2020 NHL Playoffs Guide
The NHL Playoffs are exceptionally popular among Canadian bettors. When the opportunity presents itself, punters jump at the chance to place bets on the National Hockey League Playoffs. The Playoffs in the NHL occurs towards the end of the NHL season when teams play for the prestigious Stanley Cup. The great thing about betting on the playoffs is that bettors are presented with plenty of different options.
The NHL Playoffs attract people that do not even follow the sports closely because of its fast-paced action. For hockey fanatics in Canada, the playoffs are the best time of the year. In this guideline, we will be focused on briefly explaining the structure of the playoffs. We will also look at the various online sportsbooks you can place your NHL bets with. Following that we’ll share some tips on how to get started in the world of online. In order to ensure that you make the right choice, you have to take a look at the NHL standings. This is where the importance of sportsbooks comes in.
Best Sportsbooks for NHL Playoffs’ Bets
For punters based in Canada, there are plenty of sportsbooks that offer to bet on the NHL Playoffs. For your convenience, we have listed a few reputable sportsbooks that offer the best odds for the playoffs in the NHL.
What You’ll Find in this Guide:
- The Current Format of the NHL Playoffs
- Betting on the Playoffs
- NHL Betting Options in the Playoffs
- The Playoffs Summarised
The Current Format of the NHL Playoffs
The Playoffs consists of four rounds of the best-of-seven series. Eight teams in each of the conferences qualify. The Western conference has 14 teams on their roster while the Eastern conference has 16 teams on their roster. According to the Playoff structure which was instituted in 2014 the first, second and third-placed teams under the four divisions automatically qualify for the playoffs.
An additional two teams also qualify for the playoffs. This is based on their performance regardless of division alignment. The Playoffs will conclude with one team from the east and the west that will face off in the finals.
Betting on the Playoffs
We have spoken about the structure of the playoffs in so now we will look at ways to ensure that your betting strategy is foolproof. We will start off by sharing some tips on how to get started.
- Research the teams – research is an important aspect of any betting journey. It will be wise to look at previous performances of the teams you are interested in.
- Stay updated – this includes this such as player injuries.
- Don’t overlook the underdog – every bettor will have a favourite team but it’s important that you never overlook the underdog. Betting on the underdogs has plenty of benefits attached to it such as profitability.
- Consider the travelling schedule of the team – the team with the home-ice advantage has a better probability of doing well compared to the team that travelled.
NHL Betting Options in the Playoffs
We had previously mentioned that there are plenty of options available for punters looking to place wagers in the NHL. We will highlight a few of these below.
- Puck line – this betting option is specific to hockey. In this case, you are betting on the favourite team to win by a certain number of points. The other option is betting on the underdog to lose by a certain number of points.
- Over/Under – this is a bet is also commonly referred to as the total. A sportsbook gives the number at which they presume will be the final score of a game. A bettor will then choose if the final score will be over or under that set by the sportsbook.
- Moneyline – this is the simplest of all bets. Punters pick which of the two teams will be the one to win the game.
The Playoffs Summarised
Playoffs season is the most exciting the NHL. Bettors from Canada are spoilt for choice in terms of the number of games there are and all the betting options as well. There are some interesting traditions that take place during the NHL Playoffs to keep things exciting. One of the most commonly known traditions is when players grow beards at the start of the playoffs. The only time they shave is if their team is eliminated or if they win the cup.