One positive of chalk betting in the NHL is that you generally have much better odds to work with, even with favorites, than with other sports. Naturally, teams that are favored win more often than underdogs. What is key is bearing in mind that those making the odds likely know something that you do not, and thus it is important to always be cognizant of what the lines are set at when making your wager. While this can make it harder to confidently bet on favorites, it simultaneously allows for more realistic underdog betting. This is largely due to the variability of the NHL forcing oddsmakers not to place too much confidence on games where underdogs almost always have a legitimate chance to win. Whereas a heavy favorite in the NFL would be anywhere from (-300) to (-1000) and up, a heavy favorite in the NHL may only be (-140) to (-300) on the high end. To account for the relative ease with which someone is able to win by betting on heavy favorites, sportsbooks lay the odds in a way that forces you to bet big on moneyline favorites in order to win any sizeable amount of money.
All you are doing is picking the winner straight up in a given contest, however it requires much more strategy if you want to make it worthwhile. The moneyline in the NHL, as with all sports, is theoretically the simplest way to place a wager.
