Below, we will provide some basic answers to some fairly simple and common hockey questions. Keep in mind that these questions are about NHL hockey. Some aspects may be different in other leagues around the globe or with NCAA hockey.

How Long is the Average Hockey Game?

This is where a lot of the confusion comes in. You see, hockey in the NHL is structured to operate on 3 separate 20-minute periods. However, when exactly half that time has expired, there is a short break which is the equivalent of halftime. So, technically speaking, there are 60 minutes in a hockey game. However, everyone knows that the games last well more than an hour. For starters, the clock only runs when the puck is in play, and each stoppage of play eats away at time. Plus you have to factor in halftime, TV time outs, penalties, and other factors that all stop the clock. In total, the average NHL game lasts about 2:20, or two hours and twenty minutes. This is average, of course, and a game might be shorter, or it could end up being a lot longer.

One thing for players who partake in legal hockey betting should keep in mind is the live hockey betting opportunities that are available during a game. During TV timeouts and at the end of intermissions, there is a new live line for the game. They even offer lines on just a particular period. It’s really fun and live betting has a lot of benefits for avid players.

How is Hockey Ice Made?

Some people are absolutely shocked to hear that hockey stadiums aren’t always just hockey stadiums. For instance, some hockey stadiums are actually also basketball courts. And when hockey isn’t being played, the wood court is put over top of the ice, transforming the ice into a hardwood court for an entirely different sport. The ice isn’t melted and drained away. But how did the ice get there in the first place? How is hockey ice actually made? A concrete area called an ice slab is filled with refrigerated brine water (salt water), and the stadium is a huge refrigeration unit. When the first thin layer of ice is frozen inside of the area, the team’s logos and other designs are painted on. Then, 8 to 10 more very thin layers of ice are frozen onto the surface, with the zamboni smoothing out each one. Eventually, the ice will be around 1 inch thick, and it will be maintained throughout the season with refrigeration, replacement layers, and the zamboni.

What is a Hat Trick?

There are a lot of terms you hear in hockey, which is a subject we cover in another section of our resource site here, but just knowing the terms isn’t always enough. You may also want to know what they really mean as they relate to the game. For instance, a hat trick is a popular term thrown around, and any player who earns a hat trick is always in the news, so it’s obviously an accomplishment. But what does it mean exactly? A hat trick is simple enough to figure out and follow. In field hockey and ice hockey alike, a hat trick is simply when a player scores three goals in one game. Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, has the NHL record for hat tricks (50).

What is a Trap?

In hockey, a popular term you may hear, based on a frequently used feature in a game, is a “trap.” But what is a hockey trap? A trap in hockey is basically just a strategic play that focuses almost entirely on defense. By and large, this is known as a neutral zone trap, and it’s carried out mostly by a specific defensive alignment that seeks to stop the other team from advancing the puck toward the opposite goal. The trap is designed to stunt a player’s progress by surrounding him with ample defense.

What was the Highest-Scoring Hockey Game?

Hockey may have a lot of fans, but there are also many people who consider the game to be rather boring. Like soccer, hockey games typically end with scores like 1-0, 2-1, and other very low-scoring finals, which means there isn’t a whole lot of scoring action. Sports like football and basketball thrive off of big-scoring match-ups, but hockey is mostly about great defense and the puck changing hands multiple times. In fact, the highest-scoring game in history saw 19 total goals scored, when the Montreal Canadians defeated the Quebec Bulldogs 16-3 in 1920.

We hope we answered some of your hockey questions in this section of our site. Of course, you may still have questions pertaining to the sport that you need answered. Don’t forget to check back with us for updates. You never know when we might answer your question specifically.

The post Hockey FAQ’s first appeared on Legal Hockey Betting.

Some fans of sports like the NBA complain that while a basketball player cannot even raise his voice without receiving a technical foul and possibly a suspension, an NHL player can brutally beat an opponent and spend a few minutes in the penalty box to cool off. While it might seem unfair, the reality is that fights are part of hockey’s nature; it’s been happening for as long as there’s been a game to play. And with so many fights over the years, some of course stand out more than others. Here are a few of the best and most memorable hockey fights of all time.

1: The Great One vs. Neal Broten

On everyone’s hockey list, Wayne Gretzky is considered the greatest to ever play the game. But what’s just as impressive as his all-time goals, his Stanley Cups and his dedication to the game is the fact that Wayne was only involved in three fights throughout his career. The best?or worst?of the bunch was his fight with Neal Broten. During a game against the Minnesota North, Gretzky and Broten started having words in the first period, and then suddenly Wayne threw his gloves off. Unfortunately, Broten hit him firmly with three right hands, which sent Gretzky to his back. But even though he lost the fight, the great one’s brawl definitely earns placement here.

2: Barch vs. May

Back in 2008, you couldn’t find a rivalry more heated than Krys Barch and Brad May. Every time their teams played one another, you could bet that a fight would break out. Their third fight of the ’08 season ended up being the one worth remembering. When the gloves came off, the fists were flying like a legitimate boxing match. But even in the midst of a mutual beating, Barch warned May to watch out for the glove by his foot, to keep him from tripping and falling to the ice. Not what you’d expect to see with a hockey fight, but certainly a classy moment.

3: Cote vs. Thornton

Rare is the case in hockey that anyone outside of an enforcer can actually fight, so it was surprising to everyone that Riley Cote and Shawn Thornton’s fight ended up looking like Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed. In 2007, the two men faced off during a normal game, but the results were very abnormal for a fight. The men were dealing very serious damage to one another, looking like a fight that you’d have to order on pay-per-view. When the smoke cleared, Thornton was the winner, but Cote gave every bit as good as he got.

4: Carcillo vs. Dorsett

Some fights in hockey are more about guys trying to mark their territory than actually fighting, and this seemed to be the case when Daniel Carcillo faced off against Derek Dorsett in 2008. When the two men went at each other, it was more like a dance recital for a solid minute. They were circling around, they were dancing, they were bobbing and weaving, but they weren’t actually fighting. Then, suddenly, the two men collided, grab the others’ jersey, and the fists started flying. The fight ended up being so impressive and brutal that a winner couldn’t even be declared. They were seriously going at it.

5: McSorely vs. Probert

With a name like McSorely, you half expect the guy to be a sourpuss. This was always the case with Marty McSorley on the ice. He was known as one of those guys that you just don’t cross. And when Bob Probert crossed him, the longest, most brutal fight in the modern era of hockey ensued. The two men were punching each other for more than 90 seconds before an official got in there and attempted to break it up. Most were legitimately surprised that neither man was seriously injured. They were fighting in a no-holds-barred fashion with the strict intent to hurt one another.

There have been thousands of hockey fights out there, so pointing out a few of the most memorable is basically guesswork. If you’re a hockey fan, then you undoubtedly have a fight in mind that wasn’t mentioned on this list. Don’t fret too much, though; there will be many more hockey fights to keep you entertained as you start to build your own list of the most memorable battles.

Do you live the United States and want to bet on hockey?  Check out our legal hockey betting guide for USA players here.

The post Memorable Hockey Fights first appeared on Legal Hockey Betting.

Since I engage in legal hockey betting myself, I’ve found that knowing the teams inside and out as well as the players really helps me cap the games. I guess that’s sort of a given, but the more you understand about the different positions in hockey, the better you will fair in your betting excursions. Some goalies have a trend of shutting certain teams down on the defense side of the puck, while other players might have trends for always scoring on a particular team. Needless to say, the more information you have, the better you will do.

Goalie

The goalie position is known as the toughest job in sports. Having to wear pounds of padding and extra protective gear, a goalie’s only job is to guard the net against a flying block of rock that’s frozen. The goalie not only defends against shots, but the more active a goalie is, as in deterring shots, the more confidence a team gains. Goalies are usually as tough as they come.

Defensemen

Known as defensemen in the US, and defenseman in Canada, this is a position that a team at full strength usually has on both the right and left-side of the ice. Some teams even have a third type of defensemen position opened up for an offensive-minded, creative player who seeks to turn his defense into instant offense. The other main type of defensemen is the strictly defensive-minded player who focuses on stopping the other team’s approach. Then, of course, you have players who can act as a combination of the two.

Right Wing

A right wing player in hockey plays, of course, on the right-side of the ice. This player has to be fast, talented, and very tenacious. He is solely responsible for the other team’s left defensemen and must provide a solid defensive zone against inbound players. While most great right wing players are also great all-around players, the right wing focuses primarily on one area of the ice.

Left Wing

Basically, the left wing is just like the right wing, only reversed on the ice. Where they share differences in the modern age, however, can easily make or break a team. For instance, more and more teams are looking to put left-handed players on the left wing, for better angled shots and an ability to dig awkward pucks out of the corner at different angles than the other team can. In other words, the left wing in hockey is becoming a specialty position that not too many can excel at.

Center

Centers are all-around players that are a little like quarterbacks in the NFL and point guards in the NBA. They basically control the offense out on the ice. This player operates the action at both ends, and he must excel at passing the puck, calling plays, competing in faceoffs, and it doesn’t hurt if the center is also a great shot and can score a lot. Most of all, however, a center needs to know hockey inside and out. He must have a big hockey IQ.

The only other position you may be wondering about is an enforcer. While this isn’t technically a real position, an enforcer is more like a colloquial position and usually involves a defensemen or wing player who comes off the bench in order to settle scores. An enforcer is a bruiser who can fight and pummel the other team’s players if needed.

The post Hockey Positions Explained first appeared on Legal Hockey Betting.

Ten Common Hockey Terms

1: 2-man advantage – With this term, you may have heard it while watching a game that suddenly seems like a mismatch. In other words, you notice that one team seems to have more players than the other team, but it seems more than two men out there, so you don’t really follow the term. That’s because the term 2-man advantage is actually about 5 men on one team vs. 3 men on the other. It means that one team has two more players than the other.

2: Backchecking – This is a term that’s often heard and it can be very confusing. There’s checking in a lot of sports, but backchecking is unique to only hockey. In simplistic terms, this is when a player rushes back to the defensive zone in order to cover another team’s attack. It’s more or less like backpedaling to play defense.

3:Breakaway – Another term that’s quite popular if you’re watching hockey, a breakaway call and the subsequent action you see does, however, make the term seem a little self explanatory. When a player pushes the puck forward and there are no defensive players around him, he is breaking away from the defense toward the goal.

4: Charging – One thing that most people notice about hockey is that it’s a very rough game. Even still, there are some rules put in place to protect players. When a player takes more than three strides to hit another player, or when a player leaves his feet to hit another player, this move is called charging, and it is a penalty that will land someone in the box.

5: Faceoff – Other than being the last good movie John Travolta made, a faceoff in hockey is basically just the formation at the very beginning of the game or after a stoppage in action. This is when the ref lines up the opposing players and drops the puck between them. They each scramble to shoot the puck out to their teammates.

6: Icing – Of all the terms used in hockey, icing is probably one of the most popular. Icing is easy to understand but has a lengthy explanation. This occurs when a player shoots the puck past the center red line and the other team’s goal line without the puck landing in the net or able to be touched by an opposite player in their neutral/defensive zones. An official stops play when icing occurs and the game will start back up again with a faceoff.

7: Rebound – Just like in basketball when the ball bounces off of the rim and another team grabs the rebound, there is also rebounding in hockey. This occurs when the puck bounces off of the goalie, another player, or the goal net.

8: Tripping – Of all the different hockey terms out there, this is one that you can probably figure out without having to watch it happen. When players are going at it on the ice, and one happens to attack another player’s feet, this is tripping and will typically be called a penalty. It’s also one of those plays that may lead to a fight.

9: Slapshot – This term in hockey is so popular that there have even been movies called Slapshot. A slapshot is typically a very hard shot that’s taken when a player winds up with his stick, bends his stick on the ice, and then allows the energy from the bent stick to blast the puck toward the goal.

10: Spearing – There are some plays in hockey that are just taboo. Even though it’s a violent, fight-happy sport, the players still have their standards. Spearing is when someone takes the point of their stick and jabs it into the opponent. This is a double penalty at a minimum, and spearing someone may almost certainly spur a fight.

Unfortunately, we simply cannot cover every popular hockey term out there. It would require dozens of pages of space, and hours of your time to read it. So, we covered 10 of the most popular terms for you in detail.

The post Hockey Glossary And Terms first appeared on Legal Hockey Betting.

On this list, we’re going to cover five of the greatest hockey players of all time. Other than our number-one player, who is a universal lock, the rest of the list is in no particular order. If you feel we left someone out, feel free to contact us and complain.

1: Wayne Gretzky

The Great One, the singular reason that the NHL made it through the ’80s ? Mr. Wayne Gretzky. Even if you’re not a hockey fan, your hat should be tipped in appreciation to this man. His records are so numerous that it would take you days to list them all. And in some areas he’s so far out ahead of the next closest player that it would take fifty additional years of play to even tie him. With 2,857 career points, he is over 1,000 points ahead of the next closet competitor. He also has 700 more assists than anyone else, and he led his Oilers to four Stanley Cups. Along the way, he set new playoff records every year, and he was known as the greatest to ever play at least six years before he retired. Gretzky is objectively number one and made a lot of people who enjoy betting on hockey a boat load of money.

2: Bobby Orr

While the number-one position is set in stone, 2-5 are up for interpretation. Bobby Orr is a good fit at #2 due to everything he brought to the game and the commitment he gave to his teammates. Over Orr’s relatively short career, he racked up 8 Norris trophies in a row, 3 Hart trophies, and more. He also led the league in scoring two different seasons ? as a defensemen! That’s just insane for a defensive position. It’s unheard of; it may never be done again. Orr played the game at a speed at least two gears ahead of anyone else. He has the second-highest total of goals in a season, and in only 657 career games, he scored 915 points. If he was a healthy player with two good knees, many contend that he and Gretzky would have been neck and neck on the leaderboards.

3: Gordie Howe

Continuing in the tradition of Grekzky and Orr, here is another name that you’ve probably heard a lot even if you’re not a hockey fan. Gordie Howe was the epitome of a professional throughout his career. They dubbed him Mr. Hockey, and he never disappointed. Howe’s longevity was something to marvel at. He began his hockey career with his first game in 1946, and he played his last game in 1980. Talk about a long, storied career! When he retired in ’80, he was the leader in every major statistical category, with 801 goals, 1,049 assists, and 1,850 points. He also won four Stanley Cups over his career. Unfortunately, Howe died at only 40 years old.

4: Mario Lemieux

Mario the Magnificent ? in terms of pure talent and things he could do with the puck, Mario was single-handedly the most impressive player of all time. He had on-ice grace despite his large stature, and he could flatten a defender at any time he so chose. Starting up his prime years as Grekzky was reaching retirement, the consensus was that Lemieux could catch and perhaps even exceed Wayne’s records. However, failing health got to Mario, and he didn’t last very long. He played 915 games in his career and amassed a total of 690 goals, 1,723 points, and won two Stanley Cups and Olympic gold. Pound for pound, he was the most frightening opponent on the ice in NHL history.

5: Maurice Richard

With the number-five position on this list, there are over a dozen players who could easily fill this spot. But for his tenacity on the ice and his legacy as an unparalleled scorer, Maurice Richard, AKA The Rocket, takes this spot. He wasn’t making the greatest, most creative shots on the ice, but he had a will and a drive to get to the net. And this would lead him to 544 goals in his career. Amazingly, Richard would win nine Stanley Cup trophies over his career, but only a single Hart Trophy. He wasn’t all about the flash and huge numbers, but with a will to win and a natural ability that carried his teams for over a decade, Richard earned this spot.

There are many more hockey players who could have easily made this list. Doug Harvey, Bobby Hull, Mark Messier, and many, many more ? we could go on for page after page talking about the great players to come through the NHL.

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Here are five of the top teams of all time in the NHL, in no particular order beyond their top-five status.

1: 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens

Some teams have impressive runs of consecutive playoff appearances and championships, and they’re great in their own right, but no team in history had the single season that the Canadiens had in ’76. They won 60 games, scored 132 points, had a home record of 33-1-6, and their roster boasted an extremely impressive nine future Hall of Fame players. This Montreal team had other teams scared to even take the ice. Not only were they supremely talented on both offense and defense, but they would drop their gloves in a heartbeat, and they would probably kick your butt all over the ice.

2: 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers of the ’80s not only had the Great One Wayne Gretzky playing for them, but they also had offensive juggernauts like Kurri, Anderson, and Messier on their roster. Add in the fact that they had an all-time great goalie in Grant Fuhr, and you’re looking at a team that was the most difficult to beat in the modern era of hockey. The Edmonton Oilers were so dominant, in fact, that the NHL had to change their rules so that other teams could compete. The 4-on-4 play had to disappear because the Oilers were literally unstoppable and it wasn’t even fun to watch. It was painful to see the domination. The Oilers won the Stanley Cup back to back in ’84 and ’85, and then again in ’87 and ’88.

3: 1988-89 Calgary Flames

Rare is the case that you will find a team as statistically dominant as the Flames were in their 88-89 season. Some teams are good at offense, others are good at defense, and some teams just like to fight. Well, Calgary had all three going for them. They dropped their gloves 68 times that season, which was 10th in the league. They had the second-most goals scored against opponents, and opponents scored the second-fewest amount of goals against the Flames. In other words, they were dominant in every aspect of the game. Their rein at the top would be short-lived, only capturing the 1989 Stanley Cup, but they will go down in history as a dominant team that few could handle.

4: 1981-82 New York Islanders

New York is like the central hub of all things American, including the NHL. You won’t make it through an all-time list without finding at least one New York team making the list. This is true for the Islanders, but it has very little to do with the fact that they were from New York, and everything to do with the fact that they were hockey’s most dominant team for three seasons. Scoring goals at will, taking the puck away from any team they wished, and actually able to seal the deal in the playoffs, the New York Islanders are one of those rare teams that had potential and met every bit of it. They won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back-to-back seasons, from ’81 to ’84. That in itself is incredibly impressive.

5: 1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers

Known as the Broad Street Bullies, the Philadelphia Flyers of the mid ’70s were a force to be reckoned with. With players like Bill Barber and Bobby Clarke, they had more than enough offense to win games on the scoreboard, but it was actually their defense that made them so imposing. They were known as the bullies because they just beat the pulp out of everyone. This lead to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in ’74 and ’75, and this Flyers squad will go down forever as one of the greatest teams to take the ice.

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