NHL Betting Guide

How to Bet on NHL Games

Betting on NHL games is straightforward once you know what you're looking at. Most bettors start with the moneyline and pick a team to win a hockey game outright, no margin required. From there, the same process applies whether you're betting the puck line, totals, or props.

To place a bet, open FanDuel Sportsbook, navigate to the NHL section, and select your game. Choose your market, enter your stake, and confirm. Your potential payout is displayed before you commit.

While the mechanics are simple, a sound NHL betting strategy starts with understanding what makes hockey unique, the puck line, the 3-way moneyline, and how the starting goalie shapes almost every market across the NHL season.

How to Read NHL Odds

Every number you see next to an NHL hockey game is telling you something. Understanding NHL betting odds starts with American-style formatting, where a minus sign (-) marks the favorite and a plus sign (+) marks the underdog.

So how do betting odds work in practice? If you see -150, you are risking $150 to win $100. If you see +130, a $100 bet returns $130 in profit.

You will encounter these numbers across three core markets: moneylines, puck lines, and totals. Each one displays NHL betting odds differently, but the same logic applies throughout. One thing that sets NHL odds apart from other sports is how close the numbers tend to run. Low-scoring games mean most matchups are competitive on paper, so you will rarely see the large favorite prices common in basketball or football.

The starting goalie can also greatly affect odds. Confirmed goalie announcements, which typically come around 60 to 90 minutes before puck drop, can noticeably shift moneyline prices. Checking the starter before you bet is one of the most practical NHL betting tips you can apply when wagering on hockey games.

What Are the Different Ways to Bet on NHL Games?

NHL hockey offers more distinctive bet types than any other major sport. Some of them, like the puck line and the 3-way moneyline, exist nowhere else in online sports betting. Here is a breakdown of every major market you will find on FanDuel when betting on NHL games.

NHL Moneyline Betting Explained

The moneyline is the most straightforward bet in hockey. You pick which team wins the hockey game, and that is it, without having to worry about margin or spread, just the outcome.

The standard NHL moneyline is a 2-way market, meaning there are only two possible results: Team A wins or Team B wins. Because NHL games can go to overtime or a shootout, your team just needs to win at any point. It does not matter how long it takes.

NHL betting odds on the moneyline tend to run closer than those in other sports. A typical favorite might be priced at -130 or -140 rather than the -200 or -300 lines you see regularly in basketball. That closeness reflects how difficult it is to predict a winner in a low-scoring sport where a single goal changes everything. Home-ice advantage plays a role here too, with home teams typically carrying a small but consistent pricing edge on the moneyline across the NHL season.

The Puck Line Explained

The puck line is hockey's version of the point spread and one of the most important markets to understand in any NHL betting strategy. Unlike football or basketball, where spreads shift based on the matchup, the puck line is almost always set at a fixed -1.5 and +1.5.

Betting the favorite on the puck line at -1.5 means they need to win by two or more goals for your bet to win. Betting the underdog at +1.5 means they can lose by one goal, and you still win.

Because favorites do not win by two or more goals as consistently as you might expect, the -1.5 favorite on the puck line will often pay positive odds. That is something you almost never see on a point spread favorite in football or basketball, and it makes the puck line one of the more interesting markets in online sports betting.

FanDuel also offers alternate puck lines. These shift the margin to -2.5 or +2.5 with adjusted odds, giving you the option to take more risk for a bigger return or take a larger cushion on an underdog at shorter odds.

2-Way vs. 3-Way Moneyline Explained

The 3-way moneyline is one of the most distinctive bet types in NHL hockey and one of the most common sources of confusion for new NHL bettors.

Where the standard 2-way moneyline covers the full hockey game, including overtime and shootout, the 3-way moneyline settles on regulation only. There are three possible outcomes: Team A wins in regulation, Team B wins in regulation, or the game is tied after 60 minutes.

If you bet a team on the 3-way moneyline and the game goes to overtime, your bet loses regardless of what happens next. The tie outcome wins instead.

Roughly one in four NHL games ends in a regulation tie, which makes this market worth understanding before you place a bet. Because the sportsbook is now pricing three outcomes instead of two, the odds on each outcome are generally higher than what you would find on the standard moneyline. The tie option typically pays between +200 and +280. Home-ice advantage is worth factoring in here as well, since home teams tend to win in regulation at a slightly higher rate than on the road throughout the NHL season.

NHL Over/Under Betting Explained

The over/under, also called the total, is a bet on the combined number of goals scored by both teams in a hockey game. You bet whether the final total lands over or under the line set by FanDuel.

NHL totals are set in a much tighter range than other sports, typically between 5.5 and 6.5 goals. That means a single goal can decide a totals bet, which makes the goalie matchup, team pace, and scheduling context more important here than in almost any other market. Home-ice advantage can also nudge totals slightly, with some arenas and home crowds historically associated with higher- or lower-scoring environments throughout the NHL season.

Overtime goals count toward the total. If a game finishes 2-2 in regulation and one team scores in overtime, the final total is five goals.

FanDuel also offers alternate totals, which let you shift the line higher or lower in exchange for adjusted odds. Moving to a lower line, like 4.5, shortens the odds on the over. Moving to a higher line, like 7.5, lengthens them. Alternate totals are a useful tool when you have a strong read on the pace of a specific hockey game.

NHL Prop Bets Explained

Prop bets in NHL hockey are built around individual player performances rather than the game result. Instead of betting on who wins, you are betting on what a specific player does during the hockey game. Goals, shots, saves, and points are the core categories.

Hockey props work differently from football or basketball props because scoring is less frequent. A top forward might average close to one goal every two or three games across the NHL season, which means shots on goal props tend to offer more consistency than goal scorer props for bettors looking for their best bets within the player market.

NHL Parlay Betting Explained

A parlay combines multiple selections into a single bet. Every leg must win for the parlay to pay. The more legs you add, the higher the potential return and the higher the risk.

Common parlay approaches in NHL betting include combining moneylines across multiple hockey games on the same night, pairing a game winner with a total, or building a same-game parlay that mixes game-level and player-level markets from a single matchup.

A same-game parlay on FanDuel lets you combine selections from one NHL game into one bet. You might pair the game winner, the over on total goals, and a player to score a goal, all from the same matchup. The potential payout is significantly higher than any single leg, and the SGP builder on FanDuel shows you the combined price before you confirm.

What are the most popular NHL prop bet types?

Hockey props are built around goals, shots, and individual skater contributions. The markets available on FanDuel cover everything from whether a specific player scores at any point in the hockey game to how many saves a goalie makes. Finding your best bets in the NHL prop market starts with understanding what each prop type measures and what factors drive the outcome.

Anytime Goal Scorer

An anytime goal scorer bet wins if the player you select scores a goal at any point during the game, including overtime. It does not matter when they score or how the goal is set up. All that matters is that the player finds the net at least once.

This is the most widely bet NHL player prop, and it is available for nearly every skater in the lineup. Odds typically range from around +150 for top-line forwards to +400 or longer for defensive players and bottom-six forwards.

Power play forwards are the most common target in this market. Players who take regular shifts on the power play see more high-percentage scoring chances per game than even-strength forwards, which gives them a higher floor for goal-scoring probability regardless of how the 5-on-5 play goes. Home ice advantage is also worth considering, as forwards playing in front of their home crowd tend to generate slightly more offensive zone time across the NHL season.

First Goal Scorer

A first goal scorer bet asks you to pick which player scores the opening goal of the hockey game. Every skater in the lineup is a candidate, and the odds reflect scoring role, line placement, and which team is expected to generate the first real scoring opportunity.

This is a higher-variance market than any time goal scorer. Odds typically run from around +400 for top-line centers to well over +1000 for role players, which makes it a popular long shot single bet or a leg in a higher payout parlay.

One of the more useful NHL betting tips for this market is to focus on players who take opening faceoffs, see regular power-play time, and are deployed on the first line. That combination of early ice time and scoring opportunities gives you the strongest foundation when researching first-goal scorer best bets.

Shots on Goal

A shots on goal prop is an over/under bet on how many shots a specific player puts on net during the game. You are not betting on whether those shots go in, just on the volume.

This makes shots on goal one of the more consistent prop markets in NHL hockey. A player who averages four shots per game will hit that number far more reliably than they will score a goal, which is why shots props are a popular option for bettors building an NHL betting strategy around higher probability outcomes.

Ice time is the biggest factor. Players who take regular shifts across all situations, including power plays and key late-game minutes, generate more shot attempts than players with more limited roles. Home ice advantage plays a role here, too, with home forwards typically seeing slightly more offensive zone deployment across the NHL season.

Goalie Saves

A goalie saves prop is an over/under bet on how many saves the starting goalie makes in the game. The line is set based on the expected shot volume the opposing team generates and how the hockey game is likely to be played.

Confirming the starting goalie is one of the most important NHL betting tips you can follow before placing this bet. NHL teams regularly start backup goalies, particularly in back-to-back situations across the NHL season, and a backup will face a very different workload than the expected starter. FanDuel updates odds when starters are confirmed, but checking before you bet is always the right approach.

Teams ranked near the top of the league in shots generated per game give starting goalies the most raw material to work with. A goalie facing a high-volume shooting team has a higher ceiling on their saves total, which matters when you are identifying your best bets in this market.

Points (Goals + Assists)

A points prop is a bet on whether a player records at least one point during the hockey game, where a point is either a goal or an assist. Because it covers two ways to contribute rather than one, it is a broader market than a straight goal scorer prop, and the odds are shorter to reflect that.

Top-line forwards and elite playmakers on strong offensive teams are the most common targets in this market throughout the NHL season. Players who drive line play, see power play time, and are consistently on the ice in offensive situations give you the best combination of goal and assist probability within a single game. Home ice advantage is worth factoring in for this prop as well, since offensive players tend to post slightly stronger points numbers at home than on the road.