NHL betting requires savvy

Hockey may not receive the same betting action as football, but money can be won just the same with puckline wagers.

And unlike the NFL -- where players can normally win by betting on winning teams against the spread -- bettors that play the NHL usually need to understand matchups in order to be successful.

For example, the Kings are 7-8 and have not been above .500 since they defeated the Ducks to open the season. Yet, the Kings have an 8-7 record against the spread, which is a half-game better than Detroit, the best team in the Western Conference.

The Red Wings, who have dominated opponents, are 11-2-0-1 on the ice but 7-7 against the spread.

Want more? Ottawa, which has the NHL’s best overall record, had a 7-6 mark against the spread in its first 13 games.

Because hockey does not feature high-scoring games, the puckline plays like a stingy form of the spread.

It is set at 1 1/2 goals. If you bet on a team at +1 1/2 , that team can win, tie or lose by one goal. If you place your bet on the team favored by -1 1/2 , they must win by at least two goals in order for your wager to cash.

Also, each line is normally accompanied by a price, for example: Kings +1 1/2 /-230; Ducks -1 1/2 /+200. That means, you need a bet of $230 to win $100 with the Kings or risk $100 to win $200 with the Ducks.

College football

In putting together an 8-13 record over the last two seasons, Akron has been anything but a football power. But the Zips have a strong history playing as home underdogs, going 16-5-1 over their last 22 games in this role.

Akron (3-5) will be home underdogs again when they play host to Ohio (5-5) tonight in a Mid-American Conference game. The Bobcats, who have won two in a row, are three-point favorites and are 4-1 in their last five games as a favorite.

What do UCLA, Maryland and Vanderbilt have in common this week? The Bruins, Terrapins and Commodores are the only home teams receiving less than 10% of betting support for this weekend’s games as of Tuesday, according to the Spread.com’s betting trend.

The Bruins are seven-point underdogs to Arizona State and getting only 9% support against the spread. Maryland, a six-point underdog against Boston College, is picking up only 7%, and Vanderbilt is picking up only 4% as 3 1/2 -point underdogs against Kentucky.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com