Though the NHL regular season is coming to a close, it is never too late to develop an NHL betting strategy.
After all, as each team battles for a playoff spot, there are things to be learned that can help you improve your chances of picking winners.
While there is no science to betting like top sports handicappers, you can gain an advantage and develop a clearer picture. Each game is an opportunity, whether it be money line or puck line bets.
Read on to learn more about each top hockey betting strategy, bankroll management, and how to find great value betting on hockey.
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Find The Best NHL Betting Strategy For Stanley Cup 2025
Bet below on who you think should win the Stanley Cup 2025, after the playoffs conclude in June.
What is the Best NHL Betting Strategy?
Within each hockey game, from your first bet to your most recent, is a litany of information. There are red flags, advanced metrics, and a plethora of stats that can give you an advantage.
Having a proper NHL betting strategy can make a huge impact. Though there are other factors involved, a strategy like the ones below can help you play like a pro.
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Betting the Home Teams
Hockey betting is tricky. The way a team plays can vary from night to night. When it comes to moneyline bets, the simplest strategy is to take the home team. There are no guarantees in betting, but the home team generally has an advantage and is expected to win the game.
A road underdog has the chance to win any game, but the best teams in the NHL are fantastic at home. As the season develops, look for a team or two that is fantastic at home. When the teams playing are mismatched, the home puck line can be a great option. Betting on the home team to win the game outright, however, is always the safer bet.
Sports betting is all about picking your spot. A road team makes sense every once in a while, so don’t completely avoid taking an underdog. That said, it will be impossible to win each game but taking the home team should pay off with a winning bet over the underdog more often than not.
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NHL Travel Matters
Hockey betting is about finding trends. One trend to look at is travel. These players are elite athletes, but they are human beings. Teams playing back-to-back while having to travel are generally the ones you want to keep an eye on.
Let’s say the New York Rangers are at home, then travel the next night to play the Florida Panthers. The advantages of being the home team are gone, plus they have to travel virtually across the country and play back-to-back games. The Panthers could lose the game, but the odds are definitely in their favor.
Each team is different. An elite team will find a way to win more often than not throughout the season no matter what the travel is like. Generally speaking, it is always a good idea to take a team that is going up against a team on zero days rest, playing back-to-back while traveling. They could lose, but the odds are probably in your favor.
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Days of Rest
Betting each night is supposed to give you a roughly 50-50 chance to win. But there are underlying factors that contribute to the possibility of a team winning. For instance, how many days rest does each team have coming into the game?
Teams that are forced to play back-to-back are already at a disadvantage and the betting odds will reflect that. Teams do manage to win while playing two nights in a row, but it is generally a tougher slog because of the energy required.
The stats show that the win probability for teams playing the second leg of a back-to-back is generally not good. It may not hit every time, but betting against teams playing for the second night in a row is a sound strategy.
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Ride the Hot Streaks
Whether it be a team or an individual player, hot streaks are something of a proven commodity. Yes, they can be broken in any game, but they are usually indicative of teams or players that perform with some kind of consistency.
Teams with a high save percentage are often either playing great defense, getting great goaltending, or both. Those are the teams that will put together winning streaks, providing a fantastic betting opportunity with nearly every game.
The average team or player will have their on-nights and off-nights. The best of the best, however, become consistent and put together streaks. Look for a team that is really going on a run and back them until they stop producing.
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Player Props Can Be Fruitful
Betting on which team will win the game outright can be tough enough. Depending on the team, performance can vary with each game, creating a frustrating experience. That is why you should consider player props when it comes to your NHL betting.
Prop betting can include player stats like goals, assists, points, shots on goal, goals saved, and more. If you notice that a goaltender has a high save percentage at home, taking his shots saved over can be a fantastic option for that game.
There is a litany of factors involved in each game. A team that is struggling with penalty kills might be a great option for power play points, while a high-scoring team that is struggling could present the opportunity to bet the under on shots on goal. Pick your spots in each game to spot the best opportunities.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During NHL Season
You can look at all the advanced stats – stats like expected goals, save percentage, shot quality, goals scored, goals saved, etc. – but no advanced metrics will make that big of a difference if you are making common betting mistakes. When betting on an NHL game, avoid these mistakes or you may lose a huge amount of money.
Betting with Emotion
You can’t have an NHL betting system if you let emotions get the best of you. Each hockey season is long, so you need to approach each game as if it is a brand-new day. Ignore your last wager because it doesn’t have an impact here. Betting against a team because you don’t like them or because you have blind faith in them will cause you to lose far more often than not.
Let’s say that you are a fan of the New York Rangers. Though you have more knowledge of the team, it can lead you to make bad bets because you see them through a different light. Bettors who make accurate predictions win more because they look at the advanced stats, play with a strategy in mind, and don’t deviate from that plan.
Chasing Losses
Winning on NHL betting on a game by game basis is difficult. You will lose a fair amount of the time because any team can beat any other team on any given night.
High-scoring teams go quiet, goaltenders can have far more goals saved than on average, and special teams (especially penalty kills) can be difference-makers. A great hockey betting strategy is to simply know when it’s time to call it a night.
Proper bankroll management is about not deviating from the plan. Smart bettors look at each game and wager accordingly. If they lose the wager, they aren’t going to keep betting and hoping that this team or another can bail out their earlier losses. If you want to be successful in betting, know when to walk away and take a break.
Wagering on Parlays
Parlays have become increasingly popular in NHL betting. If you manage to win, the payouts can be quite large. But in order to win, you need to hit each leg. If the second leg of the bet fails, you will lose the bet.
Smart bettors know that the odds of gaining a parlay win are tough to pull off on a regular basis.
Stick to moneyline bets. The money line is the easiest way to bet on a game. Identify an underdog team here and there. Maybe even look for big mismatches where the puck line makes sense. Whatever you do, stick to single-game bets if you don’t want to lose far more often than normal.
What is Home Ice Advantage?
One of the biggest factors that can have an impact on whether you win or lose is knowing what home ice advantage is.
Though there is no guarantee of a win by betting on the home team (the road team wins pretty regularly), home teams generally win more than the road team.
The familiarity of two teams, especially in a sport like hockey, over the course of a season can provide an advantage to the home team. Look at individual players and their performance at home.
A goalie’s performance varies from game to game, but being at home can see a major difference in their expected goals against versus when they are in a road game.
Teams playing at home have all the comforts that aren’t there on the road. Each top team, when you look at advanced analytics, play better game to game at home than they do on the road. That is why an effective NHL betting strategy is simply taking a favorite team at home rather than the underdog.
Best U.S. Hockey Betting Sportsbooks
Before you can have a hockey betting strategy in place, you need to know which sportsbook is worth your time. The sports betting world is huge, and each sportsbook has something distinctive to offer. Tailor your sports betting strategy, compare odds, and give yourself a chance to win on a regular basis.
FanDuel
FanDuel is easily one of the best places to wager your money on the NHL. One of the best sportsbooks, it has fantastic odds and promotions, plus one of the best apps in the world.
Whether you wager on other sports or not, you get more for your money right from the start.
DraftKings
While there is no guarantee to win with any sportsbook, DraftKings is one of the best places for bettors to play.
The odds are competitive throughout the season, plus there are a ton of other sports to choose from. Odds boosts can make your average underdog wager even more appealing thanks to DraftKings.
BetMGM
BetMGM has been a trusted name in sports betting and with good reason. Bettors gain access to fantastic second-chance bets, outstanding bonuses, and offers all of the other factors that make a sportsbook great.
Bettors can wager on the money line, puck line, player props, and more throughout the NHL season with confidence.
Caesars
You don’t have to visit the famous Caesars Casino to bet on your favorite team.
Sign up today and gain access to competitive odds, great bonuses, and one of the best rewards systems that actually provide benefits for your play.
Fanatics
Fanatics may be new to the betting world, but it is already delivering great value for bettors.
And you play out your betting system, you can take advantage of one of the best rewards systems in the business. Bettors can earn more when they play, whether they win or lose.
bet365
Got your eye on one team or key players? Signing up for bet365 means improving your chances of a big win.
Signing up for a new account provides a hefty sign-up bonus, giving you even more money to take a run at a big win.
The odds at bet365 are also some of the best around, providing real value for your NHL betting strategy.
Current NHL Standings
To define your NHL betting strategy you might want to see which teams are leading the standings. Check out the current NHL standings below:
