\n Posted on: October 9, 2024, 03:55h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: October 9, 2024, 04:02h.\n <\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nOne fact that has stood out on the Canadian sports betting front since Ontario\u2019s regulated market went live in April 2022 \u2013 betting on hockey north of the border hasn\u2019t dominated to the level that some thought it would.<\/p>\n
In a nation where hockey is the national sport, intrinsically tied to the country\u2019s identity, NFL dominates the betting scene, followed by the NBA, then the NHL, according to most sportsbooks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NFL is king,\u201d said a PointsBet Canada trader.<\/p>\n Still, tonight is opening night for six of the seven NHL teams \u2013 the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Montreal to play the Canadiens (Leafs favorites at 1.50 on Moneyline at BetMGM), the Winnipeg Jets take on the Oilers in Edmonton (Oilers Moneyline favorites at 1.55), and the Calgary Flames are on the west coast to play the Vancouver Canucks (Canucks Moneyline favorites at 1.48).<\/p>\n \u201cHockey continues to flourish and we at DraftKings love the sport,\u201d Johnny Avello, DraftKings\u2019 Director of Race & Sportsbook Operations, told Casino.org. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly not as big as football and basketball as far as betting volume but it\u2019s super popular.<\/strong> So far, bettors like the Leafs in tonight\u2019s matchup.\u201d<\/p>\n According to FanDuel, bettors have their eyes\u00a0on the Oilers this year to take home the Stanley Cup, followed by the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers. The Leafs are fourth\u00a0overall for most bet team to win.<\/p>\n Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, are already heavily favoured winners for the Hart Trophy (MVP), accumulating over 50% of all bets between the two of them.<\/p>\n Added a FanDuel trader: \u201cFor Ontario bettors, hockey is one of the top three most bet on sports on FanDuel Canada sportsbook.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n FanDuel, with the popularity of parlay betting, is looking to build on the number of NHL betting they see by expanding with even more markets, like \u201cGoalie Saves\u201d, this season. Bettors can follow their prop bets in real time through the sportsbook\u2019s new player prop tracking.<\/p>\n DraftKings says Matthews Anytime Goalscorer (-130), McDavid Alternate Assists 1+ (-280), Leafs\u2019 Mathew Knies Alternate Points 1+ (-105), and the Rangers\u2019 Artemi Panarin Alternate Shots on Goal 4+ (+100) are the most bet player props as of this afternoon.<\/p>\n Same deal at PointsBet, according to their desk \u2013 Matthews Anytime Goalscorer is the most bet prop (-150)<\/strong>. At BetMGM, Mitch Marner Over 0.5 Assists (-125), John Tavares to Score Anytime Goal (+220) and Cole Caulfield to Score Anytime Goal (+185) are the most bet player props.<\/p>\n The Leafs-Canadiens is the most popular betting game at Proline \u2013 66% of players are backing the Leafs to come out with a win, with 74% of players betting on the Leafs to cover (-1.5).<\/p>\n News out of Leaf camp today is that goalie Joseph Woll won\u2019t play tonight because of lower back tightness, so that\u2019s not a good start for the Leafs, an organization with a tortured fan base. The Leafs have a starting lineup with four players making north of $46.6 million per year, and are overall just a few thousand dollars south of the team salary cap of $88 million. The Leafs haven\u2019t won a championship in 57 years.<\/p>\n Still, according to NHL futures at sportbooks like DraftKings, this new season has several Canadian teams in the upper echelon when it comes to betting odds to win the Stanley Cup. If that happens that would be the first time a Canadian team wins the championship since Montreal accomplished it in 1993.<\/p>\n DraftKings, like several sportsbooks, has the Oilers with the shortest odds \u2013 +800 \u2013 followed by the defending champion Florida Panthers (+1000), Dallas Stars (+1100), New Jersey Devils (+1200), then the Leafs (+1300), Rangers (+1300), Colorado Avalanche (+1300), Carolina Hurricanes (+1300), \u00a0\u00a0Vegas Golden Knights (+1800), then the Canucks (+1800).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Maple-Leafs-430x278.jpg\")
Oilers Favored<\/h2>\n
Maple Leafs in the Running for Cup<\/h2>\n
Matthews Most Popular Player Prop<\/h2>\n