How to Bet on Ice Hockey: NHL and Ice Hockey Betting Explained

Last updated: 6 November 2026

Most ice hockey bets ask who wins, by how much and how many goals go in. When you're learning how to bet on ice hockey, check first whether your bet counts overtime and the shootout or only the 60 minutes. Find every game on Midnite's ice hockey page.

How Do You Bet on Ice Hockey?

You bet on ice hockey in four steps: pick a game, choose a market such as the Money Line, the Puck Line Handicap or Total Goals, check whether that market settles after 60 minutes or includes overtime, then set your stake on the bet slip. The overtime check is the one that catches people out.

An ice hockey game is three periods of 20 minutes. In the NHL regular season, a game that's level after 60 minutes goes to five minutes of three-on-three sudden-death overtime, then to a shootout if nobody scores.

So a team can win the shootout and the Money Line, and still have only drawn on Match Result.

The Midnite Take: Ice Hockey Betting: Fast Skates, Flying Pucks and Plenty to Follow

By Dave Learmont, Creative Copy Lead at Midnite

Ice hockey doesn't exactly give you time to make a cuppa. One minute the puck's behind one goal, the next someone's flying down the ice on a breakaway.

On the betting side, you've got moneyline markets for picking a winner, puck lines that work like handicaps, and totals based on how many goals are scored.

Just watch out for the rules around overtime and shootouts. Some markets include them, others settle after regulation time.

In a sport where a two-goal lead can disappear pretty quickly, knowing exactly what your bet covers matters.

Ice Hockey Betting Markets Explained

Ice hockey betting on an NHL game at Midnite starts with four markets: Money Line, Match Result, Puck Line Handicap and Total Goals Over/Under. Period, player and goal race markets sit under their own tabs. The example prices below are made up.

Money Line: Who Wins, Overtime Included

The Money Line is a two-way bet on which team wins, with overtime and the shootout included. There's no draw option, because an NHL game always ends with a winner. NHL betting coverage calls it the moneyline.

Say you put £10 on the Penguins at 4/5:

• Penguins win in 60 minutes? Your bet wins.
• Penguins win in overtime or the shootout? Your bet still wins.
• Penguins lose, however it happens? Your £10 is gone.
• Return if it wins: £18.

Because a draw can't beat you, the Money Line does a similar job to draw no bet in football. Except hockey doesn't refund the draw. It keeps playing until there isn't one.

Match Result: The 60-Minute, Three-Way Bet

Match Result is a three-way bet on the score after 60 minutes of regulation time: home win, draw or away win. Overtime and the shootout don't count. If the Penguins and Panthers are 2-2 after three periods, the Draw wins, however loudly the Penguins celebrate their overtime winner.

That's the difference between 2-way and 3-way match betting in ice hockey. The Money Line has two outcomes and includes overtime. Match Result has three and stops at 60 minutes.

Double Chance settles at 60 minutes too, covering two of the three results in one bet.

Puck Line Handicap

The Puck Line Handicap usually gives one team a head start of 1.5 goals: the favourite starts on -1.5 and the underdog on +1.5. It's hockey's version of a spread, which US coverage calls the NHL betting spread, and it usually sits at 1.5 because hockey is low scoring and plenty of games are decided by one goal. When one team is a much stronger favourite, the line can be bigger.

On Midnite the Puck Line includes overtime and the shootout. Overtime stops at the first goal and the shootout winner adds one goal to the score, so any game that goes past 60 minutes ends with a one-goal margin. That means -1.5 loses and +1.5 wins.

Say you put £10 on Panthers -1.5 at 13/8:

• Panthers win 4-2? Your bet wins.
• Panthers win 3-2 in overtime? Your bet loses.
• Panthers lose? Your bet loses.
• Return if it wins: £26.25.

Plenty of -1.5 bets are settled by an empty-net goal, after the trailing team pulls its goalie for an extra skater and the leaders shoot from their own end. Our handicap betting guide covers handicaps in other sports.

Total Goals Over/Under

Total Goals Over/Under is a bet on how many goals both teams score, against a line such as 5.5 or 6.5. On Midnite it includes overtime, and the shootout winner counts as one goal. A game that's 3-3 after overtime and settled by a shootout goes down as 4-3, which is seven goals, so Over 6.5 wins.

The puck line and the total are what US coverage means by NHL betting lines.

Period Betting, Goalscorers and Race to Goals

Period markets settle at the end of the period they name, such as 1st Period First Team to Score. A period Money Line that ends level is void. Third-period bets are the exception, because they include overtime and the shootout winning goal.

Goalscorer bets stand if your player takes to the ice at any point, and are void if they never do. Shootout goals never count for a player, so whoever scores the shootout winner gets the glory but not the goal.

1st Period Race to 2 Goals is a bet on which team gets to two goals first. Midnite prices it three ways, with a Neither option, so if neither team gets there, both team selections lose and Neither wins.

Does Overtime Count in Ice Hockey Betting?

Overtime counts on some ice hockey markets and not others. Under Midnite's ice hockey betting rules, the Money Line, Puck Line and Total Goals include overtime and the shootout, while Match Result, Correct Score (60 Mins) and Double Chance settle at the end of regulation time.

Total Goals Over/Under adds a goal for the shootout winner, but Total Goals Odd or Even is settled on the score at the end of overtime. So a 3-3 game decided by a shootout is seven goals for one market and six for the other.

Abandonment splits the same way. Money Line, Puck Line and Total Goals bets are void if the game is abandoned, and the three 60-minute markets are void if it stops before regulation time ends.

The NHL play-offs have no shootout.

Overtime runs in 20-minute periods of five-on-five until someone scores.

Betting on the NHL

The 2026-27 NHL regular season runs from Tuesday 29 September 2026 to Saturday 10 April 2027, according to the NHL's schedule announcement. Each of the 32 teams plays 84 games, 1,344 in all, which the NHL calls an all-time high. Stanley Cup play-off dates aren't out yet.

Two Global Series bring regular-season games to Europe: the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken in Helsinki on 12 and 14 November, and the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks in Düsseldorf on 18 and 20 December. The schedule also adds Monday matinee games that the NHL says are aimed at European primetime, which for once means live NHL hockey before bedtime.

Most NHL games start in the middle of the UK night:

The gap is five hours for most of the season. It's four hours from 25 to 31 October 2026 and from 14 to 27 March 2027, because the UK and the US change their clocks on different dates. In those weeks a 7pm face-off is 11pm UK time.

The short NHL betting guide, then: check the time, check the market for overtime, and find every game's NHL betting odds on the NHL page at Midnite.

Ice Hockey Leagues You Can Bet On

Alongside the NHL, Midnite prices three European top divisions: Sweden's SHL, Finland's Liiga and the Czech Extraliga.

Midnite's ice hockey rules cover every league, so the overtime split above applies to every competition on the ice hockey odds page.

The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) is the UK's top division: ten clubs from the Belfast Giants to the Guildford Flames, playing 54 league games each between 12 September 2026 and 18 April 2027. Midnite prices Elite League games when matches are on, under the same ice hockey rules.

For EIHL betting, overtime has a twist this season. Challenge Cup knockout games, play-off quarter-final second legs and semi-finals now have a full 20-minute period of five-on-five sudden-death overtime and no shootout. That matters for Elite League ice hockey betting on any market that includes overtime.

Things to Check Before You Bet on Ice Hockey

Most NHL betting tips are built on the same few checks: the starting goalie, the schedule, home ice and injuries. They're research, not predictions, and none of them guarantees a result.

• The starting goalie. One player faces every shot, and the starter is usually confirmed close to face-off.
• Back-to-backs. Teams sometimes play on consecutive nights, and the backup goalie often starts the second game.
• Home ice. The home team gets the last line change, so its coach chooses the match-ups.
• Injuries and line-ups. One absence can change a power play.
• Period patterns. Some teams start fast and some finish strong, which matters for period bets.

Ice hockey betting tips for the SHL or Liiga use the same checks.

Bet Responsibly

Only bet with money you're comfortable losing, and set your limits before the evening starts. A lot of NHL hockey happens between midnight and 3am UK time, and tiredness makes it easier to place a bet you hadn't planned.

You'll find Midnite's tools, deposit limits included, in your account under Safer Gambling. Net Spend Limits cap deposits minus withdrawals over a day, a week or a month, and lowering one takes effect straight away. Loss Limits cap what you can lose, Cool Off pauses your account for 1 to 30 days and can't be lifted early, and Self-Exclusion is there for a longer break.

The Responsible Play hub explains each tool, and GamCare and BeGambleAware offer free, confidential support. Midnite is licensed and regulated by the Great Britain Gambling Commission, and betting is for adults aged 18 and over.

FAQs

What Are the Current NHL Odds?

Current NHL odds change every day, so this page doesn't quote them. The NHL odds on Midnite show the latest Money Line, Puck Line Handicap and Total Goals prices for every game.

What Does a +300 Odds Mean?

+300 is an American price, and it's the same as 3/1 in fractional odds. A £10 bet at 3/1 wins £30 profit and returns £40 including your stake. Our betting odds explained guide covers both formats.

What Does +7 Spread Mean?

+7 is a point spread from American football or basketball: the team can win, or lose by up to six points, and the bet still wins, and a loss by exactly seven usually means the stake is returned. Ice hockey rarely uses lines that big. The Puck Line Handicap is usually 1.5 goals, which can't finish level.

How Much Do I Win If I Bet £100 on a Money Line?

It depends on the price. At 4/6, £100 wins £66.67 profit and returns £166.67. At 31/20, £100 wins £155 profit and returns £255. Whatever the price, only stake what you can afford to lose.

The Short Shift

Pick the game, pick the market and check whether overtime counts before you set your stake. Every game is on Midnite's ice hockey betting page, and for another sport where overtime counts on the main markets, see how to bet on basketball.

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About the author Jordan Willmott is Sportsbook Experience Senior Manager at Midnite, where he leads the team behind sportsbook operations and propositions, from bet settlement and price boosts to the range of markets and specials available across every sport on site. He has spent 13 years in sportsbook and trading, previously in similar roles at BetVictor, Sporting Index and Sky Betting & Gaming. He writes here on how markets are built, made available and settled once the whistle goes. Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn.