NHL Betting – Players To Watch Ahead Of The Trade Deadline

Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and a few other NHL teams figure to be busy ahead of the trade deadline on February 27^th at 3:00 PM ET….or maybe they won’t as it has been relatively quiet on deadline day over the last couple of years. However, that won’t stop the rumors, and you’ll hear a lot about these teams over the next month.

Rick Nash, Columbus

Even Super Bowl betting players know that Nash needs to leave Columbus; the team is in last place and they need to shake it up and start over. They could get a king’s ransom for Nash, one of the most talented players in the league and at 27, still has a lot of years left.

Brenden Morrow, Dallas

The Stars’ captain is reportedly on the block and this makes sense for everyone involved; Morrow has struggled this year, yet Dallas is still reasonable decent and they can build on that foundation with a good haul for Morrow, who has spent his entire 11-year career in Dallas and can add some tough two-way play to a Stanley Cup contender to add to his sparkling resume.

Ryan Suter, Nashville

Suter hasn’t signed an extension with the Predators and some think it’s better for the two sides to part ways, especially for Nashville; they can’t afford to let him walk for free. The Predators still have to sign captain Shea Weber, and he probably takes precedence. Any contender that can manage to acquire the 27-year-old defenseman will improve their odds at most betting websites.

NHL Fantasy – Is There A Need For Enforcers?

One of the biggest NHL debates right now is whether teams need enforcers anymore, and with the rise in concussions, there is an even bigger spotlight on fighting in the game of hockey. That is an argument for another day, but strictly speaking from a fantasy point of view, do you need to pick up fighters?

Enforcers are really only worth something in leagues that count penalty minutes (these will be denoted by PIMs), because they don’t offer much else for the most part and they don’t get that much ice time. A lot of teams don’t even carry enforcers anymore because officials are watching fighting more closely, and those that use price per head solutions will tell you that they really don’t affect a team’s chances to win at all.

But there is value in players that can play a power style of hockey, such as Philadelphia’s Scott Hartnell Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth and Boston’s Brad Marchand, players that can find their way to the scoresheet, but they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty and they will make their way to the penalty box. These guys aren’t what you would call enforcers at all, and in Marchand’s case, he wouldn’t even be a power forward; he is simply an agitator, but he winds up getting penalty minutes and that can help.

Enforcers probably aren’t needed in leagues that don’t count PIMs, but even in leagues that do, look for the players that can play both ways; these are also important players to a team’s sports betting chances.

NHL Betting – How To Bet On Hockey

Toronto Maple Leafs fans won’t be betting on their team’s chances to win the Stanley Cup anytime soon, but they probably still like to wager and betting on hockey has a few more options than you may expect. Here are different methods of wagering on the NHL.

Money Lines

You can use money lines, which is easier to break down if you think of it in terms of $100 bets. For the most part, sportsbooks (as well as price per head companies that help set lines) will use the 20-cent rule, which is the difference in odds between the favorite (which is shown by a minus sign) and underdog (a plus sign). You would be able to wager on Edmonton at -150, or Calgary at +130, and this means you would wager $150 to win $100 for the Oilers, or you would wager $100 to win $130 on the Flames.

Puck Lines

Puck lines are a twist on money lines in that you have to bet on the amount of goals a team wins by. Using the above example, it would look like Edmonton +1.5 (-150) or Calgary -1.5 (+130). That means you win on the Oilers if they win or lose by only one, while the Flames have to win by two or more.

Totals

Totals are exactly as they sound: you wager on the total amount of goals in a game, betting on the over or under.

Grand Salami

This is similar to totals in that you are betting on the total amount of goals for that particular night in the NHL. This is definitely a way to make your online wagering more interesting.

NHL Odds – Pacific Rivals Go Head-To-Head In Los Angeles

Those watching NHL scores on Saturday night will be treated to an intriguing game from the Pacific Division, where Los Angeles will host Dallas in a clash of two teams trying to keep pace in a crowded division.

Stars Kings Odds – Saturday, 10:30 PM ET

This will be the second game of a five-game road trip for the Stars, who will be in San Jose on Thursday. Those who use a price per head service have backed off Dallas a little bit since their hot start as they’ve battled injuries, and they’re now without defenseman Mark Fistric, who was suspended for three games on Wednesday for a hit on Saturday.

The Kings have dropped two in a row, both by one goal and they still have to play Minnesota on Thursday night, and Los Angeles has been all over the place this season so it’s difficult to predict how they’re going to play on a nightly basis. Between injuries and inconsistency, you can’t get a read on the Kings, who are struggling to put the puck in the net and that is the last thing that Kings’ fans figured their team had to worry about.

Los Angeles should be the favorite at home in their fourth meeting with Dallas, who have dropped two of those games and they were blanked 1-0 at the Staples Center in October. As of Thursday, the Stars were 6-6-0 on the road, and Los Angeles is 8-7-1 at home, so there isn’t much between the two. The Stars are banged up, and that’s why we’re taking Los Angeles with our sports bet on Saturday.