Ice Hockey- Danger and thrills on ice

Ice hockey is arguably the world’s most popular sport that doesn’t use a ball. Instead it’s played on ice, with a rubber puck between two teams each consisting of six players who try to score in their opponent’s net using wooden hockey sticks.

Partly due to the fact that it’s played on ice at high speed and partly due to the strength and physical nature of its pro players, it’s also one of the most dangerous sports going. Which may have something to do with the fact that fighting on the ice between two players (one from each team) is partly allowed.

And it’s this danger element, mixed with the speed of the action as the puck travels at great speed and the huge levels of skill of its top players that makes it a great sport to watch and bet on.

The greatest interest on ice hockey betting at club level at Betsson is on the NHL and KHL. The NHL pits the top sides from the USA and Canada up against one another in a bid to lift the iconic Stanley Cup. The most successful side in the NHL’s history are the Montreal Canadiens though the player who holds almost 60 NHL records, Wayne Gretsky, never played for them.

The KHL is sort of Europe’s equivalent of the NHL though it embraces teams from more countries. Most are Russian but there are also sides from Finland, Croatia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and as of 2016…China. Other popular ice hockey competitions to bet on are the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the Finnish SM-Liiga and the Swedish SHL.

At Betsson you can of course bet on the match winner but there are also always lots of handicap markets and others on how many goals will be scored by each side, plus total goals in the match.