Do you fancy a bet on the NHL? You've come to the right place! Bojoko helps you find the best betting sites, odds, and offers for ice hockey and NHL betting.
NHL betting sites
Ice hockey betting continues to grow in popularity in the UK. There are several reasons behind this development, including the growth of the national Elite Ice Hockey league and the national team's appearance in the Ice Hockey World Cup. Below you will find a comprehensive list of betting sites that provide NHL betting.
Fitzdares is a bookmaker who wants to bring the old ways of betting back with a side of luxury. The previously exclusively via membership operating bookie is now available to al...
Fitzdares betting review »
PLAY HERE »
New customers only aged 21+
Minimum deposit £10
Qualifying bet must be placed at odds of evens (2.0) or greater
Get 50% back on first day losses as a free bet up to £50 plus 10 free spins on Reel King, credited within 24 hours
Free Bet and Spins expire in 7 days
Full terms and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Betzone is one of the newest UK betting sites online. The brand was born in 2021, but the powers behind the site, Bet21 Ltd and Playbook Gaming Ltd, have a long history in the i...
Betzone betting review »
PLAY HERE »
The minimum deposit for the bonus is £10
Max bonus amount: £60 (1x£10, 1x£50) + 50 free spins
To qualify for a first bonus, you need to place bets to the minimum value of £50
To qualify for a second bonus, you need to place bets to the minimum value of £100
Minimum odds for qualifying bets: 1/1 (2.00)
Winnings from bet credits are withdrawable money
Time to settle bet credits: 7 days
Full and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Welcome to Lion's den! LeoVegas is one of the last decade's most successful European betting sites, offering top-quality services to desktop and mobile players. Mobile devices h...
LeoVegas betting review »
PLAY HERE »
New reg only, 18+
Claim by placing a min deposit £10 via "My Offers" page within 30 days
Skrill/Neteller deposits excl
7 days to stake max £10 in-play
Max. extra winnings £100 Full terms and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Unibet is a Nordic bookmaker with more than a quarter of a century of experience in providing betting online. The popular Scandinavians who provide some of the best odds for hor...
Unibet betting review »
PLAY HERE »
18+ begambleaware.org
Offer is only available to new customers from the UK
Min deposit £10
To get the bonus you must place a sports bet of at least £1 with minimum odds of 2/5 (1,40)
Money back as bonus if first sports bet loses up to £40
Wagering requirements: sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), casino 50x
Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus.
Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in
Visit Unibet for full T&C's. #Ad.
Full terms and Bonus apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Bet365 is one of the largest, popular and famous betting sites of all time - and for good reason. You can expect to find the full package whenever you enter the site's realm, co...
Bet365 betting review »
PLAY HERE »
Minimum deposit for bonus: £5
Registration required
Max bonus amount: £30
To qualify for bonus, you need to place bets to the value of your deposit
Minimum odds for qualifying bets: 1/5 (1.20)
Apple pay, Google pay, PayPal or Paysafecard deposit do not qualify for this offer
Bet credits are non-withdrawable
Winnings from bet credits are withdrawable money
Only net winnings from bets made with bet credits will be returned to player
Time to settle bet credits: 30 days
Full and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Spreadex is one of the most interesting bookmakers available to UK players, since they offer you fixed odds bets, spread betting and also financial spread bets. Spread betting i...
Spreadex betting review »
PLAY HERE »
Promotion is available to all new players over 18 at Spreadex with a full spread betting account
To get the free bet(s), you must place a qualifying fixed odds bet between £5-£25
After placing your bet, you will receive 1-5 free £5 bets depending if your qualifying bet was £5 or over, £10, £15, £20 or £25
After the first and second £5 free bets are used, you will get an additional £5 free total goals spread bet
Free bet stake will not be included in winnings
Free bets must be claimed within 28 days of opening your account Full and Bonus apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Vbet was launched in a year 2003 and the brand has now almost 20 years of experience in the betting industry. Vbet was also approved by the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Committ...
VBet betting review »
PLAY HERE »
New UK players only, 18+
Qualifying bet – multi bet with three selection or more, £2 stake and min. odds 3/10(1.30) per selection
The qualifying bet can be placed on any sport excluding horse racing and greyhounds
If the bet wins, customers will receive 50% of their first-bet stake as a free bet up to £10
If the bet loses, customers will receive 100% of their first-bet stake as a free bet up £20
Deposit method restrictions apply
Full and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Are you looking for a new betting experience with one of the UK’s most recently launched bookies? Then you have come to the right place! Today we are introducing a freshly launc...
Jeffbet betting review »
PLAY HERE »
New UK players only, 18+
Minimum deposit to get offer: £10
Bet £10 with minimum odds 1/2, stake not returned
The free bet will automatically be activated after first bet is settled
Free bet is valid for seven days
Max winnings with free bet £200
1X wager the winnings
Any player can receive up to one sport welcome bonus on the Progressplay Network Full terms and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
William Hill is one of the well-known and oldest betting sites online. The brand was born back in 1934 and is now almost 90 years old. William Hill has maintained its position a...
William Hill betting review »
PLAY HERE »
Minimum deposit for bonus: £10
Max bonus amount: £40 (4x £10)
To qualify for a bonus, you need to place bets to the minimum value of £10
Minimum odds for qualifying bets: 1/5 (1.20)
Winnings from free bets are withdrawable money
Free bets will expire in 30 days
Full and Bonus apply. BeGambleAware.org.
The United Kingdom is one of the biggest betting hubs in the world, which is why the successful LeoVegas Gaming Group decided to create a brand especially for British players - ...
Bet UK betting review »
PLAY HERE »
New customers.
Deposit & Place a Bet within 7 days, and settle a £10 minimum bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or greater, to be credited with 3x £10 free bets: 1 x £10 Horse racing, 1 x £10 Free Bet Builder and 1 x £10 Football.
Stake not returned.
Opt-in required.
18+.
T&Cs apply.
Full terms and Bonus terms apply. BeGambleAware.org.
Ice hockey is the fastest ball game in the world where both teams have a total of five outfield players and a goalkeeper. The actual playing time of an ice hockey match lasts 60 minutes and is divided into three 20-minute periods.
The biggest, most famous, and best league in ice hockey is the National Hockey League (NHL), played in North America between teams from the USA and Canada. In the 1920s, a famous American sports writer and novelist Paul Gallico described the NHL in a way that is still relevant today:
A fast body-contact game played by players with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.
Paul Gallico
Guide to betting on Ice Hockey
There are several factors you should be checking before placing your bets on NHL games. A lot of the same applies to other sports as well, like checking the lineups and injuries, but NHL and hockey have some unique features when comes to betting as well.
Like with football, cricket, and basketball, hockey is a team sport. An NHL team can have a total of 20 players dressed per game, and two of the players are goalkeepers.
Before placing a bet it is a good idea to check the team's line-up for the day, for example, via Twitter. Journalists following hockey teams are tweeting actively about possible lineup changes, absences, and returning players.
Goalies play a big part in the NHL, and a red-hot goalie can carry a team from victory to victory with his own performance.
We advise bettors to visit, for example, Dailyfaceoff.com to see who starts between pipes in the next game. Is the team's hot number one netminder in goal or a backup goalie looking to get some game experience?
There is a lot of data collected on NHL games and the performance of NHL players, as well as various statistics. By looking at goalie statistics, you can learn a lot about individual goalie save percentages, the number of goals allowed on average, goals saved above average (GSAA), and so on.
If the NHL match you want to bet on is between two goalies in good form, then you should consider low-scoring puck line or total goals bets instead of NHL 3-way bets.
You can find comprehensive goalie statistics at NHL.com, for example.
If you've ever bet on football, you might be familiar with the term "expected goals" a.k.a xGoals. The same statistics are available in the NHL. By looking at the xG numbers, you can conclude how high or low scoring the upcoming match will be.
xG stats are worth their weight in gold with over/under bets. There are also xG figures available for individual players, which can be handy when considering player bets.
UK bettors are used to the importance of home advantage in domestic football leagues. However, home advantage is not as significant in the NHL as in the Premier League.
According to the study of Simon Fraser University, the home ice advantage in the NHL yields a winning percentage of 54.5% during the regular season. Take note: There are no draws in NHL.
One of the key findings of the above study is how the importance of home advantage has declined over the years. The myth of home advantage is alive and well, but a sharp punter can challenge it.
The United States and Canada are large countries with long distances between major cities. A tight schedule and long distances can cause lengthy and arduous away trips for teams, which can be more than ten games long. Thousands of kilometres and weeks of travel drain players' resources and motivation.
After the Stanley Cup finals, the NHL holds an entry draft where teams can select the top hockey players for the future. The outcome of the draft lottery determines the draft's order. A team's chances of landing a high booking in the lottery are increased by how poorly it performed during the regular season.
Unfortunately, this often means that teams "want to lose" the last few games of the season by playing young players and trying out different line-ups. These are important considerations, especially if you plan to place a wager on when the regular season will end.
NHL betting trends - Popular NHL betting markets
Moneyline bets
Moneyline betting means that a player bets on the winner of the match, including overtime and shootout. If the game is a tie after 60 minutes, money line bets are still alive. NHL moneyline bets always end up with some team winning.
NHL 3-way bet
The NHL changed its rules in 2005 so that every match ends with a win for the other team and no official draws have been known since then. Thanks to 3-way betting, you can still bet on a draw as the result of an NHL game even though that is no longer the case on the ice.
With NHL 3-way betting, bettors predict the final score of the game after 60 minutes. This kind of bet would not include an overtime period or a shootout. 3-way betting is basically similar to full-time result betting in football.
Puck Lines
One of the most well-liked hockey betting markets is called puck line betting. The purpose of puck line betting is to make handicap situations in a hockey game.
Bookies usually set puck lines -1.5 for the favourite and +1.5 for the underdog. To make your bet hit: the underdog can win outright or lose by one goal, but the favourite must triumph by a margin of two goals. Overtime and shootouts are always included in puck line wagers.
Goal lines & Over/Under
Over/under betting is one of the most understandable betting formats. Take, for example, the over/under of 5.5 goals. If you think the teams combined scores are over 5.5 in a single match, bet on the over option. On the other hand, if you believe in a low-scoring game with less than 5.5 goals -> bet on the under.
Look for expected goals and goalie stats to make the best possible decision with the goal line and over/under bets.
Live NHL odds
As with all popular sports leagues, many betting sites offer live NHL odds for in-play action. Ice hockey is one of the fastest games in the world. That is why NHL live betting is both challenging and interesting. Situations and odds change in the blink of an eye, and paying attention is the key to winning.
NHL future odds
NHL future odds are usually a hot topic among NHL bettors. Generally, people talk about Stanley Cup odds, but NHL future betting includes much more.
NHL future odds include betting markets such as:
Hart Trophy odds (NHL MVP)
Art Ross Trophy Odds (Player with most point scored)
Vezina Trophy (Best goaltender)
Calder Trophy Odds (Rookie of the year)
In addition to the above, there are also opportunities to bet on whether Team X will make the playoffs, whether a player will reach a certain number of points during the season, or will Alexander Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record. And these are just a few examples of a wide range of betting markets on NHL betting sites.
Betting on the NHL Stanley Cup winner is a real long-shot betting. Betting on the winner of the upcoming NHL season starts immediately after the end of the previous season.
Below you will find the best Stanley Cup betting odds. The current favourite to win the Stanley Cup is the 2010-11 champion, Boston Bruins.
We will update NHL odds to win a cup as the season progresses.
Many betting sites offer high-quality odds on NHL betting. Below you'll find a few bookmakers whose ice hockey betting and NHL betting odds are the best.
Fitzdares
One of the UK's newest and fastest-growing bookies goes by the name of Fitzdares. In the year 2018 launched betting site has put a lot of effort into horse racing but gladly they also appreciate ice hockey betting. The brand offers Stanley cup odds along with many other outright bets. They have also shared some exciting hockey facts on their Instagram.
Sweden-based betting company LeoVegas is one of the best NHL betting sites. Sweden is an Ice hockey country with a capital I, and the country has the third-most active NHL players (9,5%). NHL-legend Mats Sundin even was their betting ambassador in Canada!
So it is not a big surprise that LeoVegas has a wide range of NHL odds, and the brand follows NHL betting trends. During the NHL season, LeoVegas offers free bets every now and then for ice hockey betting. That is why bettors should keep an eye on the puck at LeoVegas.
SpreadEx offers a lot of appealing odds to be bet on the NHL. The bookie offers traditional moneyline and 3-way bets, but the hottest odds are in "spreads" markets.
At SpreadEx you can, for example, buy or sell on the spread if you think the outcome will be higher/lower than the SpreadEx price. SpreadEx is the place to bet for more experienced NHL bettors who appreciate stats and like to make analyses.
+ £40 free bet offer + Lots of different betting markets + Ice hockey betting guide
There are few operators in the UK who provide NHL matches to NHL fans. The latest NHL streaming service is Viaplay, which signed a five-year deal in April 2022 to broadcast NHL matches in the UK. Viaplay and other brands operate on a monthly fee base, and subscription costs are usually a few tens of pounds per month.
NHL live stream UK
However, there are several alternatives to paid services. For example, betting sites such as Bet365 and Unibet offer free NHL live streams on over 1000 top matches during the season.
Read more about free live streams on betting sites below:
Unibet
Unibet is one of the biggest bookmakers in Scandinavia, where ice hockey is the most popular winter sport. The brand offers great ice hockey betting odds, free bet offers, and the opportunity to watch live NHL on UK TV.
Read our full Unibet betting review to find out more. This is how you can watch the NHL live streams at Unibet:
Make a first deposit and claim your welcome offer.
Go to "Live Streaming"
Choose a game to watch!
You can watch NHL games and other sporting events without a monthly charge. Just make sure that you have at least £0,01 in your Unibet account or you have placed a bet in the last 24h.
Betting site giant Bet365 will not leave ice hockey bettors cold. The bookie offers tons of NHL odds and a comprehensive betting news section with news and articles from the National Hockey League. Bet356 also offers a lot of live streams to sports events globally, including NHL.
If you want to find out more of the site's services, check out our full Bet365 betting review.
Follow this step-by-step guide and watch NHL live stream free online:
Enjoy the actionby clicking on the chosen NHL game!
Watch NHL games and other sports free of charge as long as you keep your account balance positive.
NHL teams
32 teams are playing in the NHL this season. Teams are divided into two different conferences and four different divisions. Seven teams in the league are from Canada, and the rest are from the United States.
Eastern conference
Sixteen teams play in the Eastern Conference, split into two eight-team divisions. The conference includes the Canadian hockey team Toronto Maple Leafs. According to a recent study, Toronto is the most Google-searched NHL team in the UK. So if you are wondering: "What team to support in NHL?" Toronto might be the answer.
The best team in the Eastern Conference is rewarded annually with The Prince of Wales Award. The award honours the Prince of Wales (also known by his later titles King Edward VIII and the Duke of Windsor), who donated it to the NHL in 1925.
Atlantic Division
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Metropolitan Division
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Washington Capitals
Western conference
As in the East, the Western Conference has sixteen teams in two eight-team divisions. One of the teams in the West is the reigning league champions, Colorado Avalanche. Fun fact: Avalanche's owner is a businessman Stan Kroenke, who also owns the English Premier League team Arsenal.
The best team in the Western Conference receives after the end of the season the Clarence s. Campbell Bowl. The award is named after Clarence Campbell, who served as president of the NHL for a long time.
Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
Arizona Coyotes
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Seattle Kraken
NHL Schedule
Regular season
7.10.2022 - 13.4.2023
The NHL's regular season consists of 82 games for each of 32 teams. 41 of the games are at home, and 41 are away. There is a total of 1,271 games in a season. Each team will face each other at least once, but within the same division, teams will play each other 4-5 times. The best team in a regular season wins the President Trophy. The 2022-23 NHL season starts on October 7 and finishes on April 13, 2023.
Stanley Cup Playoffs
Starts April 17 2023
After the regular season, 16 teams qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The top three teams in each division make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The last four playoff spots go to the two best remaining teams from both conferences. These teams in each conference will be wild-cards and can come from either division.
In a Stanley Cup playoffs, there are three rounds before the Stanley Cup finals. Teams from both divisions play two elimination rounds before the conference finals. Four wins from each playoffs round will take the team to the next stage. The Stanley Cup Playoffs start shortly after the regular season. The official date for this season is not confirmed yet.
Stanley Cup finals
Starts June 2023
The winner of the conference finals goes ahead to the Stanley Cup finals. The Stanley Cup Finals are usually played during the first two weeks of June.
Other NHL events
NHL Global Series
7-8.10 & 4-5.11.2022
The NHL season started in Europe after a few years' break. The NHL Global Series brought four NHL teams to the Old Continent to battle for points in the Czech Republic and Finland. The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks met twice at the O2 Arena in Prague. A month later, Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets battled it at the Nokia Arena in Tampere.
Here are the results:
San Jose Sharks - Nashville Predators 1 - 4 (Prague, O2 Arena)
Nashville Predators - San Jose Sharks 3 - 2 (Prague, O2 Arena)
Columbus Blue Jackets - Colorado Avalanche 6 - 3 (Tampere, Nokia Arena)
Colorado Avalanche - Columbus Blue Jackets 5 - 1 (Tampere, Nokia Arena)
In 2007, UK hockey fans saw two official NHL games in London. The capital city and O2 Arena hosted two sold-out games between California-based teams Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. Since then NHL has not visited the UK, but NFL and NBA games are played in London almost yearly. Ice hockey fans are optimistic that NHL hockey will one day be played again in the UK.
NHL Winter Classic 2023
2.1.2023
The NHL Winter Classic 2023 offered a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins. The event played at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 2, 2023. Fenway Park is home to the MLB club Boston Red Sox and will attract 40,000 spectators. The match ended in a 2-1 win for Boston.
NHL All-Star Weekend
3-4.2.2023
The NHL's season will take a short break in early February when the world's biggest hockey league hosts the All-Stars weekend. The legendary event will be held at the BB&T Center in Florida. All-Stars weekend will bring together all the brightest stars of the NHL to show their best skills and amaze viewers.
Atlantic division wins All-Star Game
NHL Stadium Series
18.2.2023
Shortly after the NHL All-Star weekend in early February, it is the turn of the NHL Stadium series, the second outdoor match of the NHL season. The game at Carter-Finley Stadium will see Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals face-to-face in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Stadium Series match will be the ninth in a row.
This match ended in a 4-1 victory to Carolina Hurricanes.
Moneyline betting is all about winning. It is a bet on which team will win. There are no draw options in moneyline bets.
In NHL betting, this means that even if the game ends in a tie after three periods, the moneyline bet is still valid. The bet is only settled after overtime and a penalty shootout. Read more about NHL moneyline betting here.
The easiest way to watch NHL free of charge in the UK is to take advantage from a betting site's live streams. Several bookies, including Bet365 and Unibet, allows their customer to watch the NHL without a paid subscription.
Opening a live stream is usually done in the following way:
Go to a betting site that offers NHL live streams
Create a new account or login
Choose "live streams"
Bet and watch your preferred hockey game!
Article by:
Teemu Mattila
With a career starting in 2015, Teemu has an extensive background in content writing, collaborating with global companies in Finnish and English.
Since 2021, he has been working with Bojoko, focusing on sports betting and casino content, combining his passion for sports and the iGaming industry.