Hockey and the NHL – all you need to know
Hockey is one of the most popular winter sports, and the NHL is by far and away the biggest and most valuable league in the world, making it a great source for seasonal sportsbook promotions. There are a total of 32 franchises in the NHL, with 25 being based in the US and the other seven in Canada. The NHL is divided into two conferences, each of which contains two divisions. The Eastern Conference contains the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions while the Western Conference contains the Pacific and Central Divisions.
During the regular NHL season, each team plays 82 games – split 50/50 between road and home games. Following the end of the regular season, a total of 16 teams will qualify for the playoffs in order to compete for the Stanley Cup, which is the top prize. An elimination tournament is then played between the eight qualifying teams from each conference. At the end of this, the winning teams from each conference play each other in the final. The most successful franchise in NHL history is the Montreal Canadiens, who have lifted the Stanley Cup trophy a total of 24 times.
With such an abundance of games, it’s hardly surprising that the NHL is one of the most popular betting sports in the US, so let’s take a deeper look at our winning hockey tips below.
A brief guide to hockey betting predictions
Before we start looking at our free NHL betting picks today, it’s important to understand the basics of hockey as a betting sport. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most popular types of bets to place on NHL games.
Moneyline
This is your bread and butter bet when it comes to wagering on any sport and involves simply picking the winner of the game. There are two particles to be considered here – the favorite and the underdog. Often, the favorite will be offered at short odds/spreads that don’t offer you much value, which is why we often look to puck line, which we’ve explained below.
Puck line
The puck line is hockey’s version of the points spread and involves giving the favorite a handicap and the underdog an advantage. This evens up the contest and lengthens the odds and spreads on the favorite while shortening them on the underdog. If the favorite’s puck line is -1.5 then the underdog’s will be +1.5. If you bet on the favorite in this case, they would need to win by at least two goals. If you bet on the underdog, your bet would still pay out so long as they stay within a goal of the favorite.
Free hockey picks today – other betting lines
You will notice that not all of our NHL betting predictions involve picking a straight-out winner for the game. Additionally, you will find props and futures markets within our betting deals picks if they offer the expected value required to produce a potential profit on a winning bet.
Why trust our free NHL betting picks today?
Many of our readers ask us why we are such a reliable and trustworthy source of free NHL betting picks. At the end of the day, the answer is fairly simple and all boils down to our expertise in three key areas – the sport, in-depth sportsbook reviews, and the math. We consistently study and conduct research in those three key areas in order to bring you the best quality and most trustworthy tips.
We’re NHL geeks
When it comes to hockey and the NHL, we keep ourselves up-to-date with what is happening in the league. We know even the most detailed NHL team and player stats, and we also keep an eye on what’s happening off the field. As a result, we’re able to take everything into account.
We know how the sportsbooks work
When it comes to finding the best odds/spreads and value for your hockey bets, we have the advantage of knowing how the sportsbooks work. We know how the sportsbooks set their odds/spreads and can predict how they are likely to change. Additionally, we know where to find the best bonuses and other factors that could better the value of your NHL bets.
Doing the math
Number crunching is the element most often overlooked by most tipsters, but it's an essential part of our work. We have devised accurate formulas to calculate the potential value of each bet that we tip. While we can’t guarantee that every single tip will win (nobody can), the idea is that if you follow our tips over time, your bankroll will increase.
NHL stats
As mentioned above, one of the main things that we are concerned about when bringing you our free hockey picks today is the stats. This means that we have to use research tools and websites to find everything from defensive and offensive records this season, H2H records between the two teams playing, and the individual stats of each player.
News and rumors
As well as studying the stats, it’s also vitally important to follow the news and rumors. If you know what’s been going on in the locker room or in a player’s personal life, then you can sometimes get in ahead of the sportsbooks when it comes to making predictions.
Odds comparison
Finding valuable bets is at the core of what we do when looking for the best NHL bets today, and the best way to do that is by finding the best betting odds and spreads. We look at the odds being offered by all available sportsbooks to find the one offering the best value for our tips.
Bonus comparison
As well as finding the best odds and spreads, bonuses also offer us an excellent opportunity to increase the value of our bets. We therefore also compare the best bonuses and take these into consideration with our tips.
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Things you should think about before placing an NHL bet
Before you place an NHL bet, there are a number of things that should first be considered. Included in these are many of the aforementioned factors that we study when it comes to bringing you our winning NHL betting picks.
The type of bet that you want to place
First of all, you need to think about what type of bet you want to place between either live or in-play betting. You then need to think more specifically about the type of wager. Are you going for a moneyline or puck line, or a more specific prop bet?
Which sportsbook offers the best value for your bet?
This is where both our odds/spreads and bonus comparison come into play, as you want to find the best possible value at top sportsbook apps for your bet. Of course, for our winning NHL betting tips, the odd/spread comparison is the most important, but bonuses shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to finding value in your bets. It can be the case that you are sometimes better off placing a bet at worse odds and spreads but with a decent bonus.
Our top five tips for finding your favorite sportsbook for the best NHL tips today
As mentioned previously, we will provide you with a recommended sportsbook for all of our free NHL betting picks today. However, if you want to place your own NHL bets, you might want to consider the following when choosing a sportsbook:
Variety of betting markets
As our main focus is free hockey picks today, it’s important that your main sportsbook has a wide variety of NHL betting markets. We’re also aware that many of you may wish to bet on more than one sport, so a wide variety of betting markets more generally is also important.
Usability, look, and feel
It’s important that the sportsbook site and/or betting app function well and look good. It should be easy to navigate and place a bet for gamblers of all experience levels on the site.
As we’ve said throughout this article, bonuses can offer a great means of boosting your bets and finding better value.
How you fund your account is vitally important, so a good selection of payment options alongside fair conditions is essential.
Make sure that the sportsbook has a valid license to operate in your state and has up-to-date security measures in place to protect your funds and personal data.
Useful vocabulary for free NHL betting picks today
- Moneyline – The most basic betting line that shows the odds for either team to win.
- Puck line – The hockey version of the points spread, where the favorite is given a handicap and the underdog an advantage.
- Over/under – Sometimes also known as “totals” betting, this is a betting line whereby you bet on the total combined goals from both teams being either over or under the proposed amount.
- Props betting – Short for “proposition”, this refers to all bets that don’t involve directly betting on the outcome of the game.
- Futures betting – Involves betting on longer-term outcomes, such as divisional winners and the Stanley Cup.
- In-play betting – Sometimes also known as “live betting”, the best live betting sites involves betting on the game as it’s happening in real time.
- Odds – The representation of implied probability of each betting outcome happening. Also allows you to calculate how much you stand to win from your bet.
- Expected value (EV) – A calculation that tells you how much you would stand to win if you placed the same bet time and time again.
Best NHL bets today – the conclusion
So there you have it: the full lowdown on how we deliver you the best free hockey betting picks for tomorrow and every other day of the NHL season. You can also use the advice that we’ve given you to make your own picks and winning bets. Just remember that there’s no quick fix when it comes to sports bets and that you need to constantly keep studying – so you can always bookmark this page and refer back to it.
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Winning NHL betting picks FAQ
💰 How do you win money on NHL betting?
There’s no guarantee to win every time, but the best way to increase your chances overall is to use the NHL betting tips here at PromoGuy. All of our tips have been carefully created and considered with a long-term winning goal in mind.
🏒 Is hockey betting profitable?
The answer to this depends on what bets you place and how you bet. At the end of the day, it’s all about how you view betting. If you place your bets blindly like you are playing the lottery, then the chances of it being profitable are very low. What you need is a solid strategy – and that’s where PromoGuy comes in. The idea behind our service is to help you to place winning NHL bets. Additionally, we also cover most other sports and pro leagues.
❌ Is NHL betting hard?
It certainly doesn’t have to be, even if it may appear so – depending on your hockey knowledge and betting experience level. You can give yourself the best possible chance when it comes to your NHL wagers by using the NHL betting tips and guides right here at PromoGuy. Simply follow the link on to our site to get started today!
