How to bet on the NHL: moneyline, puck line, totals and props

Hockey is the sport most Canadians grew up watching, and the NHL board looks simple until you notice how often a game is decided by one goal, in overtime or in a shootout. Those details change how every main market settles. This guide covers how to bet on the NHL market by market: the moneyline, the puck line, totals, period bets, player props and futures, with the maths for each.

All prices below are illustrative. They show how the markets work, not what any book is offering on a real game.

What NHL rules matter for betting?

Three rules decide how most NHL bets settle:

• Regular-season overtime is five minutes of three-on-three. If nobody scores, the game goes to a shootout, so every regular-season game produces a winner.
• Playoff overtime is full 20-minute periods at five-on-five, repeated until someone scores. There is no shootout in the playoffs.
• A game decided in overtime or a shootout is always won by exactly one goal. For settlement, most books credit the shootout winner with one goal on the final score.

Before you bet, open your book's hockey rules and look for one line: whether the market includes overtime and shootout or covers regulation (60 minutes) only. Most main lines include both. Some markets, such as the three-way line, are regulation only. The same team winning the same game can win one bet and lose another depending on that line.

How does the NHL moneyline work?

The moneyline is a bet on who wins the game, overtime and shootout included at most books. There is no draw, so it is a two-way market. Our guide to moneyline odds explains how to read these prices and how the three-way regulation line differs.

Suppose a home team is listed at -160 and the away team at +140.

The favourite pays less because it is more likely to win. You can turn each price into the probability the book is implying:

• Home: 160 / (160 + 100) = 61.5%
• Away: 100 / (140 + 100) = 41.7%

Those add up to 103.2%, not 100%. The extra 3.2 points is the bookmaker's margin built into the prices. Our odds explained guide shows how to remove it to find the fair price.

What is the puck line in hockey betting?

The puck line is hockey's point spread, almost always set at 1.5 goals. The favourite at -1.5 must win by two or more. The underdog at +1.5 wins the bet if it wins the game or loses by exactly one.

Because the favourite now has to do more, its price gets longer. In our example, the home team might be +165 on the puck line and the away team -200.

A $20 bet on home -1.5 at +165 returns $53 ($33 profit). A $40 bet on away +1.5 at -200 returns $60 ($20 profit).

Two things stand out from the table. First, every game that reaches overtime cashes the +1.5 side, because overtime and shootout wins are one-goal wins. Second, empty-net goals matter. Teams trailing by one late in a game usually pull their goalie for an extra skater, which can produce a two-goal win for the favourite or a quick equaliser for the underdog. A puck line bet is often decided in the last two minutes.

Many books also offer alternative puck lines, such as -2.5 or +2.5, at very different prices. The further you move the line, the more the price moves with it.

How do NHL over/under totals work?

A total is a bet on the combined goals scored by both teams. Lines are typically set at 5.5 or 6.5, with the price adjusting for which side the book expects to be busier, for example over 6.5 at -105 and under 6.5 at -115.

Overtime goals count. The shootout is where new bettors get caught: at most books, the shootout winner is credited with one goal on the final score. A game tied 3-3 after overtime that goes to a shootout is recorded as 4-3, which is seven goals, so over 6.5 wins and under 6.5 loses even though only six goals were scored in play. Check your book's hockey rules to confirm how it handles this before you bet an under on a game you expect to be tight.

Most books also offer team totals (goals by one team only) and whole-number totals such as 6.0, where exactly six goals is a push and your stake comes back.

Can you bet on individual periods?

Yes. Period markets split the game into its three 20-minute periods, and they behave differently from full-game bets.

• Period moneyline. Often three-way (home, tie, away) because many periods end level. On a two-way version, a tied period is usually a push.
• Period totals. First-period totals are commonly set at 1.5 goals.
• Regulation three-way line (60-minute line). A bet on the result after 60 minutes, with the tie as a separate outcome. If the game goes to overtime, the tie wins and both team bets lose.

A three-way regulation line might read home 2.10, tie 4.20, away 3.10 in decimal odds. Converted to implied probability, that is 47.6% + 23.8% + 32.3% = 103.7%, so the margin is around 3.6%. Three-way prices on each team are longer than the moneyline because you no longer get paid if your team wins in overtime. Enter all three prices in our no-vig calculator to get the margin and the fair odds for each outcome.

What NHL player props can you bet?

Player props are bets on one player's numbers in a game, not on the result. Common NHL props include:

Shootout goals do not count as goals for scoring props at most books, because they are not recorded as goals in the official stats. Rules also differ on what happens if a player is scratched or leaves early. Many books void a prop if the player does not take the ice, but some settle it once the player has appeared. Read the player prop rules before you build anything around one name.

Player props are also popular legs in same game parlays; see our guide to parlays and same game parlays for why those prices are rarely the simple product of the legs.

How do Stanley Cup futures work?

Futures are bets on something settled at the end of a season, such as the Stanley Cup winner, a division winner, or a regular-season points total. A $10 bet on a team at +1200 to win the Cup returns $130 if it wins ($120 profit). Your money is tied up until the market settles, which can be eight months away.

Futures carry more margin than single games. Add up the implied probability of every team on a Stanley Cup board and the total is usually well above the 103% or 104% you see on a moneyline. That is the cost of a market with many outcomes. Prices also move all season with injuries, trades and results, so the same team can be +1200 in October and +600 in March.

Award markets such as the Hart Trophy or the Vezina are futures too, and they settle on a vote rather than on the ice.

A worked NHL betting example

Here is one hypothetical game with three bets, so you can see how they interact.

The home team is -160, the puck line is home -1.5 at +165, and the total is 6.5. You place:

1. $50 on the home moneyline at -160
2. $20 on home -1.5 at +165
3. $25 on under 6.5 at -115

The game is 2-2 after regulation, goes to a shootout, and the home team wins it.

• Moneyline: wins, because overtime and shootout count. Return $81.25.
• Puck line: loses. The recorded score is 3-2, a one-goal win.
• Total: the recorded score of 3-2 is five goals, so under 6.5 wins. Profit $21.74 ($25 x 100 / 115), return $46.74.

Total staked: $95. Total returned: $127.99. Had the home team won 4-2 in regulation instead, the moneyline and puck line would both win and the under would also win with six goals.

Where can you bet on the NHL in Canada?

Every province offers some form of legal sports betting, either through its lottery corporation or, in Ontario and Alberta, through registered private operators as well. Our guide on whether sports betting is legal in Canada covers each province. If you are comparing books, start with our NHL betting sites list for hockey, or the best betting sites in Canada for every sport, and read each book's hockey rules before you deposit. Basketball settles differently, with five-minute overtimes and point spreads instead of a 1.5 puck line; see our guide on how to bet on the NBA.

Several of the books we review let you fund an account with Interac or crypto. If you bet with crypto, read our guide to crypto sports betting in Canada for how volatility and network fees affect your returns.

Responsible gambling

Hockey runs almost every night from October to June, which makes it easy to bet more often than you planned. Set a deposit limit before the season starts and treat every bet as money you can afford to lose. No market in this guide can be beaten reliably, and none of these examples is a recommendation.

If betting stops feeling like entertainment, free and confidential help is available. In Ontario, call ConnexOntario at 1 866 531-2600. In Quebec, call Jeu: aide et référence at 1 800 461-0140. Our responsible gambling page lists helplines for every province and the tools books offer, including limits, cooling-off periods and self-exclusion.