As important as it is to understand how a team performs at home, it is equally essential to gain an insight into their performance on the road. NHL teams that lose game one on the road often come back stronger for game two; typically 75% of such cases resulted in winning the next matchup.
Carolina does possess some talent, but betting on them to win both the Metropolitan Division and Stanley Cup at these prices would be risky.
Overall Team Form
The NHL season consists of three stages: pre-season, regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs. Teams play 82 regular season games to establish standings before taking part in an elimination tournament to decide on one champion for Stanley Cup playoffs.
Knowing a team’s overall form is a critical component of betting NHL totals. Home and away splits as well as recent schedule demands can have an effect on its performance – for instance, coming off two road trips may cause it to falter in its next matchup.
Paying close attention to a team’s special teams can have significant effects on its total outcome. You should aim for betting teams with strong power plays and penalty kills that increase scoring chances while decreasing goals against. Take note of how a coach changes his lineups during stoppages in play; oftentimes this means sending out their top offensive players against weaker defensive opposition.
Key Players
Studies of key players can provide the best way to assess how well a team will perform, which is especially vital in the NHL, where teams frequently tinker with lineups to find their optimal combinations and maximize talent across their prospect pool. When one of a team’s defenseman or penalty kill players are out due to injury, this can result in loss of chemistry as well as significant changes to its play style NHL computer picks.
Keep tabs on recent trends of individual teams. When hockey games take place three or four times every week, momentum and intangibles such as intensity can change more rapidly than with sports such as football that feature long intervals between contests. Teams playing on short rest could struggle if their opponent is looking past them or coming off an embarrassing defeat; understanding these factors in advance can help identify lucrative betting opportunities.
Home Record
This season, the Boston Bruins have emerged as the NHL’s dominant home team. Leading in points scored, goals allowed, home record and goal differential are no accident; rather they reflect an excellent team featuring two of its five leading scorers (David Pastrnak and Marko Zboril) as well as an effective penalty kill unit.
As such, when betting on puck lines it’s essential to take into account each team’s home record when making wagers on totals. When teams face off in their respective arenas with high scoring matches on the agenda and/or cluster injuries to defensemen along the blue line and/or key penalty killing unit players occuring; overs are more likely to happen at these matches and therefore it pays to pay attention to team histories when considering totals wagers – this also highlights why it is key to shop around and find the best price when placing bets on NHL games!
Opponent Team Form
As new fans may become immersed in an NHL game, its fast-paced action may lull them into thinking there are no distinct roles for each of its five players on the ice – which would be unfortunate, since hockey is an elegant sport with rich rivalries and histories to explore.
Even after numerous relocations and expansions, the NHL remains best-known for its “Original Six” period which ran from 1942-1967. Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers dominated this era as they generated excitement throughout North America as fan favorites across their respective markets.
While some franchises have won multiple Stanley Cups, others struggle to maintain relevance within their league. For example, Buffalo Sabres are best-known for their heartbreaking game 6 double overtime loss to Toronto Maple Leafs on an unrecognized goal in 2014. Meanwhile teams like Los Angeles Kings are going through lengthy rebuilding processes in an attempt to turn young talent into victories.
