case, it has already lost the bet when action moves into overtime.

Around 75% of NHL games end with a 1- or 2-goal margin. So how do you predict which side of the common 1.5 spread to go with?

One of the easiest and best puck line strategies is to focus on road favorites. Unlike basketball and football, the home advantage doesn’t mean as much in hockey. But the public tends to like home dogs, causing bookies to shade lines accordingly. This creates scenarios where you can still get value from a strong road favorite at -1.5.

Fading teams playing their second game of a back-to-back is another popular puck line strategy. These squads typically struggle defensively, allow more late goals due to fatigue, and pull their goalie when losing late. The same themes hold true for many teams that are deep into 6- or 7-game road trips.

Hockey betting moneylines come in two main varieties, including 3- and 2-way. The 3-way version involves wagering on what happens in regulation only. Potential results include the home team winning, the road team winning, or a tie.

Here’s a 3-way moneyline example:

• Washington Capitals +170
• Tie +305
• Carolina Hurricanes +125

Of course, NHL games stopped ending in ties back in 2005. So you may prefer the 2-way moneyline, where you pick one of two teams to win:

• Colorado Avalanche -173
• Winnipeg Jets +152

It doesn’t matter if the Avalanche or Jets win in regulation, overtime, or by shootout. Your chosen team just needs to come out on top.

Considering how 3-way bets are less glamorous than 2-way, their strategy doesn’t get enough attention. But they can potentially be part of a winning gameplan through hedging or live wagering.

You can hedge by splitting your bet between the favorite and a draw (e.g. Hurricanes +125 / tie +305). This strategy works well when you like the favored team but think it will be a close contest.

If that same favorite goes down 0-1 early, check how much the draw odds inflate. A good live draw opportunity could open up assuming you’re getting the right price, and you think the favorite will respond.

Unique to baseball and hockey, the Grand Salami features an over/under on all NHL games for that particular day. Here’s an example:

• 8 games are slated for the night.
• The Grand Salami over/under is 48.5 goals.
• You’d need at least 50 combined goals to win the over.
• You would need 48 goals or less when taking the under.

The key is that every team from every matchup contributes to whether your bet wins or loses. This unique proposition leads to some interesting Grand Salami strategies.

One good approach is to review the league schedule and see how many teams are on back-to-backs or long road trips. Here’s some quick math on back-to-backs worth considering:

• Each team plays about 14.5 games with no rest day throughout the year.
• 32 teams x 14.5 = 468 total second-night, back-to-back games.
• The NHL regular season runs about 190 days.
• 468 / 190 = 2.5 teams play no-rest games every day.

Of course, 2.5 is just a baseline number and can be affected by how many teams play that night. But if you notice 4–5 squads on the second leg of back-to-backs, you can reasonably assume more tired defenders, more backup goals, and greater potential for the over.

Another strategy is to carefully review moneylines and see how many are within tighter -105/-115 or -110/-120 ranges. More close games suggest a higher chance for overtime and shootouts, potentially adding extra goals after regulation and leading to an over.

The public tends to favor overs, so you’ll also want to look for under conditions too. Several elite goalies playing in a day, multiple defensive matchups, and inflated overs (e.g. o/u 65.5 on a 10-game slate) all create prime under territory.

Backup goalies start about 30–35% of NHL games, with starters frequently resting due to back-to-backs and 7-game cross-country road trips. They win 5–6% fewer games than the starter not just because they’re reserves, but also because they’re often playing with tired defenders.

The public usually accounts for the drop-off from a starter to backup, and bookies shade accordingly. But sometimes the average bettor can overvalue certain teams just because they’re good. They still see the Colorado Avalanche as the Avalanche, not a tired team that’s playing with a substitute goalkeeper.

Factors to look for when fading the backup goalie include:

• Second night of a back-to-back
• Opponent has at least one day of rest
• Road team/travel involved

These things lead to fatigue, which turns into weaker defensive coverage, rebound control, and penalty kills.

Of course, we don’t recommend blindly fading backups. Some teams have more of a 1A/1B split, where there’s not much difference between their netminders. You might compare the starter and backup in terms of save percentage (SV%) and goals saved above expected (GSAx) to see how close they are.

Empty nets happen when trailing teams pull their goalie in the final minutes in favor of an extra attacker. These desperate attempts to tie the game make for the most chaotic moments in hockey betting. But you can harness this chaos with the right approaches.

If you make a pre-match bet, then hedging later can be a good empty net betting strategy. Here’s an example:

• You bet the underdog’s +1.5 puck line pre match.
• They’re down by one and pull their goalie.
• This sets up a classic scenario where they could lose by two goals.
• You place a small live hedge bet on the favorite’s moneyline.
• You’ll recoup some of your money if the underdog loses by two.

Another strategy is to wait for times when sportsbooks are slow on adjusting 3rd period totals, like in the following scenario:

• Two teams are locked at 3–2 in the third.
• Time winds down to around the 5:00 minute mark.
• The live totals line still sits at 5.5.
• Expecting an empty net soon, you bet the over before sportsbooks eventually act.

Specific team factors should weigh into your strategy too. For example, the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes are historically good at racking up late-game empty-netters and creating over situations.