NHL Public Betting – How to Correctly Use the Data

We’re going to explore why and how ice hockey bettors can utilize NHL public betting data.

At its core, NHL public betting data reveals sentiment on upcoming games. All NHL bets are tracked and numerous platforms have access to varying amounts of this data. When it comes to the NHL, this data is available for the puck line, moneyline and game total betting markets.

While this metric shouldn’t solely dictate what you bet on, it’s a helpful starting point. In some cases, the data can be manipulated to become more useful for NHL bettors, which we’ll discuss later in this guide.

What Are NHL Public Betting Percentages

There are separate NHL public betting percentages for each unique market (puck line, moneyline and game total). For each market, there are percentages for the number of bets and the amount bet.

We’ll look at an example to help illustrate how to read NHL public betting percentages.

Here’s a moneyline example for a Kraken vs. Blues matchup:

• Kraken (+125 Odds): 19% (Money Bet) / 9% (Number of Bets)
• Blues (-145 Odds): 81% (Money Bet) / 91% (Number of Bets)

In our example, the Blues have had 81% of the money bet on them (based on what’s being tracked). That simply means that for every $100 bet on the moneyline market, $81 was bet on the Blues. The Blues also had 91% of the bets, which means for every 100 bets on the moneyline, 91 were on the Blues.

It’s important to keep in mind, NHL public betting data providers track the action where they have access. Not all providers will have the same set of data, although there’s often overlap. The reason I mention this is because if you look at two different betting percentages for the same game, the percentages will differ.

You can utilize multiple providers to gain even more insight into where the action is going in the NHL.

How to Use NHL Public Betting Percentages

When you’re researching what to bet on in the NHL each day, you should get into the routine of analyzing the NHL public betting percentages. If possible, viewing them multiple times leading up to a game (night before, morning and before puck drop) will help you understand how NHL betting markets move.

The most popular strategy to profit off NHL public betting data is to simply fade the public. This strategy has been around a long time, but simply fading the public blindly is no longer a winning proposition.

The public at large have become smarter and more informed ice hockey bettors over the years.

This doesn’t mean you can’t still profit off NHL betting public percentages. One way is to compare the two percentages (money bet vs. number of bets). If a team has 15% of the number of bets, but 55% of the money bet on a game, that’s a good sign there’s sharp money on the team and could be worth betting.

Popular Teams Attract Public Money in the NHL

Another strategy is to consider why the public consensus is lop-sided. Certain teams like the Maple Leafs will attract public bets just based on name power rather than any statistical reasoning. This is a spot to potentially fade the public consensus. Other factors are recency bias and chasing trendy teams.

As a general rule, you should be suspicious when an underdog is attracting more public money than the favorite in a game. There are numerous reasons why this can happen, such as a team trending (winning streak, big trade, etc.), low volume or injuries. If considering to tail the public in this spot, be sure why.

NHL public betting percentages for game totals can also be utilized to make money. The public will often gravitate to betting the over in the NHL, which can open up potential value on the under.

The Sports Hub Advantage

We have exclusive access to NHL public betting data from multiple online sportsbooks. Rather than raw data like most providers have access to, we’re able to track the data on an individual bettor basis.

This allows us to manipulate the data. We use algorithms to track bettors individually, which allows us to separate public bettors and sharp bettors. Our NHL consensus reports are available for every game and will show our members exactly what markets the sharps are targeting for an NHL game.

This data is only available to Sports Hub members. When logged into your account, click on “Consensus” on the left sidebar and then select “Hockey” to view the ice hockey consensus reports. The best way to use this data is to look for games where the sharps disagree with the public and target the sharp plays.

We track the puck line, moneyline and game totals. We also show the exact amount of money being bet, which you’re not going to find elsewhere. Other providers only provide the percentages.

Our NHL public betting data updates in real-time after a bet is placed at one of the sportsbooks we track.

From the consensus reports, members can also see whether any of our in-house handicappers have a play on the game. Click on “View Game Details” to see what side our handicappers are on.

Should You Follow NHL Public Betting Data

You should definitely utilize NHL public betting data when betting on ice hockey. The more data you use to help formulate your predictions, the better. Analyzing public betting percentages will provide you with valuable insights into upcoming games and can help you find winners or avoid potential losers.

Our consensus reports provide excellent value to bettors because we isolate the sharp action, which isn’t possible with the free tools available elsewhere. While you shouldn’t rely solely on sharp betting data to make your predictions, it’s useful data that can quickly help you find games worth betting on daily.

The first thing our members should do daily is check out the consensus reports for each game. This is a great starting point when you perform your daily research and will help you understand more about how betting markets move based on betting volume, which will make you a better NHL handicapper.

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