Matchplug publishes NHL picks on the moneyline, the puck line and the total for every game on the schedule. Two things make hockey distinct as a betting market. First, goaltending dominates: a confirmed starting goalie changes a game's true probability more than any skater in the lineup, and starters are often confirmed only in the hour before puck drop, so timing matters. Second, hockey is the highest-variance of the major leagues — the better team loses often enough that results tell you very little over short samples, which is why we read games through expected goals and shot-quality metrics rather than recent won-lost records. Totals sit at 6 or 6.5 in most games, making the empty-net goal a genuine factor in how they settle.
