Betting the NHL Playoffs

There are few things in sports more exciting than the Stanley Cup playoffs. While hockey may not be nearly as popular in the United States as baseball, football or basketball, that all changes during the NHL playoffs. The dramatic upsets, tension-filled overtime periods and high level of play attract even the most casual sports fans.

Not surprisingly, this also means that there’s a lot of extra attention on the NHL playoffs among gamblers. Betting on the Stanley Cup playoffs is a popular pastime, and this article will help you get started with the basics you need to know in order to bet on the NHL playoffs.

Types of NHL Playoffs Bets

Just like during the regular season, you’ll be able to bet on any individual game during the NHL playoffs. These games typically come with three kinds of bets: the money line bet, a puck line bet, or the over/under totals bet. Money line bets should be familiar to anyone who has ever bet on any sporting event; both teams will be listed with a price next to them, usually in a format like the following:

Philadelphia +120
Chicago -140

This would mean that $100 bet on Philadelphia would win $120 if they won the game, while $140 bet on Chicago would win $100.

Totals should also be familiar if you’ve bet on other sports. With a total, you simply bet on whether or not the total goals scored in that game will be over or under the listed total. For instance, if the total is 6.5 and you take the over, you’ll win if the two teams combine for 7 or more goals.

Finally, the puck line is similar to a spread line in football, or the run line in baseball. The underdog is given a 1.5 goal handicap, and then money line odds are set on the game based on that spread. For instance, you may see a line like this one:

Philadelphia +1.5 (-270)
Chicago -1.5 (+220)

In this case, you’d win a bet on Philadelphia if they won the game, or if they lost by a single goal. To win with Chicago, you’d need them to win by at least two goals.

In the NHL playoffs, you’ll also have the option to bet on which team will win a series. Usually, this bet will be given with money line odds, just like the individual game bets. Betting on a series is simple – if your team wins the series, you win the bet at the posted odds.

NHL Playoff Betting Strategy

One of the great things about the Stanley Cup playoffs is the number of upsets that occur in most years. In the 2010 Eastern Conference playoffs, the two finalists were the #7 and #8 seeds! Home ice advantage is of relatively little importance most of the time, and while the higher seeds do have an advantage, it’s much smaller than in, say, football or basketball.

With this in mind, look out for lower seeds that are getting big odds to knock off on of the top teams in their conference. If they’re getting very long odds, there might be a lot of value there. This is especially true if you’re dealing with a team that had a hot goaltender in the previous round (or for the first round, at the end of the season). Goalies can carry a team over the course of a short series, and many teams have pulled major upsets with relative ease on the back of a great performance in goal.