BetMGM Hockey: Best Fade-the-Public Teams in NHL Betting This Season

By BetMGM writer Andrew Doughty /

There were six NHL games on Tuesday, March 15 in which one team was receiving less than 50% of the tickets and less than 50% of the handle, per Action Network’s Sports Insights for NHL betting.

Those teams went 5-1 against the puck line, producing an ROI of 56.3% for a fade-the-public trend that has been particularly profitable for half the league’s teams.

Two of the ATS wins on Tuesday were recorded by the Chicago Blackhawks (+1.5 vs. the Boston Bruins) and San Jose Sharks (+1.5 vs. the Florida Panthers), improving their ATS records to 21-13 and 13-6, respectively, when receiving less than 50% of the tickets and 50% of the handle.

The Blackhawks and Bruins are two of 16 teams with an ROI of at least +10% in those spots this season, as of March 17. Those 16 teams have a combined ATS record of 166-74 and ROI of 26.9%. In other words, if you faded the public with a $100 bet in each of the 240 games this year, you’d be up approximately $6,500.

RANK | TEAM | ATS | ROI | MONEY

1 | Wild | 5-0 | 89.6% | +$448

2 | Blues | 11-3 | 60.4% | +$845

3 | Oilers | 5-2 | 48% | +$336

4 | Kings | 19-4 | 46.9% | +$1,078

5 | Rangers | 4-2 | 41.3% | +$248

6 | Jets | 15-5 | 35.4% | +$707

7 | Panthers | 4-2 | 32.3% | +$194

8 | Capitals | 5-2 | 28.3% | +$198

9 | Canadiens | 19-10 | 26.1% | +$757

10 | Flames | 8-3 | 22.1% | +$243

11 | Senators | 17-9 | 14.8% | +$386

12 | Lightning | 5-4 | 14.7% | +$133

13 | Penguins | 8-4 | 13.1% | +$158

14 | Sharks | 13-6 | 11.9% | +$226

15 | Bruins | 7-5 | 11.7% | +$140

16 | Blackhawks | 21-13 | 11.7% | +$363

The Minnesota Wild are undefeated in these spots and boast an outrageous ROI, though they’ve done so in limited opportunities. No team in the league has had fewer such opportunities than the Wild.

The Kings, meanwhile, have been dominant in 10th-most opportunities. More than one-third of their games fit this trend, including 12 games before Christmas. They started the season with four straight covers and 11 covers in those first 12 opportunities.

After covering +1.5 in a win over the Florida Panthers on March 13, the Kings have covered in four straight opportunities, giving them three separate cover streaks of at least four games this season. They have not failed to cover in back-to-back spots this season.

The worst fade-the-public teams are led by the Nashville Predators (-42.8%), the Detroit Red Wings (-42.1%), and the Colorado Avalanche (-30.9%).

You can view updated NHL odds for the remainder of the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

Andrew Doughty is a writer for BetMGM and host of The Lion’s Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Apple Podcasts and everywhere else. Twitter: @DoughtyBetMGM