The National Hockey League (NHL) 2022/23 season is officially scheduled to begin on October 7th, and the first game will take place between the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators in Prague, Czech Republic. There will be a total of 82 games throughout this upcoming season, which will culminate in June 2023.
With new teams being picked from freshly invigorated squads, along with any potential injuries that may occur and several other variables that can affect the games, here are some important factors you may want to take into consideration before making any predictions.
What is the NHL?
The NHL is the top tier of the men’s professional hockey league in North America, consisting of 25 teams from the United States and seven from Canada. It all started way back in 1917, and the upcoming 2022/23 season will be the 106th season. There are four top divisions that are based on location, and they include the Atlantic division, the Metropolitan division, the Central division, and the Pacific division.
The teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions all play in the Eastern Conference, while the teams in the Central and Pacific divisions play in the Western Conference. Both divisions in the Eastern Conference have seven teams, and there are eight teams in both divisions in the Western Conference. At the end of each season, the iconic Stanley Cup is awarded to the league playoff champion.
What you need to know about the 22/23 season before making any predictions
First of all, you need to forget everything you knew about last season because most of it will be irrelevant this season. Placing a wager on individual matches or on each league’s outright winners based on last year’s performances is the wrong thing to do.
If you’re going to make predictions and gamble your hard-earned cash, you really need to stay up to date with what’s new in the NHL, and that means keeping on top of a number of factors, such as fixtures (e.g., is there a home team advantage), rosters/injuries (who’s in and who’s out on any particular day), how much money each club has to play with, who’s coaching or managing, and more.
There are plenty of reputable sports channels that have the latest team statistics and analytical data, such as ESPN, and the NHL Network, to name just two, plus there are hundreds of trusted NHL-related websites that have all the most up-to-date news and information about the upcoming league games. If you were to sign up to a sports betting site today, you would instantly be entitled to a guaranteed new player welcome bonus, which is generally a free bet that can be worth anywhere from $/€/£5.00 up to $/€/£2,000!
It’s the same at licensed online casinos. The best online casino bonus you can claim today is the one that comes with zero strings attached, and many of the best welcome bonuses include either free spins for selected slots, a free no deposit cash bonus, or some kind of matching deposit bonus.
Top predictions for who can win each league
No one can say for sure exactly who will win each league. It’s pure guesswork – though, data, and it has to be good quality data, can provide many with the tools to make assessments – so the best thing to do before placing a wager would be to read between the lines for the odds given to each team. For example, at the time of writing, you will find that most major betting sites have the Carolina Hurricanes priced at 2.75 (decimal), 7/4 (fractional), and +175 (American/Moneyline odds) to win the Metropolitan League outright, with New York Rangers currently the second-favorites to win with odds of 3.75 (11/4 and +275).
You currently have the Florida Panthers AND the Toronto Maple Leafs as the joint favorites to win the upcoming Atlantic Division with 3.00 (2/1 and +200) odds. The Edmonton Oilers are the favorites to win the Pacific Division with 3.25 (9/4 and +225) odds. The Colorado Avalanche is tipped to win the Western Conference with 2.50 (6/4 and +150) odds, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are tipped to win the Eastern Conference with 5.00 (4/1 and +400) odds.
However, don’t forget that although these odds are accurate at the time of writing, they are likely to change somewhat from now until the end of the season as the numerous variables mentioned above will affect how each market is individually priced. Only place a real money wager if you can really afford to lose that bet, and remember to gamble responsibly and set your deposit limits, session time limits, and spending limits.
