The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the books.

It’s somewhat bittersweet to see it end.

The opening round featured 51 games played – the second-highest total ever.

If you tailed the TSN EDGE team throughout that roller-coaster two-week stretch, it was a very profitable run.

The Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers all advanced.

Meanwhile, the “No” option on Chuck’s Guarantee that the Toronto Maple Leafs would make it out of the first round at FanDuel Sportsbook also cashed at +110.

After going 3-0 with my first-round series winner predictions, it’s time to turn the page to the second round and try to build on it with another sweep.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Monday, May 16th, 2022.

Flames, Oilers Set For Battle Of Alberta

Johnny Gaudreau scored the overtime winner as the Calgary Flames (-230 ML) beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in Game 7 last night.

After the under hit in four of the first six games, we finally saw an adjustment as FanDuel Sportsbook set the total for Game 7 at 5, which resulted in a push.

FanDuel made the Flames a -194 favourite to win their second round series against the Edmonton Oilers.

That number represents a 66 per cent implied win probability.

FanDuel has the Oilers at +160 to win the Battle of Alberta.

Calgary remains the third choice to win the Stanley Cup at +550.

Only the Colorado Avalanche (+200) and the Florida Panthers (+360) have shorter odds.

Edmonton is +1300 to win the Stanley Cup this morning.

After running into a red-hot goaltender in Jake Oettinger in the first round, the Flames will likely be looking forward to facing Mike Smith.

The Oilers needed seven games to take care of business against the Los Angeles Kings, and as Calgary can slow down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, I think the Flames should be able to get past their Alberta rival.

I’ll make Flames -1.5 +112 at FanDuel Sportsbook my best bet for the Battle of Alberta.

Lightning Face Another Tough Test In Second Round

In case you missed it, the conversation about what went wrong for the Toronto Maple Leafs has not slowed down one bit since Saturday night’s Game 7 loss.

I’m always entertained by how quickly this team goes from legitimate Stanley Cup contender to a roster that needs major changes in the eyes of its fans every single year around this time.

Personally, I thought Game 6 and Game 7 could have gone either way, and the fact that Toronto went the distance against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and nearly won the series is pretty impressive.

Then again, the $5.7 million spent on Petr Mrazek, Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds might have been better off spent elsewhere.

Looking forward, the Lightning’s reward for surviving a seven-game battle with the Maple Leafs is a date with the Panthers.

FanDuel opened Florida at -152 to win the series.

Tampa Bay is +126 to get out of the second round.

Also, here’s something else to keep in mind for the series.

Meanwhile, the Rangers rallied from down 3-1 in the series to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. 

New York opened at +106 to win its first round series at FanDuel, but was bet all the way to -114 before Game 1.

The Rangers opened at +152 to win its second round series against the Hurricanes, but that number is already on the move at FanDuel, as the blueshirts are up to +164 to win the series this morning.

Carolina went from -184 to -200 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Finally, the Avalanche remains the favourite to win the Stanley Cup at +200 entering their second-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

Colorado is down to -115 to win the Western Conference.

The Avalanche are -400 to win their series against the Blues.

The comeback on St. Louis to win the series is +310.

After a very profitable first round, the TSN EDGE team will have a full preview of the second round on Twitter Spaces on Tuesday, including our best bets.

Mavericks Stun Suns, Advance To West Finals

There will be a new Western Conference champion and a new Eastern Conference champion in the NBA this season.

Luka Doncic went for 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the Dallas Mavericks (+235 ML) stunned the Phoenix Suns 123-90 in Game 7.

The Mavericks, which were +1800 to win the NBA title a week ago at FanDuel, are down to +650 to win the championship this morning.

Next up for Dallas – a date with the Golden State Warriors, which remain the favourite to win it all at FanDuel at +120.

The Warriors are -250 to win the Western Conference.

The Mavericks to win the series is +200.

In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics (-5) booked their ticket to the conference finals with a 109-81 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Celtics opened as a -175 favourite to win their series against the Miami Heat at FanDuel.

Boston is down to +200 to win the NBA championship.

Miami is +145 to win the series and +420 to win the title.

While the NHL and NBA playoffs have stolen the spotlight, we can’t lose track of our beloved Cincinnati Reds and what they are doing right now.

Reds Season Takes Another Strange Turn

Cincinnati has certainly played better of late, winning six of its last 10 games against the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers.

However, Sunday’s games in Pittsburgh featured an unexpected turn.

The Reds pitched a no-hitter against the Pirates on Sunday and lost 1-0.

Cincinnati became the first team since 2008 to throw a no-hitter and lose a game.

The Reds will enter a two-game series against the Cleveland Guardians with a league-worst 9-26 record.

Cincinnati will travel north of the border later in the week for a three-game series against the Blue Jays.