Updated: 2025
Ice Hockey Betting Guide | Sites, Tips and Types of Bets Explained
Ice Hockey Betting Tips
Who Is The Goaltender?
With only six players on the ice, the role each one plays is essential to the outcome of the match. In particular, a goaltender’s role is of huge importance. Goaltenders appear large in front of a 120cm tall and 180cm wide goal, wearing a helmet, padded equipment everywhere, and a stick. But things change when you take into consideration they are defending the goal against a puck that’s only 76 mm in diameter and 25 mm in thickness which can reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour. With that in mind, it is encouraged to do some research on the goaltenders in an ice hockey match, see their previous results and determine what kind of streak they are on.
Home Or Away Match?
When you consider backing a team in ice hockey, always take into consideration if the team is playing home or away and how that influences the team’s performances. There is a lot of money in ice hockey, especially in the NHL, with stadiums often filled with fans for regular season matches. Some hockey teams perform better in front of their home crowd, others perform worse, while others are neutral. It is worth knowing those stats before placing a bet.
Types of Bets on Ice Hockey
The most popular bet types when it comes to ice hockey include:
- Money Line: The money line is the most popular market when betting on ice hockey. It means you bet on a team to win the match, whether in the regular time, overtime or a penalty shootout.
- Puck Line: Similar to handicap betting, puck lines even out the playing field between underdogs and favourites in ice hockey. They are usually listed as +/- 1.5. For example, if you back Chicago Blackhawks at -1.5 puck line against Columbus Blue Jackets at +1.5, they would need to win by 2 or more goals difference. Alternatively, if you backed the Columbus Blue Jackets, they could lose and still make you money, as long as they don’t lose by more than one goal.
- Over / Under Goals: In this market you select how many goals will be in a hockey match. You can back the two-way line by selecting either over 5.5 or under 5.5 goals for example. This is pretty identical with the football over/under line. Alternatively, you can back a score line within a bracket, such as 3-4 goals, 4-5 goals, etc. If you bet on 4-5 goals, to win the bet the hockey match has to end with either 4 or 5 goals scored. Lastly, there is the over/under/ exactly market where you have three different selections such as: over 5 goals, under 5 goals, exactly 5 goals.
- Markets by Period: Most bookmakers will offer markets to bet on by the end of each period of a hockey match. You can bet on puck lines or over/under goals per period. For example, Boston Bruins -1.5 first period puck line means they would have to win by 2 goals or more at the end of the first period for the bet to be settled a winner.
- Team Goals: This is the over/under goals market separated individually between the two teams. You could have a line for the home team to score over 3.5 goals in a match for example.
- Both Teams to Score: This hugely popular football betting market is also available for ice hockey with a slight difference. As ice hockey is a much higher scoring sport than football, both teams to score market reflects that. Instead of a Yes or No as in football, bookmakers will list different lines in hockey, such as Both Teams to Score 2 or more goals, 3 or more goals, etc.
- Race to Markets: This is betting on which team will get to a certain milestone first. Most common milestone is goals. For example, you can back the away team to race to 2 goals and they would have to score 2 goals first in order for the bet to win. It doesn’t matter if they lose the match in the end, as long as they are the first team to score 2 goals, the bet is a winner. This market usually has 3 lines: one for the home team, one for the away team, one for “neither”.
- To Score First or Last: Another straightforward line, betting on which team will score first in a match or even period, or which team will score last.
- Player Performance: These bets cover the individual performance of a player and the markets differ from bookmaker to bookmaker. Some common ones would be to bet if a player will score goals, and how many, or if the player will get penalties, and how many.
FAQ
NHL (National Hockey League) is the most popular betting market when it comes to ice hockey betting. Other markets offered by the UK bookies are various European hockey leagues, Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
NHL betting is similar to betting on any other sports or league. Select an online bookie offering NHL betting from our list, choose the bet type and place the bet on good value odds.
The moneyline when betting on NHL means that you place a bet on a team which you think is going to win straight up (SU).
You have several options when betting on ice hockey matches. Some of the most popular betting sites are offering ice hockey betting options such as:
- bet365
- Paddy Power
- William hill
- Betsafe
- Betfair
To watch ice hockey in live streaming you should take a look at the online bookies offering this option, if you are based in the UK you can find this option on these online bookies:
- bet365
- William Hill
- Betfair
- Betfred
All you have to do is sign up and deposit the minimum amount on your account. You will then get access to ice-hickey (and other sports) in live streaming and in high quality.
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