Morning Coffee: Canada a popular pick to win 4 Nations face-off opener at FanDuel

From basements to backyard rinks, makeshift games on the driveway or in the streets, and from frozen ponds to local city arenas, there’s something magical about growing up with hockey in Canada.

You don’t just watch the sport – you live it 24/7.

My childhood friends and I would spend countless hours debating where the world’s best hockey players ranked, then grab our sticks and head outside to spend countless more hours imitating our favourite stars in pick-up games.

We’d argue over the top players at each position, building impossible line combinations for individual dream teams, and imagine what it would be like to see those elite talents join forces and wear the same jersey as teammates instead of rivals.

Those childhood moments shaped our love of the game.

Fast-forward decades later, the same conversations are still happening in my fantasy hockey league group chat.

We’ve gone from kids with sticks and skates imitating Gretzky, Lemieux, and Yzerman, to adults betting on a new generation of superstars in McDavid, MacKinnon, and Matthews.

Our lives look a lot different than they did all those years ago, but every one of us has the same plans for tonight.

Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland are set to compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off – the first “best-on-best” hockey tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

It feels like just yesterday that we had front row seats to see Sidney Crosby and Carey Price lead Canada to a 2-1 win over Europe in that championship-clinching game.

Tonight, we’ll all be at home with our families cheering for Canada when they clash with Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament opener in Montreal.

The group chat will be fired up and at least a couple of us will be locked in with some FanDuel futures in pocket.

Much different circumstances all these years later.

The same love for the game.

This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday February 12th, 2025.

Canada A Popular Pick To Win 4 Nations Face-Off Opener At FanDuel

Team Canada will enter the 4 Nations Face-Off as the favourite to win the tournament at +145 at FanDuel.

Team USA is a close second choice at +155.

Those numbers reflect how the betting public has approached betting on tournament futures.

Per the FanDuel traders, Canada has been only a slightly more popular pick to win the 4 Nations Face-Off, accounting for 47 per cent of the handle compared to Team USA at 46 per cent of the handle.

Meanwhile, 42 per cent of the tournament winner bets have been on Team USA versus 40 per cent on Canada.

Sweden could be found at +420 to be the 4 Nations Face-Off winner at FanDuel this morning.

Finland remains the biggest longshot to win the tournament at +1000.

As for tonight’s opener, a whopping 89 per cent of the handle is on Canada to beat Sweden outright.

96 per cent of the handle in the puck line market is on Canada to win by two goals or more and cover -1.5.

FanDuel bettors are also expecting a high scoring game with 88 per cent of the bets and 90 per cent of the handle on the total to go over 6.5.

As a Canadian hockey fan, I can’t wait to see MacKinnon skating with Crosby at 5-on-5 and a pair of powerplay units that are absolutely stacked with elite talent.

As a bettor, I’m interested in a couple of key angles that could lead to some profitable wagers at FanDuel.

Primarily, I’m focused on the potential for MacKinnon to build on an outstanding start to the NHL season with another remarkable performance in this tournament.

The 29-year-old MacKinnon is in the prime of his career.

He leads the NHL with 87 points – at least 16 more than any other player not named Draisaitl or Kucherov.

Tonight, MacKinnon is set to skate alongside his mentor and good friend Crosby on Canada’s second line.

I expect MacKinnon to showcase his elite speed, vision, and ability to drive the net for Team Canada.

The fact that he will skate on a line with two elite playmakers in Crosby and Stone should lead to plenty of scoring opportunities at even strength.

MacKinnon already ranks first in the NHL among Canadian skaters with an average of 3.98 shots on goal per game this season.

In addition to seeing plenty of opportunities at 5-on-5, MacKinnon is set up for success on a power play that features Crosby, Connor McDavid, Sam Reinhart, and his Colorado Avalanche teammate Cale Makar.

I’ll lock in MacKinnon anytime goal scorer at +200 as a FanDuel Best Bet for tonight’s tournament opener.

I’ll also pair MacKinnon 3+ shots on goal with Canada to win as a Same Game Parlay at -110 odds.

Meanwhile, Meghan Chayka was in studio last week to discuss the stats behind William Nylander’s success this season and how it could translate into success with Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Nylander’s anytime goal scorer is +290 at FanDuel for tonight’s tournament opener. 

Nylander to score 3+ goals in the tournament could be found at +850 at FanDuel this morning.

Nylander’s total points prop for the tournament has been set at over/under 3.5.

I’ll jump on the Nylander angle with a bet on the dynamic winger to register 3+ shots on goal at -110 skating on Sweden’s second line with Mika Zibanejad and Rickard Rackell, in addition to time on the top power play unit.

I’ll also lock in Seth Jarvis 1+ shot on goal and the over 5.5 total goals in the game as an SGP at +100 odds.

If you happen to be looking for a 3+ leg builder SGP for the game, I’d recommend MacKinnon 3+ shots on goal, Nylander 2+ shots on goal, and the alt over 4.5 total goals in the game at +120 odds.

Hopefully, we can sweep the FanDuel Best Bets for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament opener tonight.

Regardless, I’m sure the group chat will be on fire we cheer on the best in the world in Montreal tonight.

Enjoy the game, everyone!