5 NHL Betting Trends You Need to Know

Online sports betting is becoming increasingly popular among NHL fans looking for a way to get closer to the game. NHL hockey has thrilling matchups with high-paced action, and wagering on these intense rivalries takes everything to another level.

Looking at betting trends is one of the best ways to find an edge that could help you beat the sportsbooks. There’s a ton of trends relating to specific team matchups, like the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Washington Capitals, for example, but we’re going to focus on five situational trends among NHL odds in our guide.

These wagering trends won’t give you much insight on specific teams. Instead, they give you a high-level view of some patterns we’ve noticed over a wide spectrum of games. These are great pieces of information that will bring you closer to the action and might even help you decide on a bet or two.

Remember, these trends aren’t flawless, but they’re interesting, if nothing else. A couple of these trends might even inform you on when to avoid making a particular wager.

In any event, lace up your skates and hit the ice with our five NHL betting trends you need to know.

1) Home Ice Is Once Again an Advantage

The home barn lost some of its mojo league-wide right around the COVID-19 pandemic, but that’s over now.

Home teams are getting points at nearly a 60% clip (it was actually over 60 in 2024-25), and winning more than 50% of the time, after that had dipped to the mid 40s.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars have been the league’s best home records in that time, with the Hurricanes collecting 302 points in 205 home games since 2021-22.

2) Fade the Underdogs, Unless It’s Against the Spread

Underdogs haven’t been a great bet so far through this past season unless we’re talking about the puck line.

Dogs have gone 3,989-2,544 against the spread in the past five seasons, a figure that adds up to a 61.06% winning percentage. Contrast that with 39% on the moneyline, and it becomes clear your wagers on NHL underdogs should come against the spread. You can boost some of your winnings on these ‘dogs by claiming our theScore Bet promo code or FanDuel promo code, for example.

As a general rule of thumb, don’t make a straight-up moneyline bet on an NHL underdog. Unless you’re extremely confident of an underdog team’s chances, then it’s a safe idea to avoid this bet in general.

The puck line always adds +1.5 goals to the underdog’s total, which is a pretty huge deal in hockey. As you can see, it has translated into direct results for NHL underdogs against the spread.

The Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken were the best teams in league last year when it came to ATS covers as an underdog.

3) Betting on NHL Totals Is 50/50

Wagering on the over/under can be a difficult bet to handicap, especially when it comes to NHL betting odds.

Betting on totals was a nearly 50/50 shot this past season. Online sports betting sites have a pretty good read on any given team’s scoring capabilities, and their over/under lines consistently draw even action on either side. No matter which side you’re betting, make sure you claim any eligible promos like the DraftKings promo code.

Here’s a couple of quick facts about the over/under during the 2025-26 NHL season:

• The under won 48.96% of the time excluding pushes in 2025-26
• The over has won 51.04% of the time excluding pushes in 2025-26

There’s a ton of skill in today’s NHL and teams can light the lamp with relative ease. Led by the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers, more than half of all NHL teams average 3+ goals a game.

The Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken were the lowest-scoring teams in the league, and all averaged more than 2.5 goals per game.

Online sportsbooks usually set the over/under at somewhere between 5 and 7 goals. Still, the over/under is a tough bet to make either way so far this season.

4) Underdogs Cover Equally at Home vs. Road

After all the talk about 50/50 trends, let’s get into some more definitive patterns. NHL betting trends suggest that taking an underdog at home on the puck line is your best chance at success.

Underdogs have a winning percentage of 61.9% against the spread when playing at home, and 60.5% on the road in the past five seasons.

5) Moneyline Underdogs on the Road Are the Worst

We discussed what wagers seem to be the best based on available betting trends, so why not explore the flip side and investigate the opposite?

NHL underdogs on the road have a 38.2% winning percentage on the moneyline the past five seasons. This is the lowest winning percentage covered in this guide, so it could be a helpful trend for sports bettors when deciding when not to make a bet if you’re on the fence about a moneyline underdog.

More Trends and Betting Knowledge

While these NHL betting trends might not be sure-fire patterns bettors can rely on for guaranteed success, we have a ton of other guides that can help you bet with confidence.

Sports Betting Dime has key resources for the NHL or any of your other favorite sports, whether it’s trends, betting knowledge, or wagering advice. Check out our ‘How to Bet on Sports’ section to learn more. If you’re in the Great White North by chance, take a gander at some of the best sports betting sites in Canada while you’re at it. With Ontario being the first Canadian province to go live.

Realistically, there’s only one NHL trend that holds true 100% of the time – you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!