Hockey betting comes down to three main markets: the moneyline on who wins, the puck line at 1.5 goals, and the total on how many goals are scored. The 2026-27 NHL regular season opens on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, with five games, starting with the Florida Panthers at the Carolina Hurricanes, the reigning Stanley Cup champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide explains each market with the arithmetic behind it. Our game-by-game calls are on the NHL predictions hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most US books show American odds. A minus number is what you stake to win $100, so -150 means $150 to win $100. A plus number is what $100 wins, so +200 turns $100 into a $200 profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every price is also a chance. For a favorite, divide the price by itself plus 100: -150 is 150 divided by 250, or 60%. For an underdog, divide 100 by the price plus 100: +200 is 33.3%. A bet is worth making only when you rate the chance higher than the price does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Decimal odds, common outside the US, include your stake: 2.50 returns $2.50 for every $1, which is the same as +150. Fractional odds show profit over stake, so 3\/1 is the same as +300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moneyline is a bet on who wins the game. In the NHL that usually includes overtime and the shootout, so a team that wins in a shootout pays the same as one that wins in regulation. Check your book’s house rules, because some also post a separate line for regulation only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That regulation-only bet is often called the 60-minute line or three-way line. It has three outcomes, home, away and tie, and the tie pays because a game level after 60 minutes is a real result for that market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The puck line is hockey’s point spread, and it is almost always 1.5 goals. The favorite at -1.5 has to win by two or more; the underdog at +1.5 wins the bet if it wins or loses by one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because one-goal games are common, the prices move a long way from the moneyline. A favorite at -200 on the moneyline can be an underdog on the puck line, and an underdog at +150 can be a heavy favorite at +1.5. Empty-net goals late in a game decide a lot of these bets, since a trailing team pulls its goalie and the leader can score into an open net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some books also post alternate puck lines, such as -2.5 for a bigger payout or +2.5 for a safer one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A total is a bet on combined goals, over or under a number the book sets, such as 5.5 or 6.5. Read the confirmed starting goalies before you bet one, because the total is set with them in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Period markets cut the game into 20-minute pieces. A first-period total is often 1.5, and a first-period moneyline can end in a tie. The Grand Salami is a total on every goal scored across a full day’s slate, which on opening night means all five games on September 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Props are bets on something inside a game: a player’s goals, points or shots on goal, a goalie’s saves, the first team to score. An anytime goalscorer bet wins if the player scores at any point, and a first goalscorer bet pays more because only one player can score first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Save props depend on how many shots the other team takes, so a goalie facing a high-volume offense has more chances to go over his number and more chances to let one in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Futures are bets on the season: the Stanley Cup, a division, an award. The Hart Trophy market for 2026-27 has Connor McDavid at +300, Nathan MacKinnon at +350 and Macklin Celebrini at +450 on DraftKings, as ESPN listed it on September 25, 2026. At +300, McDavid has to win it 25% of the time to pay back what the bet costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A futures bet ties up your money for months, and the price already includes the book’s margin. Our Hart Trophy odds page<\/a>, NHL playoffs page<\/a> and division odds pages<\/a> cover those markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Live betting prices a game while it is being played, and the numbers move after every goal and penalty. A power play is two minutes, so a price taken during one can look very different a few minutes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A parlay joins several bets into one, and every leg has to win. Two legs at -110 each pay about +264, which needs a 27.5% chance to break even. If each leg is a true coin flip, both win only 25% of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NHL’s own stats site<\/a> has team and player numbers, and our NHL team pages<\/a> collect each club’s schedule and results. Goalies and back-to-back games are worth checking before any bet, because one player faces every shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow hockey odds work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The moneyline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The puck line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Totals, period bets and the Grand Salami<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Props<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Futures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Live betting and parlays<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Doing the homework<\/h2>\n\n\n\n