Hockey betting is popular across the US. The NHL is one of the big four team sports consumed by sports fanatics all over the country. For those with legal sportsbooks, hockey betting can be a fun way to engage with the many games on offer while the sport is in season.
More specifically, puck line betting is a popular pastime for hockey bettors. Puck line betting is fairly easy to understand for experienced sports bettors, but you might need a primer if you’re relatively new to betting. We’ve got you covered with all the key details required to place a puck line bet.
What Is Puck Line Betting?
Puck line betting is hockey’s form of point spread betting.
At its most basic, a puck line bet gives one team a slight advantage in the form of “phantom points” (that’s our term and not anything official). The favored team is correspondingly given a slight handicap. The final outcome of the game takes the puck line into account to determine which side wins.
Like runline betting in baseball, puck line is a form of spread betting for hockey. When you bet the puck line, you are placing a wager that one team will win by adding or subtracting a certain amount of goals from their final score (usually + or – 1.5).
For example, if you see a bet on the Chicago Blackhawks +1.5 (-112), that means the Blackhawks would either need to win the game outright or lose by fewer than one goal. The 1.5 “phantom points” are added to Chicago’s final score to determine whether the bet is successful. If the Blackhawks lost 5-4, they would still “cover the spread” (or, in this case, the puck line).
We’ll dive deeper into a puck line example further down on the page, but that’s a good start.
Hockey is a low-scoring game, so there’s often some “juice” or betting value on one side of a puck line bet. Whereas other sports might have close-to-even odds on either side of a point spread, the puck line often has more lopsided options.
How To Bet on the Puck Line in Hockey
Here are the steps on how to place a puck line bet.
Log Into Your Sportsbook of Choice
You can click any of our links to sign up for a sportsbook account or use your existing profile.
Navigate to Your Game of Choice
You will see three main bets listed for most games: moneyline, total, and puck line.
Select the Puck Line Bet of Your Choice
Click the odds to add the wager to your betslip.
Make a Deposit
You can do this before step two if you wish.
Place Your Wager
Select “Place Bet” and await confirmation that your wager has been placed. Sometimes, it can take a few seconds. Occasionally, you may need to accept an odds change.
Pros and Cons of Puck Line Betting
Pros:
Puck line bets are easy to find, as they’re always listed with moneylines and totals Most sportsbooks offer puck line bets, so you don’t have to dig for them You can find competing odds at different sportsbooks for more advantageous payouts Underdog teams can have a fighting chance with the right puck line
Cons:
Variety is rare; puck lines are often set at +/- 1.5 due to hockey’s low-scoring nature Puck lines can be lopsided, with more value on one end of the bet
Strategies and Tips for Puck Line Bets
Betting is a hobby involving chance, so there’s never a guarantee that you’ll win. However, you can employ many tips and strategies to maximize your edge with puck line betting.
Puck line bets have juice on one side. For example, you might see the following wager:
- New Jersey Devils -1.5 (+150)
- Buffalo Sabres +1.5 (-180)
A bet on Buffalo would pay less than a bet on the Devils because the 1.5-point advantage can make a massive difference in hockey.
It’s not always this way for the underdog, though. You might see juice on the underdog team with odds that are essentially the flipped version of the example above. Know the value and payout of your bet going in to maximize your potential upside.
Hockey fans who know the nitty-gritty details of the NHL are at an advantage with puck line betting. If you’re up to date on a team’s shots on goal, saves, and other important stats, you can use those to inform your puck line betting decisions.
How has your team fared against this opponent in recent bouts? Has anything changed? Knowing the recent performance data can make a difference in the puck line betting.
If a key player is injured and sitting out, you might see a change in that team’s odds. Stay in the know about injuries and other roster changes to make smart puck line bets.
Puck Line Betting Examples
This puck line example comes from DraftKings Sportsbook. Let’s take a quick look at what these numbers mean.
First of all, the line is 1.5. The Blues have +1.5 while the Kraken have -1.5. This is the spread of the puck line. In other words, the St. Louis Blues would need to win the game or lose by one goal for bets on their side of the puck line to win.
Meanwhile, the Kraken would need to win by two or more goals for their side of the puck line to be successful.
You might think that makes the Kraken’s job harder than the Blues’, and you’re correct. The Kraken have to win by two or more goals, which is a tough feat in hockey. So their odds are +190. In simple terms, this means a $100 bet would pay out $290 ($190 plus the initial $100 back) if the Kraken covered.
The Blues, on the other hand, have odds of -230. A winning bet of $230 would return $100 in profits. Because the Blues are seen as more likely to cover the puck line, bets on them to do so pay less.
More Resources for Puck Line Betting
Need more info on puck line betting or want to calculate the odds for yourself? We have plenty of resources that can help:
Puck Line Betting FAQ
Puck line betting is a wager type in hockey. It gives the underdog team an advantage while handicapping the favored team.
A +1.5 puck line means that the team must either win the game or only lose by one goal for the bet to win. The team with this line will be given +1.5 fake points at the end to determine whether the bet is successful.
A puck line of -1.5 means the associated team is favored to win, so it receives a handicap. At the end of the game, the sportsbook will subtract 1.5 points from the team’s total. If the team is still victorious with those phantom points removed, the team wins the puck line.
Three-way puck line betting adds a third option into the mix. Typically, three-way puck lines include the favored team at a line of -1, the underdog at +1, and a tie.
The puck line gives an advantage to the underdog and a handicap to the favorite. Moneyline bets do no such thing and only give odds on either team to win outright.
Yes. FanDuel has puck line bets and many other hockey betting staples.
If the game ends in a tie, the underdog will have covered the spread. The favorite is awarded a -0.5 handicap and the underdog is awarded a +0.5 handicap. Meaning if the game is a draw, the underdog will have won the bet.
Yes. College hockey betting has puck line wagers available. Some states restrict certain types of college bets and/or wagers on specific schools. Check our state sports betting pages or your market’s regulations for more details.
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