Sports betting sites allow fans and bettors to wager on NHL hockey games all the way up to game time – that is a given.  You can place a wager on which team will win, the total number of goals scored, and a variety of different props leading up to the game, but did you know that you could place a bet during hockey games?

Yup, a lot of sportsbooks are now offering in play or live betting action on NHL games, amongst other sports.  You can actually bet on the result of the game while it is being played.

Hockey may be one of the less popular sports for live or in play betting, but a lot of the sportsbooks are starting to offer it on NHL games.

The most common time to place these live wagers is during the intermissions, but you can actually place the bets at any point in the game.  This allows for some good lines if you are a savvy bettor, and you can take advantage of the bookmaker.

The most popular type of hockey bet for the live betting market would of course be the money line, where you are simply choosing who wins the game, but you aren’t stuck betting just on a side.  You can wager on who will score the next goal, the over/under, along with props while the game is in play.

A lot of the bookmakers don’t pay too much attention (or at least not as much attention as they could) to these live betting lines, and the opportunity to make money is out there.

For example, if you have the Vancouver Canucks playing the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit and the score is 0-0 after the first period but the Wings are outshooting the Canucks 17-9 you may get a moneyline that is favoring the Red Wings quite a bit.  But if you had been watching the game you may have noticed that Vancouver’s goalie, Roberto Luongo, has been seeing every puck and playing outstanding.  Throw in the fact that the Red Wings had the only power play opportunity where they got a few of those 17 shots, and you might have a case for this game leaning in the favor of the visiting Canucks team.  You see the +115 line on the Canucks and throw you bet down.  Vancouver wins 1-0 with a Luongo shutout, and you cash that wager.

Money making opportunities do exist with the live betting, and it provides a lot of fun if you a less serious hockey bettor.

Next time you are going to watch a game check out your sportsbook to see if they offer live in play betting, and see if you can find yourself a good line to throw down some money on.  Enjoy and good luck!

Tags: nhl betting

Well what do you know, the Bruins take Game 6 at home, forcing a seventh and deciding game Wednesday night for the Stanley Cup.

This is going to be one of the most exciting games in recent Stanley Cup final history, as these two teams match up extremely well and definitely do not like each other.  There has been a lot of physicality throughout the series, and a lot of smack talk off the ice throughout the series as well.

Anyways lets get right into the Game 7 betting odds for the Bruins and Canucks Game 7…

Game 7 Betting Odds:

Money Line Odds:

Boston Bruins (+137)
vs Vancouver Canucks (-147)

Game Total Odds:

OVER 5 GOALS (+110)
UNDER 5 GOALS (-120)

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The home team has won every game so far this series, and Canucks fans hope that holds true through Game 7 as well.  The series started off with a 1-0 Vancouver win, when they scored with less than a minute left in Game 1.  Game 2 was a 3-2 Vancouver win in overtime.  When the Stanley Cup finals went back to Boston for Game’s 3 and 4 we saw a different Bruins team.  Boston went on to win 8-1 and 4-0 at home, despite being outshot in both games.  We saw another Canucks one goal victory in Game 5 in Vancouver, as the Canucks won 1-0 despite being outshot 31-25.  Just last night in Game 6 back in beamtown the Bruins had another convincing home 5-2 win over Vancouver.

The story of the series has definitely been the goaltending, with Tim Thomas a potential playoff MVP candidate, even if the Bruins do lose Game 7 on Wednesday.  Tim Thomas has only allowed 8 goals through 6 games, while Luongo has been pretty shaky (on the road at least).  There has been a small controversy between the goalies as Luongo criticized Thomas after Game 5, but veteran Tim Thomas didn’t have much to say about it (his talking was done on the ice).

My Game 7 Betting Pick:

I am going to have to go with the Boston Bruins here in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.  I think I may wait to place my wager until closer to game time, as I think a lot of the action will be on the Canucks, but I still like the Bruins at +137.  Boston has dominated the Canucks in 3 of the 6 games, and loss by just 1 goal in each of the other 3 games in Vancouver.  Tim Thomas is clearly the better goalie right now, and he alone can win the game for them.  The Canucks will have the home crowd behind them which should make them the slight favorite, but I don’t think they deserve the line put on them.  I’m on the Bruins as medium sized underdogs for the Stanley Cup Finals.  Boston wins 2-1.

Tags: nhl betting

Well the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals is set after last night’s Eastern Conference Final Game 7.  Boston Bruins got a third period goal from Nathan Horton to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 in the seventh and deciding game to see who would head to Vancouver for Wednesday’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson had spectacular games, and it look like neither team would get a puck by either of these two last night.  It was also the first playoff game in 21 years to have absolute no penalties called against either team <- crazy.

All in all it was a VERY exciting Game 7, even though we didn’t see a lot of scoring.  Luckily for me I had bet on the Bruins to win the series, and was happy to see them come through.

This Canucks vs Bruins match up in the Stanley Cup finals should be a great one, with each city being big hockey markets (Vancouver as a city is wild right now).  Below are the betting odds for the Stanley Cup:

Stanley Cup Betting Odds:

Boston Bruins to win Stanley Cup (+200)
Vancouver Canucks to win Stanley Cup (-220)

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Stanley Cup Betting Trends, Stats, and Pick:

These two teams met on February 26th of this year, with the Bruins winning 3-1 as +134 underdogs in Vancouver.  Vancouver slightly outshot the Bruins 28-25, but Tim Thomas stopped 27 of 28 shots faced to get the win for the Bruins.

These two teams did meet last season in February as well.  The Bruins outshot the Canucks 43-31 but the Canucks won in shootout.  The season prior to that they didn’t meet, and Boston won their meetings in 2008 and 2006 for what it is worth.

Vancouver comes into the Stanley Cup Finals with 66 wins and a 66-23-6-5 record.  The Bruins have 58 wins on the season with a 58-31-5-6 record.

Both Boston and Vancouver have similar records at home and on the road, but home ice advantage should still be pretty big for the Canucks.

The Bruins are 12-4 in their last 16 games overall, and 10-3 in their last 13 games playing on 3 or more days rest which will come into play for Game 1 in Vancouver.

The Canucks are 37-15 in their last 52 overall, and 21-8 in their lat 29 home games vs a team with a winning road record.

It is tough to lay the -220 odds, but if I don’t think the Bruins can do much damage to the Canucks without a powerplay that is clicking.  My bet is on the Canucks to win the 2011 Stanley Cup.  Click here to bet it…

Tags: nhl betting