The Colorado Avalanche are the best team in hockey.

If you don’t believe me, ask Darryl Sutter what he thinks about it.

The Avalanche scored four goals in the first 10:56 and cruised to a 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.

Colorado, which has won seven straight games, pulled two points up on the Florida Panthers for the best record in hockey with nine games remaining on their schedule.

The Avalanche have cornered the team futures market from a betting perspective heading into the final stretch.

Interestingly enough, depending on how the Western Conference Wild Card race plays out, they could end up facing another team on Sutter’s radar in the first round of the playoffs.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Thursday April 14th, 2022.

Avalanche On Pace To Go Wire-To-Wire As Stanley Cup Favourite

Nathan MacKinnon delivered a five-point performance in Colorado’s win over the Kings.

MacKinnon is up to seven goals and 12 points in his last five games, including four multi-point performances.

Cale Makar was in on four Avalanche goals, as he finished with a goal and three assists. 

Makar is up to 26 goals on the season.

He’s once again pulled slightly ahead of Roman Josi to win the Norris Trophy.

Looking at the odds on FanDuel Sportsbook this morning, Makar is -120 to win the Norris, while Josi is the second choice at +110.

Meanwhile, it would be a surprise if Colorado didn’t go wire-to-wire as the Stanley Cup favourite.

The Avalanche were +550 to win the Stanley Cup on Opening Night.

As of this morning, Colorado is +350 to win it all at FanDuel.

The Panthers are the second choice at +550, followed by the Calgary Flames at +900. 

The Avalanche are now 13 points clear of the Flames for first place in the Western Conference.

Colorado was +200 to win the West on Opening Night.

Meanwhile, the Presidents’ Trophy race should be interesting down the stretch.

The Avalanche are -320 to win the Presidents’ Trophy at FanDuel.

Florida is +250 to finish with the league’s best record.

Again, they’re separated by two points in the standings, with each team set to play nine more games.

Colorado is -335 to keep their win streak going with the New Jersey Devils in town tonight. 

You can take them at -190 to win in regulation.

NHL favourites went 3-0 straight up and on the puck line last night.

A parlay with all three favourites paid +266.

Vladdy Jr.’s AL MVP Odds On The Move

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. entered the season at +600 to win American League MVP at FanDuel Sportsbook.

He’s now a +380 co-favourite along with Shohei Ohtani.

Guerrero Jr. hit three home runs as the Toronto Blue Jays rolled to a 6-4 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night.

Guerrero has hit .391 with four home runs and eight RBI through the first six games of the season. 

All eyes will be on Guerrero again tonight as the Blue Jays and Yankees wrap up their four-game set in the Bronx. 

NBA Play-In Elimination Games Set

The NBA play-in elimination games are set for Friday after a pair of dominant wins by the home teams on Wednesday night.

Neither favourite trailed after the first quarter.

The Atlanta Hawks (-5.5) beat up on the Charlotte Hornets in a 132-103 win.

The Hornets have now gone 18 straight seasons without a playoff series win, which is tied with the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves for the longest active streak in the NBA.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans (-5.5) cruised to a 113-103 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

If you bet the favourite to win straight up and the under in each of the first four play-in games, then you went 8-0.

The Brooklyn Nets were the only favourite that didn’t cover the spread.

Looking forward, it will be interesting to see if those trends continue in Friday’s NBA play-in elimination games.

The Atlanta Hawks are a 2.5-point favourite against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the total at 224.5.

The Los Angeles Clippers are a four-point favourite, with the total at 216.5.