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Morning Coffee: Leafs Nation isn’t alone cheering for Toronto to win Atlantic
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Leafs Nation is desperate for a sign that this is their year.
Something tells me the arctic blast that’s making it feel like minus-16 in the city of Toronto this morning isn’t it.
But it does seem like a good time for a trip to Florida.
And if Leafs Nation is looking for proof their team has what it takes to contend for a Stanley Cup this season, an Atlantic Division title would be a good place to start.
With six games remaining, the Toronto Maple Leafs are two points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division with one game in hand.
FanDuel has Toronto at -380 to win the Atlantic.
That number represents a 79.2 per cent probability.
Tonight, the Maple Leafs can inch closer to the club’s third division title in the expansion era with another win over the rival Florida Panthers.
Toronto has won four straight games to improve to 8-1-1 since March 17th – the second-best record in the entire NHL over that span.
Auston Matthews and company took an important step towards winning their division with a 3-2 win over Florida on home ice last Wednesday.
Now the blue and white get the opportunity to take a giant leap towards an Atlantic title with games against the Panthers and Lightning on back-to-back nights.
Can the Maple Leafs sweep their Florida trip and all but lock up first place in the division over the next 48 hours?
As it turns out, Leafs Nation won’t be alone cheering on Toronto to win the Atlantic down the stretch.
This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday April 8th, 2025.
Leafs Nation isn’t alone cheering for Toronto to win the Atlantic
While Leafs Nation seems to have approached this NHL season with a sense of cautious optimism, the same can’t be said for hockey fans who bet on the Atlantic Division winner market at FanDuel.
Per the FanDuel traders, a whopping 71 per cent of the handle is on Toronto to win the Atlantic at FanDuel.
That’s more than the Panthers and Lightning combined.
20 per cent of the handle in that market is on Florida.
Only nine per cent of the handle was bet on Tampa Bay.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Panthers seemed like the biggest threat to the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division.
However, injuries have devastated the defending Stanley Cup champions, which were without several key players in Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Florida scratched Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Gustav Forsling, Dmitriy Kulikov, and Nico Sturm.
The Panthers were also without Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad, who are both sidelined with injuries.
Florida re-emerged as the Stanley Cup favourite at FanDuel following the NHL trade deadline.
The Panthers are now +650 as the the second choice to win it all behind the Dallas Stars (+550).
If they are going to become just the third team in the last decade to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, they are going to need to be healthy when it matters most.
That message was clear when Florida rested several players on Sunday.
The Red Wings could be found as high as +116 to win that game outright and closed -138 at FanDuel.
The Panthers might not win the Atlantic Division after going winless in their last five games, but they could open the door for the Lightning with a win tonight.
It looks like a couple of key players could return to the lineup for Florida tonight.
Jon Cooper and his staff will be watching and waiting with Tampa Bay getting the night off before a date with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
The Lightning improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven games with a win over the New York Rangers on Monday night.
Tampa Bay needs Toronto to lose in regulation tonight.
If that happens, the Lightning’s odds to win the Atlantic Division will be cut from the current price at +260.
The Maple Leafs haven’t been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1967 – the longest active streak in the NHL.
Leafs Nation might not be willing to roll the dice on Toronto to win the Stanley Cup at +1500 at FanDuel.
However, most of the handle is on Toronto to win the Atlantic Division, which is the best way for the blue and white to position themselves for the playoffs.
The stage is set for the Maple Leafs to clinch their third division title in the expansion era and their first in a full 82-game season since 1999-2000.
I’m cautiously optimistic that Toronto can do the job.
I'll be on the Leafs tonight at +110.
Hopefully, the Panthers opt to sit several starters again, even if a couple of key players do return to the lineup.
Habs, Red Wings Set To Clash In Montreal
The Montreal Canadiens could be found as high as +1400 to make the playoffs at FanDuel this season.
At the time, the Habs were buried in the standings with the worst record in the entire NHL.
Four months later, the Canadiens are -1200 to make the playoffs at FanDuel following another significant move overnight.
The current number represents a 92.3 per cent chance that Montreal makes the postseason.
That’s a pretty big turnaround from a 6.7 per cent chance back in mid-December.
Tonight, the Habs can inch closer to locking up a playoff spot with a win over the Red Wings on home ice.
Montreal is six points up on Detroit with one more game played.
The Red Wings are coming off back-to-back wins over Florida and the Carolina Hurricanes.
Detroit is +105 to extend its win streak tonight and +1200 to make the playoffs.
With the Maple Leafs chasing a division title, and the Ottawa Senators closing in on a playoff spot, the Habs have a chance to make sure all three Canadian teams in the Eastern Conference make the playoffs.
I’ll be cheering for the Canadiens again tonight.
A FanDuel Best Bet to consider for Tuesday night
While I’m cheering for the Canadian hockey teams, I’ll be cheering against this country’s baseball team tonight.
The Boston Red Sox let me down with a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays last night.
Boston is up to -198 to bounce back with a win tonight.
While I’m tempted to lay the 1.5 with the Red Sox, I’ll go in a different direction for my FanDuel Best Bet.
I’ll take a traditional two-team parlay with Boston to win outright and the Golden State Warriors to beat the Phoenix Suns outright at -103.
The Suns will be without Kevin Durant again due to an ankle injury.
Phoenix has lost six in a row to fall below the play-in line.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are still in contention for a Pacific division title as the fight for a top-six spot in the Western Conference standings continues.
As for the Red Sox, Garrett Crochet pitched six scoreless innings in his lone start against Toronto last season.
He’s 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA through two starts this season after leading Boston to wins over the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles.
I’ll pair the Red Sox to bounce back at home with Golden State to win at -103 odds for my FanDuel Best Bet.
Have a great day, everyone!