An online NHL bet from Australia has to go on before the opening face-off, and the bookmakers that can lawfully take it hold a licence from an Australian state or territory and quote decimal odds. Check first whether a market includes overtime and the shootout, because about a quarter of NHL games are level after 60 minutes: 326 of the 1,312 in the 2025-26 regular season.
The 2026-27 regular season runs from 29 September 2026 to 10 April 2027, and each team plays 84 games, up from 82, according to the NHL's schedule release of 16 July 2026. Evening games in North America fall on Australian mornings and early afternoons, and the US sports betting guide sets out the time zones for all four leagues.
NHL markets in decimal odds
In Australian terms, each NHL market asks a different question about the same game:
| Market | US name | Settles on | What decides close bets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head to head | Moneyline | The final result, overtime and shootout included | Overtime and the shootout |
| 60-minute result | Three-way, regulation time | The score after 60 minutes, with the draw as a result | Whether the game is level at 60 minutes |
| Puck line | Puck line | The final score with a 1.5-goal start | Empty-net goals |
| Total goals | Total, over/under | Goals in the game | Whether the shootout goal counts |
| Player props | Props | Official NHL statistics, or regulation time only | Overtime, and whether the player plays |
| Futures, such as the Stanley Cup | Futures | The season or the playoffs | Playoff series, where overtime has no shootout |
US betting terms translated covers the rest of the US vocabulary, and the odds converter turns a US price such as -135 into decimal: 100 / 135 + 1 = $1.74.
60-minute result or head to head with overtime
A regular-season game is three 20-minute periods. If the score is level, the teams play up to five minutes of three-on-three overtime, and the first goal wins (NHL Official Rules 2026-2027, Rule 84.1). If no one scores, a shootout of three shooters a side decides it, going to sudden death if it is still level (Rule 84.4). Playoff games have no shootout: they play full 20-minute periods until someone scores (Rule 84.5).
That gives two kinds of result market. The head to head commonly counts overtime and the shootout, so it always has a winner. The NSW rule book, which binds NSW-authorised bookmakers (read October 2026), settles a result that way unless agreed otherwise (clause 5.1.2). The 60-minute result settles on regulation time with the draw as a third selection. Where a draw is priced, the NSW rule book leaves extra time out, and every other selection loses on a draw (clause 5.1.7). In 2025-26, 986 regular-season games were won in regulation, 207 in overtime and 119 in a shootout.
With illustrative prices, $30 on each of three bets:
| How the game ends | Home head to head at $1.80 | Home 60-minute at $2.25 | Draw 60-minute at $3.85 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home wins 4-2 in regulation | Returns $54.00 | Returns $67.50 | Loses $30 |
| Home wins 3-2 in overtime | Returns $54.00 | Loses $30 | Returns $115.50 |
| Home wins the shootout from 2-2 | Returns $54.00 | Loses $30 | Returns $115.50 |
| Away wins 3-1 in regulation | Loses $30 | Loses $30 | Loses $30 |
The 60-minute home price is higher because it gives up every overtime and shootout win, and its break-even chance is 1 / 2.25 = 44.4% for a regulation win. The draw at $3.85 implies 1 / 3.85 = 26.0%, against a 2025-26 draw rate of 326 / 1,312 = 24.85%; at that rate it is worth 0.2485 x 3.85 - 1 = -4.3c per $1. One game can sit well away from the league rate, so price the game in front of you.
Why -1.5 needs a two-goal win in regulation
The puck line gives the favourite -1.5 goals and the underdog +1.5. Overtime and shootout games always end one goal apart, so -1.5 needs a two-goal win in regulation, often sealed by a late empty-net goal; the puck line guide has the 2025-26 numbers.
Totals, the shootout goal and the grand salami
A total goals bet is over or under a line such as 5.5 or 6.5. The official NHL score includes the shootout: however many shootout goals go in, the winner is recorded with one more goal than it had after overtime, and no player is credited with it (Rule 84.4). Whether a total counts that goal depends on the terms: some settle on the official final score, others only on goals scored in play, so check before you bet an over.
Of the 119 shootout games in 2025-26, 45 were 3-3 after overtime, so a 6.5 total settled over with the shootout goal and under without it. Another 33 were 2-2, where a 4.5 total did the same. The official score averaged 6.25 goals a game, or 6.16 without shootout goals. Over under betting covers half-goal lines and pushes in every sport.
A grand salami is one total across every game on a day's schedule, such as 74.5 goals on a 12-game night (an illustrative figure). It appears at some bookmakers only, and its terms decide what happens when a game is postponed and whether shootout goals count, so check before you rely on it.
Starting goaltenders: when the news is official
The goaltender faces every shot on target, so a change of starter can move a hockey price. Under the NHL's rules each team dresses 20 players, two of them goaltenders (Rule 5.1). The visiting team submits its line-up, naming its starters, within five minutes of the end of the warm-up, which finishes 20 minutes before face-off. The home team then names its own (Rules 5.1 and 7.1). So both starting goaltenders become official only in the 20 minutes or so before the puck drops. Reports from clubs and the media come earlier, but they are not the line-up.
For a 7:00 pm face-off in New York between 1 November 2026 and 13 March 2027, the timing on Australian clocks is:
| New York 7:00 pm face-off | Sydney | Brisbane | Perth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visiting team's line-up due, about | 10:45 am | 9:45 am | 7:45 am |
| Face-off, when online betting closes | 11:00 am | 10:00 am | 8:00 am |
The NSW rule book has no goaltender clause to match its baseball pitcher rule: its general rule is all-in, so a bet stands whether or not a given player takes part (clause 5.1.1). Other bookmakers set their own terms. If your bet depends on one goaltender, place it after the line-up, or check what your terms do if he does not start.
Empty-net goals and late scoring
A team that is behind late can swap its goaltender for an extra skater and leave its own net empty. The 2025-26 regular season produced 508 empty-net goals, 0.39 a game; 448 were scored in the final three minutes of regulation, and 460 games (35.1%) had at least one. Three kinds of bet feel it:
- Totals. A late empty-net goal can carry a five-goal game to six, from under 5.5 to over.
- The puck line. An empty-net goal can turn a one-goal lead into a two-goal cover.
- Props. An empty-net goal is a goal and a shot on goal in the official statistics, so it counts for goal scorer, points and shots props.
The extra skater can also bring the trailing team level, which sends the game to overtime and settles the 60-minute market as a draw.
Shots on goal props
The NHL records a shot on goal when a player shoots, tips or deflects the puck so that it goes into the net, or would have gone in had the goaltender not stopped it. That is the NHL's own definition (hockey glossary, checked October 2026). A shot that misses the net, or hits the post and stays out, is not one, and blocked shots are counted separately.
In the official statistics, overtime counts and the shootout does not. Checked against the NHL's game data for four 2025-26 shootout games, each team's official shots on goal equalled its regulation and overtime shots, with every shootout attempt left out. Teams averaged 27.8 shots on goal a game that season.
Example: Illustrative price. You have $20 on Player X over 2.5 shots on goal at $1.90. He has 2 in regulation, 1 in overtime and scores in the shootout. His official total is 3, so under terms that settle on official statistics the over returns 20 x 1.90 = $38.00. In a market written for regulation time only, he has 2 and the over loses.
Check which of the two your terms use. A player who does not play is covered by the prop's participation rule, which what happens if a player doesn't play explains.
Five steps to an NHL bet from Australia
- Look the bookmaker up on ACMA's register of licensed wagering providers, by the name it trades under. An operator without an Australian licence is illegal here, and its customers lose Australian protections.
- Pick the market, and read whether it includes overtime and the shootout.
- Turn any US price into decimal before comparing bookmakers.
- If the bet depends on the goaltender, wait for the official line-up.
- Bet before the opening face-off. Online sports betting is lawful only while a bet is not in-play (Interactive Gambling Act, s 8A(3)), and the Act counts a bet placed once the game has begun as in-play (s 10B). In-play betting in Australia explains the law.
Costly NHL betting mistakes
Costs use the illustrative prices from the tables above:
| Mistake | What it costs | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Treating the 60-minute result as a head to head | After a 3-2 overtime home win, $30 on the 60-minute price returns nothing and $30 on the head to head returns $54.00 | Read where the market ends |
| Betting an over without the shootout rule | 45 shootout games in 2025-26 went from 6 goals to 7 on the official score, enough to flip 6.5 | Check whether the shootout goal counts |
| Betting before the line-up, then the backup goaltender starts | At an illustrative 50% after the change, $30 that stands at $1.80 is worth 0.50 x 1.80 - 1 = -10c per $1, an expected $3.00 loss | Wait for the official line-up |
Where B337 fits
B337's Terminal lays out bookmakers' head to head, line and total prices in columns, one per bookmaker. Whenever bookmakers have markets up, its sports board spans AFL, NRL, NBA, soccer, tennis and more. Across racing and sports it shows 40+ bookmakers, not all of them on every game. Prices refresh on a repeating cycle, not tick by tick, so check the price and the market's overtime rule with the bookmaker before you bet. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A late goaltender change, an empty-net goal or a shootout can turn a hockey bet against you, whatever price you took. See responsible gambling for limits and support.