Experienced bettors know what a Grand Salami wager is, but you would be surprised how many new bettors email us at Doc’s saying that have come across that term in whatever sport and don’t know what it means.

It’s very simple, and for the purposes of this article we will stick with NHL betting since we are in the best time of year for hockey, the Stanley Cup playoffs. A Grand Salami is simply you betting on the ‘over/under’ total of goals in every hockey game that is played that day. That’s literally it. Most sites will also include a Grand Salami option of total amount of away goals and home goals in a night’s action.

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In my opinion, betting a Grand Salami is the only interesting way to bet NHL totals because every game is pretty much going to have an ‘over/under’ of five, 5.5 or six goals. So you can multiply the number of games by one of those two numbers and you will see how a Grand Salami total is determined.

While the NHL Grand Salami bet is pretty simple, that’s not to say there isn’t any strategy involved. Obviously, the oddsmakers know who the high-scoring teams are, so if the Washington Capitals – who led the league in goals this season behind two-time NHL MVP Alexander Ovechkin – are playing, then that could be the difference of a goal or two on the Grand Salami. Ditto if the Boston Bruins, who were last in the NHL in goals this season, are on that night’s schedule.

Certainly I would pay attention to whether any teams involved in a Grand Salami are playing on a back-to-back or a three-games-in-five-nights type of run. Obviously those teams are apt to be tired and thus a little more lax defensively. And the second of back-to-backs or the final games of long road trips are when you are more likely to see an NHL coach sit his No. 1 goaltender for a night of rest.

You also should pay attention to those ‘over/under’ records of teams before wagering on an NHL Grand Salami. For example, the Anaheim Ducks led the league with a 27-14-1 record on the over/under at home during the regular season. But the Calgary Flames were the worst in the league at home in terms of ‘over/under’ record at 12-29-1. The Vancouver Canucks were a stellar 25-13-2 against the spread on the ‘over/under’ in away games this year, while the Phoenix Coyotes, who led the league in one-goal wins this season, were an awful 10-26-5 against the over/under with their defensive style.

In the playoffs, the Grand Salami totals will almost always be lower than for an equal amount of games in the regular season because it’s common knowledge that teams play much more defensively in the playoffs than the regular season. For example, the Montreal Canadiens didn’t even let Ovechkin get a shot off in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series this year. Teams will focus more on an opposing team’s stars, and the No. 1 goaltenders never get a night off.  

Hopefully that explains what an NHL Grand Salami bet is. Stick with Doc’s for all types of betting advice articles.