NHL Expert Picks

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If you want to win money betting on the NHL, then you have certainly come to the right place, and we are here to help you make the winning bets here at Bookies.com.

Our guide on NHL picks will cover all the different aspects of NHL betting so you have a much better idea of how betting on the NHL at the best sports betting sites works. We will explain to you what NHL moneylines are, what NHL puck lines are, what NHL totals are, what NHL prop bets are, and much more. 

We will go through all the different ways that our team of NHL handicappers breaks down hockey games and decides what the best NHL bets at the best NHL sportsbooks are. After reading this guide, you will become an ace at NHL betting, just like our experts are.

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We offer free NHL moneyline picks here at Bookies.com’s news and bookies+. Just sign up for a free bookies+ account today, and you will have daily NHL moneyline picks sent directly to your inbox.

When you bet on NHL moneylines, you are betting on a team to win without consideration of the puck line (spread). That means as long as your team wins by one goal, your bet will be graded a winner.

Here’s an example of how we bet on NHL moneylines from our team of NHL handicappers.

For instance, let’s say there is an NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs, in this example, are -200 betting favorites on the moneyline, while the Canadiens are +160 underdogs on the moneyline.

If you bet on the Leafs in this example and the Maple Leafs win by one goal, then your bet will win. If you bet $200 on the Maple Leafs at -200 odds, you will win $100 plus your stake. 

If you bet on the Canadiens in this example, and they win by one goal, then your bet will win. If you bet $100 on the Canadiens at +160 odds, you will win $160 plus your stake. 

If you instead bet on the puck line, you will get better odds, but since the Maple Leafs in the same example would be -1.5 on the puck line, and they only won by one goal, your bet would lose. This is why betting on moneylines is more straightforward.

Unlike in the NFL, keep in mind that there are no ties in the NHL, meaning a standard, full-game moneyline never results in a push. If a game is tied after the end of 60 minutes of regulation, then the game goes into a five-minute overtime. 

If the game is still tied after the five-minute overtime period, then the game goes into a shootout until a winner is decided. There are ways to only bet on the 60-minute moneyline instead, which changes the odds and allows you to bet on a draw instead, but this does complicate things, and we typically recommend just sticking with the standard, full-game moneylines.

You can also bet on the spread when you make NHL picks. In NHL betting lingo, this is referred to as the puck line. With the puck line, you are betting on a team to win, but they have to win by multiple goals to cash your bet if you bet on the favorite. Or, if you bet on the underdog on the puck line, your bet will win if they win the game outright or lose within the margin of the puck line.

Here’s an example of how the puck line works with NHL betting. 

Let’s take a hypothetical game between the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres. In this example, the Capitals would be -1.5 goal favorites on the puck line, while the Sabres would be +1.5 goal underdogs on the puck line.

If you bet on the Capitals on the puck line and they win by two or more goals, then you win your bet. But if the Capitals only win by one goal, your bet will be graded as a loser since they didn’t cover the puck line. 

If you bet on the Sabres on the puck line, and they either win the game outright or only lose by a goal, then your bet would win. If you bet on the Sabres and they lose by multiple goals, then your bet will lose since they didn’t cover the puck link.

Puck lines in the NHL are typically set at -1.5 and +1.5 since most NHL games are competitive. However, there are some games where the puck lines are set at -2.5 and +2.5 if the game is considered a mismatch. 

In games with a spread that big, your team would need to win at least three goals if you bet on the favorite, although you would win your bet on the underdog if they lose by two goals, giving you a nice cushion if you like the underdog (your underdog bet would also cash if the underdog team wins outright). 

We also make bets on NHL totals. Our team of NHL handicappers at Bookies.com and bookies+ gives daily expert best bets on over/unders, which represents how many goals will be scored in an NHL game. Typically, the over/under in an NHL game is set at 5.5 goals, but some games are set at six goals, and some are set at 6.5 goals.

Again, let’s use a hypothetical example to illustrate how betting on over/unders on NHL games works. Let’s say there is a game between the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks, and the total is set at 5.5 goals for this game. If there are five goals scored in the game, then betting on the under will be a winning ticket. If there are six goals scored, then betting on the over would be the winning side.

However, let’s say the total was set at six goals instead. In this game, there is the chance of a push if six goals are scored, meaning if you bet on either the over or under, you would get a refund since it was a tie and neither side won. 

Since sportsbooks typically mitigate the possibility of ties, you will more often see totals with the hook (5.5 goals, for example) next to them than a flat number (six goals).

In addition to totals for the full game, you can also bet on team totals. For example, the team total for a game between the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights would give you the chance to bet on either team scoring over/under 0.5 goals, over/under 1.5 goals, over/under 2.5 goals, over/under 3.5 goals, over/under 4.5 goals, and over/under 5.5 goals. 

This is an alternative way to bet on the over/under and is worth looking at in further detail if you don’t want to bet on the game over/under but want to be on the team totals instead. 

We always recommend looking at all of the different bets available each day.

With NHL prop picks, you can bet on specific outcomes during games involving both teams and players. NHL prop picks are a great way to extract value from NHL betting sites.

One of the most common types of NHL prop picks that people make is any-time goalscorer. In this type of prop pick, you just need your player to score a goal to win your prop bet. For example, bet on Connor McDavid’s anytime goalscorer prop, and if McDavid scores one goal, your bet will win. You can also make a more risky bet, such as McDavid scoring two goals to bump up the odds significantly.

You can also bet on player assists. Since there can be two assists on any goal in the NHL, the NHL odds for an assist aren’t as lucrative as the odds for a goalscorer, but they are still worth betting on if you think you have spotted an edge.

Another type of prop bet you can make is a bet on a goalie shutout. In this case, if a team doesn’t allow the opposing team to score a single goal, then your prop bet will win. Shutouts are somewhat rare, but they do happen, and so betting on shutouts is an interesting prop bet to make.

Remember that prop bets usually give you more lucrative betting odds than standard moneylines, so comb through all of the prop bets and see what is available each day.

There are plenty of other ways to bet on the NHL other than the NHL moneylines, NHL puck lines, NHL totals, and NHL props listed above.

For example, you can bet on NHL future bets, such as who will win the Stanley Cup Championship, which goes to the league champion following the conclusion of the 82-game regular season and four rounds of NHL playoffs. 

Remember, you can bet on every single game for the NHL, all 32 games during both the regular season and playoffs. You can also bet on the preseason, giving you thousands of different games to bet on during the entire course of an NHL season.

You can also bet on things like the NHL Awards, the NHL Draft, and the NHL All-Star Game. There are tons of different ways you can make NHL picks, and our team of NHL handicappers offers lots of different methods for you to make your NHL betting picks.

Finally, don’t forget about live betting! With live betting, you can bet on NHL games live during play, meaning you can watch the games play out in real-time and make your bets accordingly. 

By watching the games and betting on them in real-time, you have additional information to make winning bets. It is worth noting that live betting odds are dynamic and will swing anytime a goal is scored. 

Live betting odds also take into consideration things such as player injuries.

You can make NHL bets in many different ways. Here is a list of some, but not all, of the different ways you can bet on NHL hockey at the top sports betting apps:

• Full-game moneylines
• First-period moneylines
• Second-period moneylines
• Third-period moneylines
• Full-game puck lines
• First-period puck lines
• Second-period puck lines
• Third-period puck lines
• Full-game totals
• First-period totals
• Second-period totals
• Third-period totals
• Team totals
• Player points
• Player goals
• Player assists
• Player shots
• Goalie props
• Player special markets
• Live bets
• Future bets
• NHL Awards
• NHL Draft
• NHL All-Star Game

There are so many different ways to attack NHL betting from so many different angles, so you will be able to find betting value if you look closely. 

While moneylines are the most straightforward way to bet, perhaps taking a look at the other markets, such as player props, would be worth considering. And remember, our team of handicappers at Bookies.com considers all of the different ways to bet when they recommend their best bets of the day.

We recommend taking a look at all of the different bets available each day. Who knows, maybe you will find some additional value. It is certainly worth taking a deeper dive into all of the different NHL bets offered at the top sportsbooks, as you never know what bets you will like.

Our team of NHL handicappers at Bookies.com and bookies+ look over the NHL betting odds from the NHL betting sites to give you the best bets daily. 

Our handicappers have over 100 years of betting experience and research, so you don’t have to. Follow our winning bets at Bookies.com and sign up for a free bookies+ account so you can get the best NHL picks delivered right to your inbox daily.

Here are our NHL handicappers here at Bookies.com and bookies+:

🏒 ⭐ Adam Thompson: Long established as one of the nation's premier handicappers, Thompson joined Bookies.com in 2019 after a successful run as a senior handicapper for SportsLine & CBSSports.com. He specializes in the NFL and MLB, where he's hit on well over 60% of his picks in the past five years. Adam's NBA and horse racing picks have also produced consistent major winners over the years.

🏒 ⭐ AJ Scholz: AJ is an NHL Editor for RotoWire, co-host of PuckCast with Statsman and AJ, and an unabashed Penguins fan.