In the realm of sports betting, hockey is often the forgotten sport come November. Football and basketball chew up the headlines, but there is excellent bitcoin gambling value in the NHL ice every single night.

If you’ve been tossing some bucks on the pucks, you may already know these teams – who are setting the pace and the best – and worst wagers – to start the 2018-19 NHL season:

BEST BET: Buffalo Sabres 12-8 (+6.69 units)
Buffalo has been a surprise start to the new hockey season, climbing out of the Eastern Conference basement with a dozen wins in its first 20 games. The Sabres won just 25 games last year, so the sudden shift in success has helped stack some profits thanks to plenty of plus-money odds.

Buffalo has been very solid defensively, allowing only 2.8 goals against over those first 20 games and has held its own on home ice, with a 6-2-1-0 record inside the KeyBank Center. The Sabres offense is lacking some scoring punch, netting only 2.9 goals a night, but they do play seven of their next 12 at home and that should help build on this momentum – at least until the New Year.

WORST BET: Pittsburgh Penguins 7-11 (-10.52 units)
The Penguins are one of the most public plays in the NHL, so bookies are often padding their nightly moneylines knowing that action is coming on Pittsburgh. The Pens have stumbled out of the blocks in 2018-19, thanks in large part to a defense giving up 3.3 goals per outing.

The offense is still producing, however, star center Sidney Crosby is nursing an upper-body injury which the team denied is another concussion for one of the league’s top scorers. Pittsburgh’s schedule isn’t all that challenging over the next month, with its furthest trip West to Colorado and most games either at home or on the East Coast. It’s too early to push the panic button in the Steel City, but playing the Pens always comes with the price – good or bad.

BEST OVER: Ottawa Senators 14-4 Over/Under
It’s not too hard to see why the Senators are the best total toppers in the NHL, ranked third in goals per game while sitting dead last in goals allowed. Ottawa has posted an average of 7.5 combined goals in their first 18 games, while books consistently pegged their matchups with Over/Under numbers of six and 6.5.

The Sens have an identical 7-3-2 record at home as their 7-3-2 Over/Under count as hosts, however, they hit the highway for a string of road games ahead on the schedule. Five of their next eight come away from Canada’s capital. Of course, the Senators had a high-profile trash session in the back of an Uber, with players caught on camera bashing the coaching staff and their dismal special teams, which are killing only 68.8 percent of penalties this season – another worst for the league.

BEST UNDER: Anaheim Ducks 6-15 Over/Under
No surprises here, as Anaheim was the top Under bet in the NHL last season finishing with a 32-49 Over/Under count – staying below the number 60 percent of the time. The Ducks are back at it again, paying out for fans of low-scoring hockey at a 71 percent clip in 2018-19.

Anaheim is limiting opponents to just 2.8 goals a night – which is pretty remarkable considering it allows the most shots per game in the NHL at 36.1. Goaltending combo of Ryan Miller and Josh Gibson have stayed strong between the pipes, while a ho-hum offense supports them with only two goals per game – 30th in the league. Those scoring woes aren’t without explanation with plenty of offensive standout – including Corey Perry – sidelined with injuries.