What is a Puck Line Bet in Hockey?

Puck Line Betting

NHL puck line bets are one of the primary options when wagering on hockey. You will see the puck line listed alongside the game total and moneyline at the best NHL sportsbooks – these are the three main game lines that you will frequently see when looking up hockey predictions.

The plusses and minuses paired with odds can seem a bit daunting for new puck line bettors. Fortunately, it’s far simpler than it looks.

🏆What is the Puck Line?
❓Who do Bettors Wager on the Puck Line?
✨Best Puck Line Betting Strategies
🔍What is the Alternate Puck Line?
🕒When to Bet the Alternate Puck Line?

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What is the Puck Line?

A puck line is hockey’s alternative to a point spread. It is a way of handicapping the game to provide a roughly level playing field for betting.

Sportsbooks will set a puck line for every NHL game. The favored team will usually be -1.5 with the underdog at +1.5. This means the favorite effectively starts with -1.5 goals.

A wager on the favorite on the puck line would only pay out if they won by two or more goals. On the other side, a bet on the underdog +1.5 would win if they won the game or lost by a single goal.

A puck line will also be referred to as the ‘spread’. It works in the same way as the spread in the NFL and NBA, albeit with smaller numbers involved for the most part. Where there is variety in the size of spreads in the NFL and NBA, NHL puck lines will generally be 1.5 in either direction, just as you might have seen with run lines in MLB.

Who do Bettors Wager on the Puck Line?

The puck line is a useful betting tool when the moneyline price on a team is too short on a favorite. It might also be appealing to bet on the puck line if you think an underdog can keep the game close but don’t have enough confidence in them to win the game.

The purpose of the puck line is to handicap the favored team to get comparable odds for both teams. All betting decisions should be informed by where you think there’s value, so many bettors who use the puck line will believe it’s the best option on the board.

Best Puck Line Betting Strategies

A team’s history on the puck line is a key factor when devising your puck line betting strategy. This can give an indication of how accurately sportsbooks have been evaluating this team throughout the season or over the last few games.

For instance, if the New York Rangers haven’t covered in their last 10 games as a favorite, we would steer clear of them at -1.5 unless it was a lopsided game.

Utilize advanced statistics for the performance of teams and specifically for goalies. The quality of goaltending has a massive impact on the outcome of hockey games, so if one team has a far superior goalie, it’s bound to influence the final score. Saving an extra shot or two could make all the difference to your puck line wager.

Injuries, home advantage, and head-to-head records are important to research. Certain teams struggle against specific opponents, which might alter your perception of the standard puck line offered by the best NHL sportsbooks.

What is the Alternate Puck Line?

Sportsbooks will also provide alternate puck lines. These are ways for bettors to bet on an adjusted line, which works in the same way as the standard puck lines.

For example, if the Toronto Maple Leafs are -1.5 favorites over the Boston Bruins, you could access some longer odds by backing the Maple Leafs at -2.5 or -3.5.

This option depends on having confidence in the favored team to win heavily.

You could also look to give the Bruins an extra goal or two by pushing them to +2.5 or +3.5. The odds are then going to be considerably shorter than on the standard puck line.

If you’re looking for more extreme odds in either direction, you can give the favored team goals by flipping them from -1.5 to +1.5 or further. The prices are going to be very short if you take this option.

Using the example above, you might fancy the Bruins to win the game comfortably despite being priced as dogs. Sportsbooks offer alternate puck lines for this exact situation. The odds on the Bruins -2.5 would be long with the potential for significant payouts.

Who do Bettors Wager on the Alternate Puck Line?

The alternate puck line is often a value betting option when bettors don’t think it’s worthwhile to bet on the standard line. It can also be a good way to compile several shorter-odds picks when creating a multi-game parlay.

Using the alternate puck line enables bettors to customize their wagers.

You can access longer odds by giving the favorites a bigger spread to cover, or you might like pushing the underdog to +2.5 or +3.5 to have more confidence in the bet.

You will often see alternate lines used in same-game parlays or teasers. It’s one of the many alternate puck line betting strategies all bettors should be aware of.

Best Alternate Puck Line Betting Strategies

We recommend using alternate puck lines in the latter stages of games when teams have a one or two-goal lead. NHL teams will often remove their goalies when losing by a small margin, which provides the winning team the opportunity to cover the -1.5 or -2.5 spread.

Compiling a parlay of favorites on the alternate line can be a route to profit, too. You may take four favorites at +1.5. The odds on each selection will be short, but the parlay price should be reasonable. The bet will pay out if none of the teams lose by two or more goals.

Alternate puck lines are a good bet to consider when building a same-game parlay. Take a different spread with an adjusted total to find a wager that represents value or perhaps pick an alternate puck line to accompany a player prop.