feature The Hockey Line by Ben Burns 6 December, 2005
Prior to the NHL lockout, the 'Canadian line' was the most common type of line used by hockey bettors. The 'old' Canadian line featured both a half-goal pointspread, as well as a moneyline.
The half-goal pointspread came into play if a game finished in a tie. In those cases, the team that was plus one-half goal was deemed the winner. In today's post-lockout era, since there are no longer any draws, the Canadian line has become obsolete.
While the moneyline has become the most popular type of wager, the modern version of the Canadian line has become the same thing as a baseball run-line. It still uses a combination of a pointspread and a moneyline, but the half-goal spread has been replaced by a one and a half-goal spread. If one uses this type of line, the favorite must win by two or more goals to be deemed the winner. Therefore, if a game is decided by one goal then the underdog is the winner.
An example of this type of line shows the New York Rangers listed at minus 1 1/2 goals, but getting plus $1.75. Their opponent, the Minnesota Wild, is plus 1 1/2 goals, but minus $2.10. Conversely, if one played the same game on the standard moneyline, without a goal spread, then the Rangers would be listed as a $1.60 favorite with the Wild a $1.40 underdog.
It's clear by looking at the disparity in those lines that one pays dearly to take underdogs plus an extra goal-and-a-half. This week, let's take a look at how the various teams have performed when graded against these types of lines. The league's best team, the Ottawa Senators, has also been the most profitable. The league's worst team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, have been the least profitable.
However, I think that you'll find it interesting to see that certain teams which have a great win/loss record, like the Flyers or the Canadiens, are big losers when graded against the plus or minus 1 1/2 line. On the other hand, there are a few teams with mediocre or poor records, like the Ducks or Capitals, which have been profitable.
Team Regular W/L Record ATS W/L Record Money (+ or -)_
Team Regular W/L Record ATS W/L Record Money (+ or -)
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