Along with money line odds for the favorite and underdog in a matchup, betting the
OVER/UNDER on total goals scored is the most popular way to bet on any NHL game. In an
effort to spice things up a bit, certain online sportsbooks will diversify the options for betting on a
game’s total.
One option for betting individual team totals is an OVER/UNDER bet on one team’s total score.
For example, if the total is set at 6 goals for a matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and
the Los Angeles Kings with Vegas favored, the individual team totals might bet set a 3.5 for
Vegas and 2.5 for the Kings.
By betting individual team totals, you can focus directly on one team’s ability to light the lamp.
This gives high scoring teams an edge on an OVER bet regardless of how many goals the other
team might score. The same could be said for betting the UNDER on a lower scoring team
facing an opponent with a strong defense.
Any time you can narrow the parameters of your bet, you are increasing your predictability. By
taking a team’s average goals scored, you already have a good idea of its scoring potential. The
other deciding factor is the average goals allowed by the opposing team. This helps to paint a
pretty clear picture of scoring potential.
By limiting your total line bet to just one of the two teams in any game, you are giving yourself a
better chance to win from a probability standpoint.
Another way to bet NHL individual team totals is through betting odds for the exact number of
goals scored. The odds for this type of total line bet are set accordingly for:
- 0 Goals Scored
- 1 Goal Scored
- 2 Goals Scored
- 3 or More Goals Scored
This lets you really break down a team’s scoring potential in a particular game according to the
regular total line set for the game as a whole. If two defensive-mined teams are facing one
another, there is a good chance that two goals might be enough to win. If both sides of the
matchup are averaging more than three goals a game, there is a good chance it is going to take
at least three goals to win.
As opposed to having just an OVER/UNDER option for betting an individual team total, you can
now break things down from a strategic standpoint based on the actual betting odds for each of
the four options. This is where recent head-to-head matchups between the two teams might
reveal a scoring pattern that can have relevance in your handicapping efforts.
The whole idea of betting odds for individual teams as far as scoring is to add more diversity to
your overall NHL betting strategy. It may take some extra time breaking down scoring trends on
a team-by-team basis as well as in previous matchups. However, this type of information can
increase your overall winning percentage of the bets you place.
As mentioned, by limiting the parameters of your bet, the higher the predictability of the outcome
will be. Most sports bets involve any number of variables that must be taken into consideration.
The fewer the variables, the higher the probability of being right.
