Puck line
Hockey's spread at 1.5 goals: back the favourite at -1.5 and they need a two-goal win, take +1.5 and a one-goal loss still pays.
The puck line (handicap de 1,5 but) is the NHL's version of a spread, and it's pretty much always 1.5 goals.
- Take a team at -1.5: they need to win by 2 or more.
- Take a team at +1.5: you cash if they win, or if they lose by just one.
Since the line shifts the margin, the prices swap around: favourites on the puck line usually pay plus money, underdogs usually cost you.
Example: Habs +1.5
The Canadiens are +1.5 at -200 against Toronto (illustrative, not a pick). You bet $30 to make $15.
- Habs win 4-3 in OT: you win. +1.5 always cashes once a game goes past regulation, because overtime and shootouts always end with a one-goal margin.
- Habs lose 3-2: you still win, $45 back.
- Habs lose 5-3: you lose the $30.
Watch the empty net
When a team pulls its goalie late, empty-net goals turn plenty of one-goal games into two-goal games. That's the main thing that kills +1.5 bets late in the third, and it's how -1.5 tickets get saved. Brutal either way.
Quick checks
- Make sure the line includes OT and the shootout; some books post regulation-only puck lines too.
- Compare with the moneyline. Paying -200 to get the Habs at +1.5 means you need them to cover about 66.7% of the time just to break even (see implied probability).