Legal 2024 NHL Betting Sites
National Hockey League betting lines and odds are as old as the league itself, originating in Canada before being passed down to the United States during the early 1900s. Today, the league features 32 teams, with the Seattle Kraken being the latest expansion club – a fitting addition due to the league changing its stance on legal hockey betting in 2018.
Our NHL betting guide was created to provide you with current hockey gambling information and suggestions on where to find the most trusted online sportsbooks for wagering on the NHL. Even more excitingly, betting on the Stanley Cup will be a breeze once you understand the basic hockey playbook, so you won’t risk ending up in the penalty box – or getting boarded by the Zamboni! – when placing your wagers this season.
Is Online NHL Betting Legal In ?
Offshore: Online sports betting is legal in the United States when the sportsbook is located outside the country and is operating legally within the country where they reside, making each of the online sportsbooks listed here 100% legal, safe, and secure for residents of the United States (aged 18 and up) who wish bet on NHL lines and odds.
Domestic: When it comes to betting at NHL sportsbooks located within the US, the number of legal betting options is currently somewhat slim since only a handful of states have legalized sports betting to date.
Bovada Sportsbook
#1 Rated Legal Online Sportsbook For 2024
Bovada Sportsbook offers tons of NHL odds for every contest, and you can even bet on period lines, totals, props, futures, and more. When it comes to National Hockey League betting, Bovada is The Great One!
Site Rating
Compability
Pros
US Friendly - Most US States Accepted
Most reputable name in online sports betting
Licensed by Curacao - Operates within Costa Rica
Generous 50% bonus up to $1,000 for new members
Easy deposits using credit cards or Bitcoin/crypto
Fast and reliable payouts guaranteed
Cons
Only US, Mexico and Brazil players accepted
Excluded States: CO, CT, DC, DE, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA, WV
Limited deposit options compared to other sites
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National Hockey League - Format
The NHL has 32 professional hockey teams, and the league is split into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.
- Eastern: Atlantic (8 teams), Metropolitan (8 teams)
- Western: Central (8 teams), Pacific (8 teams)
NHL teams play an 82-game regular-season schedule, and the 8 top-ranked teams from each conference qualify for NHL Playoffs.
Points are awarded each game and are based on the outcome of the game:
- 2 points are awarded to the winning team in regulation.
- 1 point is awarded to both teams making it to overtime or shootout with an additional 1 point awarded to the winner in post-regulation.
- No points are awarded to a team for losing in regulation.
NHL Conference And Division Alignment
Eastern Conference
Atlantic
- Florida Panthers
- Ottawa Senators
- Buffalo Sabres
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Montreal Canadiens
- Boston Bruins
- Detroit Red Wings
- Tampa Bay Lightning
Metropolitan
- New York Islanders
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Carolina Hurricanes
- New York Rangers
- Washington Capitals
- Philadelphia Flyers
- New Jersey Devils
- Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
Central
- St. Louis Blues
- Utah Hockey Club
- Dallas Stars
- Winnipeg Jets
- Nashville Predators
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Colorado Avalanche
- Minnesota Wild
Pacific
- Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks
- Los Angeles Kings
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Seattle Kraken
- San Jose Sharks
- Calgary Flames
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
For a typical Stanley Cup Playoffs, the eight best teams from both conferences are seeded into a double-sided bracket where points determine seeding, and the highest seed (No.1) plays the lowest seed (No.8) from each conference.
In the playoffs, each team plays a best-of-seven series, and the first team to win four games advances to the next round. After three rounds, the last team standing from both the Eastern bracket and Western bracket play the last best-of-seven series, the Stanley Cup Finals, to determine which team will be named champion of the NHL.
Legal betting on the NHL Playoffs is more popular than wagering on the league's various regular-season games, and the postseason brings in many bettors who only wager on hockey during this time. Most sportsbooks cater to both NHL devotees and newcomers alike when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, giving their members lots of different and engaging game props that even casual fans can enjoy.
Betting on NHL Game Lines – Puck Line and Money Line Explained
The two most common bets placed on NHL games are the puck line and the money line. Both lines work similarly to other sports, with some minor exceptions.
NHL Puck Line
The puck line is the hockey version of a point spread given by sportsbooks on other sports, which is used to handicap the game to create a balanced number of bets placed on both sides with a roughly equal payout.
However, there are some major differences to keep in mind.
The NHL puck line is frequently set by an online sportsbook at -/+1.5, where the favorite (-) must win by 2 goals to win the bet, and the underdog (+) can win the game or lose by no more than 1 goal.
In the example, Carolina is the perceived favorite to win the game but not by more than 1 goal over Chicago.
Since that’s the case, Chicago is actually the favorite for this puck line even though they are given the positive number for the underdog. The real favorite in a puck line is indicated by the odds in parenthesis and the amount required to bet (Chicago $180 to win $100, Carolina $100 to win $160)
Also, an NHL puck line typically never moves and if it does, it will always have a .5 to avoid a push. Instead, the odds will move instead to balance the action on either side
Moneyline Bets
The NHL moneyline is straight-forward and exactly like that of other sports and may even be better than other points since the odds are typically super close.
A money line is a bet solely on which team will win the game with no handicap on goals scored. The -/+ odds will indicate which hockey team is favored and the difference will determine just how likely they are to win the game.
Taking the same betting line from Bovada that featured the puck line, we can see Carolina is favored as indicated by the (-) and a $175 bet would win $100 while a $100 bet on Chicago would win $155.
The most important takeaway is to know that the puck line and money line will essentially pick the opposite teams, which is different from other sports where they’ll be aligned with the point spread and money line showing a clear favorite and underdog.
Bets on the NHL are a bit different since games tend to be low scoring and close, but because the margin between the two teams is much smaller, then it means value can easily be found when a team is an outlier on your projected model.
Current NHL Betting Odds
