The NHL is the top hockey league in North America, as 32 teams compete for the Stanley Cup. BetUS offers a wide range of betting options on NHL lines all season.
There are options to bet on any game throughout the season or make bets before the season starts predicting possible outcomes.
What is the NHL Playoff Specials Futures?
What makes NHL Playoff Specials Futures so different from other NHL bets is the simplicity of it while also giving you a lot of control over the NHL odds you are taking. It falls under a season-long prop bet, placing a wager on a team to make or not make the playoffs.
It is similar to picking an over/under on a team’s win total, but betting in the NHL Playoff Special Futures simplifies it to a yes or no answer.
It takes the numbers away and asks whether this team is good enough to be one of the eight playoff teams in its conference.
NHL Playoff Specials Futures also give you another option for regular playoff season prop bets. Stanley Cup odds focus on picking one team, but this allows you more teams to bet on, with 16 teams making the playoffs.
How do NHL Playoff Specials Futures Odds work?
These bets work in a similar format over/under win total bets. The NHL Vegas odds will be set for every team to make/not make the playoffs.
BetUS will offer odds for both outcomes based on the team’s roster and predictions for the upcoming season.
A team like the Tampa Bay Lightning, which has made it to the last three Stanley Cups, has odds at -700 to make the playoffs.
Based on the Lightning’s recent success and roster, they will most likely be in the playoffs again, leading to them being favorites.
However, if you feel the Lightning could take a step back this year, the odds of missing out on the playoffs are +475.
Prop Bets
NHL Playoff Specials Futures are a particular type of prop bet. It allows another option to wager on how a team will perform over the season. It also can take some research and a gut feeling to get a good sense of what to place your money on.
The best thing to do is to parlay a wager on the NHL Playoff Specials Futures with other bets surrounding that team. Using multiple prop bets can increase your winnings.
Betting Strategy
Betting on NHL Playoff Specials Futures can be simpler than other possible season-long prop bets, but it still takes a lot of studying. It is crucial to know what teams made the playoffs the previous season and how every team’s offseason went.
Often, teams that make the playoffs tend to be back in the hunt for it again. If a team barely made it but improved over the offseason, their odds may not change, and that is the perfect time to bet on them to make the playoffs.
Vice versa can be said about teams that make the playoffs but lose crucial pieces to the roster. The odds may show they are a bubble team, but you could be ahead of the curve and place a wager on them slipping.
How is NHL playoff seeding?
The NHL is broken up into two conferences, East and West, with each divided into two divisions of eight teams.
The playoffs feature eight teams from each conference playing one another. The champions of the conference play in the Stanley Cup Final.
The top three point earners in each division make it into the playoffs, ranked according to their point total. The last two spots are for Wild-Card teams, the highest point earners in the entire conference, outside of the top three places in the division.
Who is favored to win the NHL Playoff Specials Futures?
Often favored teams have already found success in the playoffs the previous season. The team has already proved it can make a deep run, so it can do it again.
That goes for teams that spent a lot in the offseason improving through free agency or trades. However, sometimes those teams look good on paper but never play well on the ice.