Looking for some help beefing up the odds of your NHL parlay betting payouts and need some direction about methods and strategies? Get everything you need here in our NHL parlay betting guide.
What is NHL Parlay Betting?
Betting on NHL parlays is not for everyone, but those who can do it well can be rewarded with generous payouts as NHL betting offers plenty of plus-money markets. Whether it’s a collection of moneyline (ML) favorites or a longshot lottery ticket, hockey parlay betting is just one more way to bet on one of the most exciting sports on the planet.
NHL parlay betting consists of wagering on more than one bet and multiplying the odds of all those wagers by our risk or stake. A parlay ticket can be as small as two different bets parlayed together or up to as many as our book will let us. A 16-game parlay is a real thing.
Every game on a parlay bet needs to win for the parlay bet to pay us out. If we have a five-game parlay and only win four, that’s a losing ticket. We need all five games to win or push to get that money.
What happens to a parlay on a push?
Sometimes in our parlays, a tie can occur. If this happens, that one wager is considered a push (a tie), and its odds will revert to 1.00 decimal odds, and the ticket can still win if all the other bets win. Earning a tie on a parlay will not kill the bet, and its odds won’t count for the final payout. Without question, a tie is undoubtedly better than a loss.
Hockey parlay betting calculator
Get an idea of how much you could win by combining NHL bets with our parlay betting calculator. Enter in the odds of the bets you’d like to combine, plus the amount of money you’d like to stake, and the calculator will show you how much you could win.
NHL parlay bet examples
Single-game parlay
In this hypothetical example, we’re looking at three separate bets from the same game. Here, we’re betting on Montreal +1.5 (-160), Montreal moneyline (+165), and the Over 5.5 (-131). Multiplying all three odds will give us a parlay ticket with +659 odds (7.59 decimal odds). If we wager $100 on this parlay and all three bets win, it will pay out $759.35 — a profit of $659.35 plus our initial $100 wager. If any of these three bets lose, we’ll lose our $100.
Games | Bet type | Odds |
---|---|---|
Montreal (+1.5) @ Toronto (-1.5) |
Puck line | -160 |
Montreal @ Toronto |
Moneyline | +165 |
Over: Montreal @ Toronto (O/U:5.5) |
Over/Under | -131 |
Parlay | +659 | |
Total Stake | $100 | |
Total Profit | $659.35 |
Puck line parlays
In the below example, we’re parlaying three puck line bets from three different games: Montreal +1.5 (-160), Washington -1.5 (+194), and Vancouver +1.5 (-165). By multiplying all three odds, this three-team parlay potentially pays +667 if all three games win. There are no ties in puck line bets, so we will need to win all three outright to get paid. A $100 wager on this three-team hockey parlay would profit us $667.30 if all three were to cover.
Games | Bet type | Odds |
---|---|---|
Montreal (+1.5) @ Toronto (-1.5) |
Puck line | -160 |
NY Rangers (+1.5) @ Washington (-1.5) |
Puck line | +194 |
Vancouver (+1.5) @ Edmonton (-1.5) |
Puck line | -165 |
Parlay | +667 | |
Total Stake | $100 | |
Total Profit | $667.30 |
Moneyline parlays
We can build a parlay using strictly moneyline bets. In this three-game parlay example, we are betting on the Montreal ML (+165), Washington ML (-137), and Vancouver ML (+155). This three-game parlay has odds of +1169 (multiply all three odds together), and just like every other parlay, we’d need all three teams to win to get paid out. A $100 bet on this winning parlay would profit $1169.
Games | Bet type | Odds |
---|---|---|
Montreal @ Toronto |
Moneyline | +160 |
NY Rangers @ Washington |
Moneyline | -137 |
Vancouver @ Edmonton |
Moneyline | +155 |
Parlay | +1169 | |
Total Stake | $100 | |
Total Profit | $1169 |
Over/Under parlays
In this example, we’re parlaying three total bets from three different games: MTL/TOR Over 5.5 (-131). NYR/WAS Under 6 (+100), and VAN/EDM Over 6.5 (+100). If all three games win, we will profit 6.05 times our bet or +605 in American odds. If the Under 6 were to push (game finishes 4-2), and the other two games won, we would win our bet with odds of +252 [(-131) x (+100) = +252].
Games | Bet type | Odds |
---|---|---|
Over: Montreal @ Toronto (O/U:5.5) |
Over/Under | -131 |
Under: NY Rangers @ Washington (O/U:6.0) |
Over/Under | +100 |
Over: Vancouver @ Edmonton (O/U:6.5) |
Over/Under | +100 |
Parlay | +605 | |
Total Stake | $100 | |
Total Profit | $605.34 |
Can you parlay different kinds of NHL bets?
Betting on different kinds of NHL bets is likely the most common way of NHL parlay betting. Choosing other markets (moneyline, puck line, total, etc.) and various games gives bettors more choices and a chance to build a more probable parlay ticket.
In this example, we have a three-game (or three-leg) parlay consisting of Montreal +1.5 (-160), Washington moneyline (-137), and the Over 6.5 in VAN/EDM (+100). These are three distinct types of bets from three different games. By multiplying these three odds, this parlay has odds of +462, and all three games would have to win to get paid. A $100 bet on this winning parlay would profit $462.23, while a loss in any of three bets would cost us our $100 wager.
Games | Bet type | Odds |
---|---|---|
Montreal (+1.5) @ Toronto (-1.5) |
Puck line | -160 |
NY Rangers @ Washington |
Moneyline | -137 |
Over: Vancouver @ Edmonton (O/U:6.5) |
Over/Under | +100 |
Parlay | +462 | |
Total Stake | $100 | |
Total Profit | $462.23 |
Hockey parlay betting tips and strategies
There are a handful of ways to parlay when betting on the NHL, with some being more conventional than others. Here are some strategies to consider when parlay betting.
Hedge your bets
Sometimes it comes down to the last game of a parlay for a winner. Some bettors are comfortable letting it ride, but another strategy can guarantee you money (less of it) in the form of a hedge bet. Hedging your bet is placing a wager on the opposite side of your bet. If you need Vancouver to win on the ML for your six-team parlay to win, a hedge bet would be placing another bet, usually higher than our initial parlay wager, on Vancouver’s opponent.
Hedging is primarily a strategy used for larger potential payouts. If our $10 bet on five games has a potential +500 payout, hedging our bet is probably not worth it. But if your potential payout is closer to +10,000 and a very improbable winner, hedging is a smart move to walk away with something.
Boost your odds
Some books feature an odds boost for parlay bets that increase with the more games we have on our ticket. If a five-team parlay, we may get an odds boost of up to 20 percent. That percentage will increase the more games we add to the parlay. Odds boosts encourage parlay bets because they are tough to be profitable in the long run.
Search different online sportsbooks and see which ones offer the best NHL parlay odds boosts before placing your wager.
Find free bets
Books will sometimes offer us free bets periodically or for big games. Putting together a low-probability high-payout parlay is usually the best option with these types of bonuses. Don’t be afraid to pick some underdogs with this free money. It may be good practice for novice bettors who may be intimidated at first. Nothing beats no-risk betting.
Use a parlay calculator
There isn’t an exact science to betting parlays, but we cannot get too greedy. Knowing what the payout is for our parlay can help us keep our winning probabilities in check. When we’re thinking, “let’s add one more,” checking the odds and probabilities may help things from getting out of hand.
Doing the math is not easy, and that’s why we have a Covers’ parlay calculator that can help bettors better understand their odds, possible payouts, and probabilities.
NHL betting tips and strategies
Make smarter NHL bets with Covers. These guides dive into other ways you can bet on NHL action:
- Tips & Strategies to Win NHL Puck Line Bets
- Best Tips to Win NHL Moneyline Bets
- Learn to Win NHL Over/Under Bets
NHL parlay betting FAQs
A void bet can occur for postponements and other significant occurrences. If one bet on a parlay is voided, it acts like a push (tie), and its odds change to 1.00 while the other bets are still live.
Most books allow same-game parlays (SGPs), and they are becoming one of the more popular ways to parlay bet.
Covers has some of the best NHL betting analysts, and free picks and predictions can be found on our news and analysis page.