The Stanley Cup is the biggest date on the annual calendar for NHL hockey fans, with 26 million United States viewers alone tuning in to watch the best-of-seven 2021 series that saw Tampa Bay Lightning win.
To get ready for the next event, this guide will show you exactly how Stanley Cup betting works, the best betting sites to place a wager and the most popular bets to take.
The Stanley Cup is the annual championship decider in the NHL (National Hockey League). It was first presented in 1893 and is now the biggest club prize in the sport.
The NHL contains 31 teams, seven of which are based in USA
The teams are split between two conferences, Western and Eastern, with two divisions in each
Each team plays 82 games in the regular season
A total of 16 teams qualify for the playoffs, eight from each conference
The top three from each division advance, along with two wild cards from each conference
There follows a series of best-of-seven elimination matches to decide the champion of each conference
Those champions then face each other in a best-of-seven series to find out who takes home the Stanley Cup itself
All top hockey betting sites will offer their customers many different types of bets and ways to wager on the Stanley Cup.
To illustrate how odds work, we’ve picked out the most popular and easiest market to bet on: who will win the Stanley Cup?
So, if you bet C$10 on the Penguins, who are favourites with their lower odds, you stand to win C$17. While, for a C$10 bet on the Red Wings, who are underdogs, you could win C$22.
Odds at sportsbooks can also be displayed in other ways, such as fractional and American odds, so you can choose between them. Play around with our Stanley Cup odds calculator below:
No handicaps, no complicated calculations, just a simple choice. Who do you predict is going to be this year’s best in hockey?
This bet is for how many goals you think will be scored between the two teams in a game. Either more (over) or fewer (under) than a certain amount the sportsbook has
Unique to hockey, this is a points spread or handicap bet. For example, if the sportsbook gives one team a 1.5-point advantage, the favourite must win by two or more goals.
A more testing challenge, but all top sportsbooks offer odds on the exact scoreline of the game. For example a 4-3 win for the Edmonton Oilers at 11.0.
Who will be the first to find the net? If you know one player always enjoys a fast start, he’s the man to back.
When you have a strong feeling that your team can top their division this year, you’ll be able to back your hunch well in advance.
An even bolder option is to decide who you think will take their conference. Betting earlier in the season should ensure longer odds.
Even before the season has started, you’ll be able to wager on your fancy to lift the Cup several months away.
Lord Stanley, the Governor General of USA, donates a trophy that is won by Montreal Hockey Club
Professional teams are allowed to challenge for the Cup for the first time
Seattle Metropolitans are the first American team to lift the trophy. The NHL is founded, and nine years later it takes full control of the Stanley Cup
The Cup is cancelled after five games because of the flu epidemic
The number of teams in the NHL is reduced to half a dozen, known as the Original Six
Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens in overtime of the seventh game of the final
Six teams are added to the league, doubling it in size
For the first time, no United States team qualifies for the post-season
Montreal Canadiens, inspired by Ken Dryden, beat Chicago Black Hawks 4-3 to triumph
Wayne Gretzky scores 11 goals in seven games as Edmonton Oilers beat Philadelphia Flyers
Montreal Canadiens beat LA Kings 4-1 to take their record 24th Stanley Cup
No Stanley Cup is awarded as the NHL season is cancelled because of a row over salary structure
Boston Bruins beat Vancouver Canucks in the seventh game of a fiercely-contested final
Hockey fans in the United States and USA look forward all year to the Stanley Cup. With its long and eventful history, it is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar.
For hockey bettors, it offers a large number of ways to speculate on the action. Now that most people in USA own a smartphone, and with sportsbooks offering customer-friendly ways to bet, it’s never been easier to wager on the action.
For more details about betting on the hockey in USA, check out our home page.
The annual championship finale of the NHL, played between the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences across a best-of-seven games series.
The most popular bet for the Stanley Cup is the ‘outright winner’ wager. This is a straightforward way to bet – simply choose who you think will win a particular game or the whole Stanley Cup series.
Other bets to take include the puck line, total goals and first scorer markets.
Our hockey experts have listed the below as the best Stanley Cup betting sites:
Yes. All top sportsbooks offer apps and mobile sites that are compatible with devices such as Android and iPhone, where you can place Stanley Cup bets.
