Home to NHL Previews, Predictions and Expert Tips
The National Hockey League (NHL) is the Holy Grail of ice hockey, attracting hockey players from around the world. An NHL career is the aspiration of many young ice-hockey players but the realization of so few; such is the depth of talent, skill and quality contained within the league that only the cream of the crop of players, largely from Europe, Canada and the United States, get chosen. It’s clear that betting on NHL hockey games during the regular season and playoffs is all the rage in the betting community as all major sportsbooks like Bovada, BetOnline, BetAnySports and Intertops offer NHL Odds.
Handicapping NHL games today however can be a tall ask. Lucky for you SBR’s team of expert cappers has your back for each and every puck drop on the docket with NHL previews, predictions and NHL picks that are easily accessible and readily available on our site.
SBR is the premier destination within the online sports analysis community. Our expert handicappers are hand-picked for their expertise, knowledge, excellence and proven track record of success. Their NHL predictions are the product of extensive research, number crunching, statistical analysis and insight that’ll help you find value and give you the best shot at winning. In short, you’ve come to the right place for NHL hockey picks.
NHL Expert Picks Live Here!
SBR is the home to free NHL picks from some of the best cappers in the business, every day of the hockey season and throughout the playoffs. There’s no shortage of free action for puck-heads to sink their teeth into and, importantly, all our expert picks are posted daily, well in advance of any pucks dropping around the league. In other words, bettors can freely capitalize on our cappers’ recommendations.
Looking for NHL picks for tonight or games later in the week or simply keen to get some insight into futures betting with early NHL playoff predictions? Bookmark our site and you’ll be sure to never miss out.
NHL Regular Season Betting
Betting on hockey at any top online betting site is a great way to add to the thrill of the game and maximize the experience of the season. The NHL is comprised of 31 teams split between two conferences – Eastern and Western. Each conference is divided into two divisions. The Eastern Conference is made up of the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions. The Western Conference is made up of the Central and Pacific Divisions. Seven teams playing in major Canadian cities while the remaining 24 teams are spread across the United States.
Typically, the regular season NHL schedule encompasses 82 games and the top 8 teams from each conference advance into the NHL playoffs where they play a best-of-seven elimination series on route to the Stanley Cup Finals. Last season, the St. Louis Blues defied all the odds to beat the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
NHL Season 2019-20 & Stanley Cup Playoffs
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2019-20 regular season was cut short abruptly in March, 2020. A four-month hiatus ensued before play was allowed to resume in an effort to bring the term to a fair and acceptable conclusion. However, key changes were made to the remainder of the season and being across those will help ensure the best NHL picks today are on hand.
Key Changes to NHL 2019-20 Season
The NHL and NHLPA decided to forgo the remaining regular season games (12 or so) in favor of a “Return To Play Plan” that would include a play-in tournament to decide the traditional 16-team playoff framework. Only 24 of the 31 teams were invited to participate and two hub cities, Edmonton and Toronto, were chosen to act as “bubbles” and host the rest of the 2019-20 season.
The Eastern Conference games will be played at the ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto and the Western Conference games will be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, which will also be the site of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The 24 teams that descended on the Canadian hub cities were the top 12 teams as decided by points percentage in each conference at the time of the pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The top four teams of each conference received a bye into the first-round of the 16-team playoffs. The remaining 16 teams competed in a best-of-five series to advance into the first-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Key Dates in the NHL Restart
- Qualifiers and round-robins: Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020
- First round: Aug. 11, 2020
- Second round: Aug. 25, 2020 (estimated)
- Conference finals: Sept. 8, 2020 (estimated)
- Stanley Cup Final: Sept. 22, 2020 (estimated)
How to Get Picks for NHL Games Tonight?
The moment NHL odds go to press at sportsbooks, our cappers are on the job. Working diligently to deliver their sage predictions, backed up by relevant hockey statistics, data and trends, all the while comparing odds from top-rated bookmakers. Ideally, free hockey picks are posted at least 24 hours before puck drop because the value more often than not is in the early betting lines. The early bird gets the worm, so to speak. On occasion, sheer volume of games on the schedule, injury question marks and bookmakers holding back odds until closer to game time will impact delivery on our end.
NHL Moneyline Picks
The most popular bet in NHL games is the moneyline bet, a fact that is underpinned by NHL picks consensus reports, which measure the volume and direction of public betting trends in a given matchup. When betting on the moneyline, a bettor is betting on who will win the game straight up. As with any sport, a sportsbook assigns a return-on-investment value for a favorite and underdog, with the latter often proving more rewarding in the event of an upset. This is unquestionably the most straightforward bet.
NHL Picks Against the Puck Line
Point spreads in hockey are known as the puck line and they’re set to a 1.5-goal spread. Betting on the puck line is directly equivalent to betting on the run line in baseball, or betting against the spread in football. As such, the puck line can also be referred to as NHL spread betting or hockey point spread betting. Crucially, the premise is identical to betting on the spread in any other major North American professional league.
Total Betting NHL Picks
Betting totals in hockey, which is also known as Over/Under bets, is simple to understand. Simply bettors are wagering on whether the total score of both teams combined will go over or below a certain number. Although it’s rare that the number goes above 5.5 in total betting markets, NHL score predictions are nevertheless very popular.
More than Just Hockey Betting
SBR is the one-stop shop for daily betting previews and predictions, along with free tips on every single mainstream sport in America. Bookmark SBR and you’ll never miss out on any of our expert picks.