NHL Predictions & Betting tips

The 2025-26 NHL season is right around the corner and we have an in-depth look at the betting odds and which team will lift the Stanley Cup. We’ll also take a look at some profitable betting strategies that will be sure to help your overall win rate when placing your own bets.

NHL Presentation and Predictions - Hockey

While not pulling the viewership of other sports such as the NFL and NBA, the National Hockey League (NHL) has a dedicated and passionate following which ranks it as about the fourth most popular sport in the United States, as well as the number one sport in many other countries. The fast-paced nature of hockey makes it ideal for those seeking an adrenaline fueled betting experience that is sure to get the heart rate going. The league is composed of 32 teams (25 in the USA and seven in Canada) which are separated into the Eastern and Western conferences. In those two conferences, the teams are then separated again into two divisions (Metropolitan, Atlantic, Central, Pacific).

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2025-26 NHL prediction: Who will win the 2026 Stanley Cup?

The 2025-26 NHL season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent years with a number of legitimate title contenders. Teams like the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche are sure to attract plenty of attention. However, it’s another team that has caught our attention: the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights have most of the core of the 2023 championship winning team still intact and they know what it takes to lift the cup. VGK topped the Pacific division last season with a 50-22-10 record and their 110 points was the third highest mark in the entire league. They had the third best defense (2.68 goals per game allowed) as well as the fifth best offense (3.34 goals per game) and they were able to strengthen in the offseason.

The addition of Mitch Marner could prove to be the move that propels Vegas to the next level. Marner racked up 102 points last season and provides the Golden Knights with another elite scoring option to go along with Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl. This team is well-built for the playoffs with their strong defense and they should be able to exceed their offensive numbers from last season. Our 2025-26 NHL prediction: Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup champions!

2025-26 NHL prediction: odds on the Stanley Cup favorites

• Florida Panthers - 7.00
• Edmonton Oilers - 8.50
• Carolina Hurricanes - 8.50
• Vegas Golden Knights - 10.00
• Dallas Stars - 10.00
• Colorado Avalanche - 10.00
• Tampa Bay Lightning - 17.00
• New Jersey Devils - 19.00
• Toronto Maple Leafs - 19.00
• Los Angeles Kings - 21.00

Odds taken from Bet365

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Who will win the 2025-26 Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP Award) in the NHL?

Once again, the Oilers’ Connor McDavid starts a new NHL season as the favorite to win the MVP award. It should come as little surprise given that the 28-year-old is currently the best player in the NHL and is on pace to become one of the greatest the game has ever seen.

McDavid has three Hart Memorial Trophies to his name (2017, 2021 and 2023) over the course of his 10-year career so far and is consistently among the top point-getters in the league.

With the Oilers once again having a formidable side, McDavid’s production isn’t expected to see any dropoff as Edmonton seeks a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Our 2025-26 Hart Memorial Trophy prediction: Connor McDavid!

2025-26 NHL prediction: odds on the MVP award

• Connor McDavid - 3.00
• Nathan MacKinnon - 5.50
• Nikita Kucherov - 9.00
• Kirill Kaprizov - 11.00
• Leon Draisaitl - 11.00
• Auston Matthews - 19.00
• David Pastrnak - 21.00
• Connor Hellebuyck - 26.00
• Jack Eichel - 26.00
• Jack Hughes - 31.00
• Cale Makar - 34.00

Odds taken from Bet365

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What prediction for the Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie) in the NHL?

Connor Hellebuyck posted a historic 2024-25 season which saw him rewarded with not only his third Vezina Trophy, but also saw him scoop the Hart Memorial Trophy. This saw him become only the fourth goalie in the expansion era to win both awards and the first in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back Vezinas. He also became only the fifth goalie to win 47+ games as the defensive anchor in a very good Winnipeg Jets team.

At 32 years of age, Hellebuyck is at the peak of his powers and doesn't appear to be showing any signs of slowing down. Our 2025-26 Vezina Trophy prediction: Connor Hellebuyck wins!

2025-26 NHL prediction: odds on the Vezina Trophy

• Connor Hellebuyck - 4.50
• Igor Shesterkin - 7.50
• Andrei Vasilevskiy - 9.50
• Jake Oettinger - 16.00
• Logan Thompson - 19.00
• Dustin Wolf - 19.00
• Ilya Sorokin - 19.00
• Jacob Markstrom - 23.00
• Darcy Kuemper - 26.00
• Sergei Bobrovski - 26.00
• Anthony Stolarz - 26.00

Odds taken from Bet365

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Beginner’s Guide to how the NHL works

The NHL regular season sees each team playing 82 games from the months of October to April which leads to the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning in May. The NHL season is similar to the NBA season in both length and typical downtime teams are afforded in between games. Most teams play every 2-3 days although there are times throughout the year that teams will have to play on back-to-back nights. 

Upon the completion of the regular season, 16 teams take part in the playoffs (eight from each conference) to decide which two teams will compete for the Stanley Cup, the NHL’s championship game. The top three teams from each division win automatic entry into the playoffs and will be seeded according to their regular season record, which makes up the initial 12 teams. The next four available playoff spots go to the two highest placed finishers in each conference, regardless of division. This means that five teams from the one division could technically qualify while only three teams from another division get in.The structure of the playoffs follows many other American sports with each round being a best of seven series to determine the winner, meaning that the first team to win four games will advance.

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How to make good predictions on NHL Games?

Below we've come up with five strategies and pieces of advice that should help to increase your chances of a successful bet and improve your overall betting process.

• Assess the starting goalie matchup
• Be cautious with puckline favorites
• Analyze detailed statistics 
• Situational spots and team news
• Compare odds across bookmakers

Below we’ll take a look at each in more detail:

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Assess the starting goalie matchup

Hockey is similar to baseball where the starting pitcher matchup is a decisive factor in determining the winner of a given match. In hockey, it’s the starting goalie matchup that you’ll have to pay special attention to. In a league where most teams average over 30 shots per game, the difference between having a top goalie vs an average goalie between the pipes will become apparent. Therefore, it’s important as a bettor to pay attention to who the teams are playing in the position. Not unlike many other sports, goalies are often rotated and the backup will see significant playing time throughout a season. If a team goes from an elite goaltender to a league average performer, the betting line will be influenced.

When assessing goalies, save percentage is probably the most important stat you’ll come across. The average for the league tends to be around .910 with anything below .900 considered to be poor by NHL standards. Conversely, a goalie with a save percentage above .920 is considered to be excellent. It’s not uncommon to see a team’s results follow congruently with their goalie’s performances, either improving or dipping along with the goalies form. This is especially true for teams or defenses that are heavily reliant on their goalie, such as an elite goaltender on a somewhat average team.

Be cautious with puckline favorites

Like most other sports, bookmakers provide bettors with point spreads for NHL games, which is referred to as the ‘puckline.’ While this provides punters with better odds to back a heavy favorite, it’s important to understand the pitfalls that sometimes accompany this type of bet. As an example: the Montreal Canadiens finished last season as one of the worst teams in the NHL with a 30-52 record. Naturally, they will have entered the majority of their games as the underdogs and thus receiving +1.5 on the puckline spread. What’s interesting to note is that the Canadiens finished as the league's best performing team against the spread with a record of 53-29 for a cover rate of 64.6%.

On the other side of the coin, the Dallas Stars made it to the Western Conference Finals and finished with one of the best records in the league. However, they would end up ranked 29th in their against the spread record for reasons similar to that of Montreal. The strength of their team meant Dallas would have been favorites in a large majority of their games, thus laying -1.5 on the spread. What’s important to remember about hockey and the NHL in particular is that the majority of the games finish with a one goal difference between the two teams. Keep this in mind when placing your bets.

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Analyze detailed statistics

We mentioned goalie performance above and assessing them based on their save percentage. Other excellent advanced statistics you can use are: goals saved above expectation and goals saved above average. These will help paint a better picture to the quality of the goalie that is playing and can be especially useful for those games that see the backup taking over. 

Another good stat to keep in mind is expected goals for (xGF) and expected goals against (xGA). If you are a passionate football punter then this stat will be a familiar one. Expected goals is a way to judge the quality of each individual shot taken using a numerical value. For example, a shot taken right in front of the goalie in a 1-on-1 situation is going to have a much higher expected goals value than a slapshot taken from near the blueline. Using expected goals is a great way to measure an offense’s chance creation ability without being over reliant on simply their goals scored. 

These are just a few examples of how to search for statistics that are “under the hood” so to speak. These types of metrics provide a greater insight into how teams and players perform and  should be essential tools in a sports bettor’s arsenal. 

Situational spots and team news

The NHL season sees teams play 82 regular season games followed by three rounds of best-of-seven playoff series before the Stanley Cup finals. It’s a jam packed schedule that spans the course of six months. With so many games to be played in a relatively short amount of time, it’s common that situations arise with teams playing on short rest. Most seasons see teams playing 10 or more back-to-backs, meaning that they would somewhat regularly play on consecutive nights. This can have a substantial effect on player and team performance.

You’ll want to be aware of these kinds of spots when analyzing an NHL game. Is a team playing the second of a back-to-back while their opponent comes into the game on three day’s rest and not having hit the road in a week? That’s the kind of situational factor that you have to account for. In a similar vein, you’ll want to keep up to date with the latest team news to stay on top of any potential injury announcements. Following a team's social media accounts is a great way to do this, as is regularly checking injury reports. The Avalanche are going to look much different on the ice if they are without the services of Nathan MacKinnon, for example. This is going to be reflected in the betting line.

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Compare odds across bookmakers

Last but certainly not least, you will want to make it a priority to compare the odds at different bookmakers. We can’t stress enough just how important this is; this one factor can often make the difference between some sports bettors ending up profitable or in the red! You should make it a habit to constantly look for the best available odds for the bet you are looking to make.  Consistently locking in the best possible price will provide an instant improvement to your ROI!

The best method to achieve this in the most efficient way is to sign-up with as many betting sites as you can. Having accounts across a multitude of different sportsbooks ensures you will have the access to the largest pool of available betting lines and thus ultimately find the best odds. That’s not the only benefit as you will also be able to take advantage of bookmaker’s welcome bonuses, many of which can see you receive a 100% matched first time deposit bonus! To see the best welcome bonuses on the internet, visit our best betting sites page.

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What not to do for your NHL predictions

To give yourself the best chance at improving your bottom line when it comes to betting on the National Hockey League, there are a few pitfalls you will want to avoid. Here are some examples of what you should be cautious of:

• Not taking into account the goalie matchup.
• Overvaluing -1.5 puckline spreads and in turn, undervaluing +1.5 spreads.
• Chasing your losses (ex. Betting triple your normal amount to ‘make up for’ two previous losses).
• Not practicing proper bankroll management (you should have a fixed bet amount within your overall betting funds). 
• Not comparing bookmakers to find the best possible odds on the market for your bet.
• Betting strictly on a team’s name and reputation and not accounting for recent performance and form.
• Only looking at final scores of previous games and not digging deeper into the underlying statistics.
• Disregarding the betting odds and not understanding the implied probability behind them.
• Blindly betting on your favorite team.

More than a few beginner and experienced bettors have fallen victim to one or multiple of the above habits. If you can eliminate them from your betting process and approach each game with clear, rational analysis, you’ll greatly increase your chances of turning a profit!

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NHL prediction: Statistics you need to know

We’ve compiled some key statistics from the previous season to keep in mind when making your predictions for the upcoming NHL season. All of the following statistics are taken from the recently completed 2024-25 season unless stated otherwise:

• The average goals scored per team across the 32 NHL clubs was 2.98 last season.
• There was an average of 5.96 goals scored per game in the 2024-25 NHL season.
• This was an decrease from 6.20 average goals scored per game in the 2023-24 campaign.
• Last year saw the a slight increase in power play percentage from 21% to 21.6%.
• This was one of the highest power play percentages in decades, although an average of just 2.71 power plays per team per game was an all-time low.
• The Winnipeg Jets posted a league-high 28.9% power play percentage last season, ranking as the ninth best mark all-time.
• Power play opportunities also saw an average of 5.42 combined per game.
• The Senators led the league once again in power play opportunities last year with 269 total.
• The Anaheim Ducks finished last season with the best against the spread puck line record at 55-27 (67.1%)
• The New Jersey Devils had the worst against the spread puck line record last year at 34-53 (39.1%).
• The Canadiens were the best 'over' team in the league last year with a 42-39-6 record.
• The Winnipeg Jets finished with the highest points total last season at 116.

It's interesting to note that while power play percentages spiked to one of the highest figures in decades at 21.6%, the 2024-25 season saw the lowest amount of power plays per team per game at just 2.71. Ottawa has a knack for drawing power plays and has now led the league in opportunities for the third straight season.

Additionally, it might be a good idea to avoid the Devils when considering which teams to bet on the puck line. New Jersey has now finished with the worst against the spread record in the last two straight seasons. Keep these numbers in mind when preparing your bets for the 2025-26 NHL season!

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In short: How to make the right NHL predictions?

When making your NHL predictions, be sure to follow the tips and strategies laid out in this article. Remember to always account for a team’s schedule, the starting goalie matchup and the underlying statistics in regards to offense, defense, and goaltending. Of course, you should also do your best to follow the news for each team that you are interested in betting on.

If you find yourself short on time and don’t think you’ll be able to fully commit to analyzing an NHL game, or you simply would like to hear the advice of our tipsters, head over to our predictions page where you can find the latest betting tips by our experts!

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The images featuring this article are licensed from the IMAGO website.