The ins and outs of wagering on the NHL

The NHL has a low scoring rate, but it has some interesting betting options. Ed Salmons is vice president of risk management for the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas. He oversees the oddsmaking team that oversees hockey for that sportsbook.

Hockey is the fourth most popular sport by betting handle. The arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights to The Strip in 2017 increased the volume on hockey at the sportsbooks. There are also high-volume betting syndicates and hockey wiseguys who bet the NHL frequently. One of them has been beating Salmons for two years straight. He bets a lot of games and wins.

The most popular wager on the NHL is the money-line bet. The next most common bet is "puck line" or "goal line." The other popular bet on NHL games is to bet the total. NHL fans parlay the bets. They will parlay the odds. NHL goals are usually between 5 and 6.5 goals. There are some exceptions to this. It can be changed if there's a lopsided matchup or if money is flooding in.

Player stats are a popular wager in the NHL. There are also wagers on shot totals, goal difference, when a player scores and player vs. player props. More information will be available through the puck and players tracking technology. Sportsbooks have already licensed that data.

Team props are popular wagering on NHL games. There are also prop bets for when a team scores and other events.

Game props are used to bet on the outcome of hockey games. There are also "coin flip" type bets. The last two seasons, 22.8% of games went to overtime or a shootout.

There are many NHL prop bets, including winning the Stanley Cup, season wins and points total. There are seven major awards that get odds every season, from MVP to coach of the year.

Limits vary book to book and are based on the size of the overall handle on a sport. A big bet on NHL is $5,000 at the SuperBook, but on Knights games, bets are $10,00-$20, 000.

Salmons compared the amount bet on the odds to win the Stanley Cup to how much is bet in golf. The arrival of the Golden Knights increased the number of bets on Stanley Cups futures.

The Colorado Avalanche are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2022-23 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning are also favorites. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is the heavy favorite for the Hart Trophy (MVP) and Andrei Vasilevskiy of Lightning is favorite to be Vezina winner. Cole Caufield of Montreal Canadiens is a favorite of Calder Trophy for top rookie.

The Islanders had received more bets to win the Stanley Cup than any other team at the SuperBook. Seattle Kraken is the NHL's newest team. Caesars had them at an over/under of 73.5 points in July, but money surged to 90.