Best Stanley Cup Betting Sites

The Stanley Cup Playoffs is the National Hockey League’s annual postseason tournament in which playoff-eligible teams from the Eastern and Western conferences play best-of-seven series to determine the finalists for the championship. The playoff series begin roughly each April and teams must win four times against an opponent to advance to the next round.

These grueling playoffs culminate in the Stanley Cup Finals where players compete for the eponymous trophy battled and bled over since 1893. There is no greater achievement in ice hockey, and it is the culmination of the NHL betting season.

How to Bet on NHL Stanley Cup

Popular Stanley Cup betting sites feature numerous options for wagering, providing opportunities for old pros or new fans alike.

There is literally something for everyone.

The most obvious type of bet to try is the outcome of a game. Pick a winner “straight up,” meaning moneyline betting without the added difficulty – and potential benefit – of a spread, or difference in goal total (which is the same as point spread betting in other sports.

There's also over/under betting. Players can bet the “over,” if they believe the teams will combine to exceed a total offered by the oddsmaker, or the “under” if they believe defense will rule on a given night.

Bettors may extend out their picks by betting the outcome of a playoff series, which is a more straight-forward way to place a wager than having to drill down into details. It’s all about what the bettor wants.

For the more adventurous, there are also bets offered on individual performances of players – how they will fare statistically – in a game or throughout a season. Bets are also offered on player postseason awards.

Wagers on win totals, conference and Stanley Cup championships for teams are also typically offered at leading sportsbooks.

The best Stanley Cup betting sites will also have plenty of choices for futures, which are long-term wagers made on how an individual team or player will fare during a season, or in some cases, far into the future.

A fan making a bet on a team to win the Stanley Cup will certainly be as anxious as they will be entertained if that team slogs its way through a rigorous regular season and through four rounds of playoffs to the Stanley Cup Finals. Bet on the Stanley Cup winner at any point in the season, but odds, especially for unlikely teams, will be better earlier.

Understanding Stanley Cup Betting Odds

Moneylines are a typical way that odds are presented at the top NHL betting sites for Stanley Cup betting. They are displayed as positive and negative figures.

If the number is positive, is shows the potential winnings on a $100 bet. If the number is negative, it shows how much a bettor must wager to win $100.

So, if the moneyline is -150, a $150 bet is required to win $100.

And if the moneyline is +150, a $100 bet wins $150.

The lower the moneyline number, the more heavily favored the team.

Betting the totals means speculating on the number of that will be scored in a game combined. If the Over/Under for a Stanley Cup Finals game is at 6.0, the bet would be whether the teams exceed that figure combined.

Futures bets involve season-long goals for both teams and players. These can be bets on whether a team will win the Stanley Cup, the Eastern or Western Conference championship, their division title or enough games to simply make the playoffs.

What are the Best Stanley Cup Bets?

• Stanley Cup champion: Pick which team will raise the Cup.
• Conference champions: Who will win the East? Who will win the West?
• Division winners: The race to the Stanley Cup begins with the regular season.
• Conn Smythe Trophy winner: Which player will be voted as the most outstanding performer in the Stanley Cup?
• Next team to win its first Stanley Cup: This is a fun one as bettors may hold this ticket for a while. Before the 2018-19 season, a dozen teams had yet to lift the Stanley Cup.
• Next Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup: This is a touchy subject in Canada, with the 1993 Montreal Canadiens the last from that country to hoist the coveted Cup. Another ticket you could hold for a long time.
• Over/under on years until a Canadian team wins a Cup: Same idea, with a slant.

How to Bet on a Stanley Cup Winner

Don’t Get Caught Up in Home-Ice Advantage

Possessing the advantage in best-of-seven series was once considered all-important, as teams could advance by controlling their destiny in front of boisterous fans in their own building. That’s not an overwhelming factor anymore, so be aware when considering Stanley Cup betting odds.

Don’t Put Too Much Weight On Seedings

The team playing the best at the time, not the team that earned home ice by how it played months earlier, is often a smart play.

From the 2002-2003 season to 2017-18, just two winners of the Presidents’ Trophy (given to the top point-earning team in the regular season) won the Stanley Cup. In fact, the Presidents’ Trophy winner was eliminated in the first round four times from the 2005-2006 season through 2011-2012.

Power Plays and Penalty Kills Matter Greatly

Games and series are often won on special teams, where a team is either has a man advantage or is playing one down because of a penalty. Power plays goals create massive momentum swings and teams that scored at a high rate can generally be counted on throughout the playoffs.

By the same token, teams that can snuff out two-minute penalties for the other team often advance far.