Hockey: NHL betting predictions

Hockey predictions

As hockey matches take place almost every day, there is a wide range of betting options. In order to choose the optimal bet, it is important to know many details: the physical form of the teams, statistics of the last competitions, motivation, player injuries, opponent's favouritism, home/away play, etc. Pokeriomokykla.com's sports analysts help you by gathering all the most important information in one place and highlighting the optimal betting option for a specific match. Visit our website almost every day to find a new hockey match prediction and use our information to decide what to bet on.

NHL betting - the biggest hockey betting market

When you visit the Hockey Predictions section of Pokeriomokykla.com, you will usually see bets from NHL leagues. The NHL is the National Hockey League of North America, with teams from the United States and Canada. The league consists of 31 teams and the season is divided into two parts: the regular season and the playoffs. An extremely large number of games are played during each season. During the regular season, each team plays 82 games, while the playoffs are a series of up to 4 games won. 

It is home to some of the most famous teams in the hockey world, including the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Nashville Predators and more. The games feature names like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Patrik Laine and many other top-class players. As the NHL is a very popular league not only in North America, but also has a large following in Europe, Asia and other continents, betting companies try to offer the widest possible range of bets for each game. 

Hockey betting 

Types of bets

As mentioned above, the hockey betting offer is usually very wide, especially when choosing the most popular leagues such as NHL, KHL, SHL etc. For your convenience, the team at Pokeriomokykla.com has highlighted the main bet types: 

1. Betting on the match winner - as in most sports, betting on the match winner is the most popular choice. However, when betting on hockey, it is important to note that here we can choose the winner of the match in normal time, as well as the winner including extra time and penalty shootout. This is important because in hockey the overtime option is very realistic and can often be unsuccessful for bets that have been placed on the winner in normal time. Knowing this, the safest option is to go for the winner including overtime and penalty shootout, but in this case you get lower odds;
2. Over/under betting - another very popular type of bet is the match total bet. When betting on the NHL, it is worth noting that there are more goals scored than in other popular leagues. Often games end with 6 or 7 goals and sometimes we can see 10 or more. When betting on the match totals, it is also important to know whether the bookmaker you have chosen is counting goals with or without extra time. This is important because, for example: you choose to have more than 6.5 goals scored in a match, the match ends 3-3 and then there is an extra time, a penalty shootout, where another goal is sure to be scored, but in one betting company your bet will be successful, while in the other betting company you will only have 6 goals counted and your bet will lose;
3. Advantage bet (-1.5;+2.5;-1, etc.) - in hockey we can choose to bet on the winner of the match with an advantage. This means that if we choose a team to win with a -1.5 advantage, it will have to win by at least two goals. It is worth noting that at the end of a hockey match, when a team is losing, the goalkeeper is often taken off and a sixth player is allowed on the field. As a result, the team that is ahead can relatively easily score another goal into an empty net and increase its lead. This is also relevant for totals betting, as there are often many goals scored at the end of a match;
4. Exact Score is a type of bet in which we predict the exact result of a match. In ice hockey, it is very difficult to guess the exact outcome of a match, as many goals are scored and the result can vary greatly.

In addition to all the above types of bets, there are many others. You can bet on individual player performances, on the performance of a particular team, on the results of individual games, etc. However, whichever option you choose, it is always important to evaluate it logically first. 

Hockey betting - choosing the best option

The process of betting on hockey is quite simple and similar to betting on other sports such as football, basketball etc. However, in order to invest money and bet on a particular team, there are a few things that you need to know, which are the main focus of the analysts at Pokeriomokykla.com when they write forecasts:

1. Past performance is important in the regular season, but it is especially important when predicting the outcome of the play-offs. It is important to look at how teams have performed against each other in past games, what trends have prevailed in their games, etc. If two teams meet and one of them wins 5 out of the 6 games played, it is quite likely that another victory will be achieved;
2. Team trades and injuries - especially in the NHL, because there are so many teams and so many players, it's sometimes hard to keep track of who's injured or traded. But these factors influence the teams' play. It usually takes at least a few games for the new players to integrate into the team and find their rhythm. At the same time, injuries - if a team's best defender or striker is injured, it's natural that it will have some effect on the team's performance;
3. Venue and time of the match - Obviously, home advantage is a factor of some importance in deciding the winner of the match. Teams feed off the positive energy of their home walls and often perform better than in away matches. It is also important to pay attention to when the match takes place: whether it takes place in the morning or in the evening; how much rest the teams have had between matches, etc.

Hockey bets - when are the best times to place them?

As we have already mentioned, hockey matches take place almost every day, and betting offers are often announced by betting companies a week or more before the start of the match. As a result, it is very important to know when to place your bet. We will discuss the main options below:

1. Placing your bet more than a few days before the match - when choosing this option, we need to take into account that the team is likely to play at least a few more matches against other teams before the start of the match we have chosen, which can have a significant impact on the outcome of our selection. For example: we place a bet on 15 January for a match on 20 January, while the team will still play on 17 January and 18 January. During these matches, the players may experience injuries, the team may have to play extra time, etc. It is risky to place a bet on a hockey match in advance, so it is important to assess whether it is worth taking this risk when choosing this option;
2. Placing your bet on the day of the event - in our opinion, this is the most optimal option as we can take into account the most factors. We know exactly which players are injured, how the teams have performed in the previous games, what's next, etc. Since NHL matches in Lithuania are usually played at night, Pokeriomokykla.com uploads NHL match predictions in the morning of the day, giving you plenty of time to place your bet before the match starts;
3. Live betting - just like in other sports, in hockey we can bet on the outcome of a match "live", i.e. during the match. In this case, it is important to watch the broadcast of the match and place your bets based on the situation. 

Tips for successful hockey betting

In hockey, as in any other sport, any outcome is possible. The best team in the league can lose five times in a row and the worst team can win at the most unexpected moment. It is important to appreciate that there are no guaranteed outcomes in betting and to always bet responsibly and not to see sports betting as a get-rich-quick scheme. The team at Pokeriomokykla.com gives you a few tips for betting successfully:

1) Bet the amount you can afford to lose and set your "bankroll" and allocate up to 5% of your total bankroll per bet, up to 10% in exceptional cases;

2) When losing, do not try to "make up" money, as chasing the money you have lost usually leads to losing more money, and when winning, do not bet a large amount of money on the next event immediately;

3) Take regular breaks from betting and do not place more than a few bets per day;

4) Try to bet on only one event with odds between 1.60 and 2.20. Never combine 3 or more events in one bet. You may win from time to time, but it will only be luck and in the long run you will probably lose anyway; 

5) It is useful to have accounts with at least a few betting companies. This will allow you to compare and choose the best odds, as well as giving you a wider variety of betting options;

6) It is important not to jump to conclusions about betting after a few matches and not to panic prematurely. At least 100 bets should be placed to judge how things are going and what the prospects are.

Hockey betting - which bookmaker to choose?

Hockey matches can be found in most betting shops. However, before placing a bet, it is important to take note of the finishing odds offered by individual companies and the variety of betting offers. The higher the odds and the wider the betting offer the better. It is also important to find out whether the betting company you have chosen calculates the outcome of bets including the extension or only during the main time. For your convenience, the team at Pokeriomokykla.com has evaluated and selected a number of bookmakers worth placing hockey bets with. 

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