KHL: About the League and Regulations
The continental Hockey League is an open international league that brings teams together from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Latvia and Finland.
There are currently 24 teams in the league, which are divided into Western and Eastern Conferences and four divisions by Geography.
During the regular season, the teams play 62 games, followed by playoff seating. The KHL playoffs are the top eight teams from each conference.
The main trophy of the HL is the Gagarin Cup, awarded to the team that wins the playoffs.
The idea of creating the Euro-Asian Hockey League began in the mid-2000s. It was first voiced in public by Vyacheslav Fetisov in October 2005.
The idea of creating a league that would be independent from national federations and become commercially successful, linked many hockey functionaries from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
As a result, the KHL was created on the basis of the Russian Hockey Super League. The first championship took place in the 2008/2009 season, in which 21 teams out of 24 were Russian.
In the future, the league was replenished with teams from Ukraine, Slovakia, Finland, Kazakhstan and Croatia but in the last few years the KHL leadership has been reducing the number of teams.
Betting Features for the KHL
The apparent superiority of several clubs
Western Conference teams have more financial capacity than the Eastern Conference ones. Right off the bat, CSKA and SKA stand out, who in recent years are significantly superior to other KHL clubs.
St. Petersburg and Moscow “armymen” have more balanced lineups, so they are favored by bookmakers nearly every game.
Home Game Factor
This factor is especially important in the playoffs, where the value of home games is at its most important. According to statistics, the team that plays at home wins more often.
It is worth remembering, that in the KHL regular season bets on home games when playing with opponents from another region can bring about significant wins, because long-distance flights tend to have a negative impact on a hockey team.
Underdogs Can Beat the Favorite
During the regular season, surprises often occur in KHL games. The underdog can easily beat the team leading the conference.
This is especially common at the end of the season, when the leaders have already secured a place in the playoffs and lack the proper motivation.
Which Bets to Choose on the KHL
Many legal sports betting sites in the US will offer bets on the KHL. Posted higher up on the page is all of the necessary information for bets on the KHL: including tournament brackets, a schedule of games, and the best odds for upcoming games.
In addition, all of our users have access to free predictions from Legalbet experts and handicappers. On each team’s game page, there are actual starting team lineups, game results, statistics from past games and more.
