Morning Coffee: Leafs win, cover as biggest favourite of NHL season to date
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The Toronto Maple Leafs closed as a -650 money line favourite against the Chicago Blackhawks at FanDuel on Wednesday night.
That number made them by far the biggest favourite of the NHL season to date.
And they didn’t disappoint.
Auston Matthews scored his 26th goal of the season in his return as the Maple Leafs cruised to a 5-2 win.
William Nylander led the way with three points. Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced for the victory.
In addition to the outright win, Toronto -2.5 -120 also cashed at FanDuel.
With the victory, the Maple Leafs pulled back in front of the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division with two more games played.
It seems inevitable that Toronto and Tampa Bay will meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs once again this season.
That will add even more pressure on the Maple Leafs to secure every possible point they can in order to clinch home-ice advantage for that postseason rematch.
That will mean taking care of business in similar circumstances over their next two games.
This is the Morning Coffee for Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Maple Leafs win, cover as biggest favourite of NHL season to date
Anyone who has bet on Toronto as a sizeable favourite at FanDuel understands that the Buds haven’t always made it as easy as they made it in last night’s win.
The Maple Leafs were a -550 money line favourite against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 29. They lost that game 6-3 in the desert.
Back in February of 2022, Toronto lost to the rival Montreal Canadiens as a -465 money line favourite.
The Maple Leafs avoided a similar letdown on Wednesday night, taking a 3-1 lead in the first period and then cruising to the 5-2 victory.
Toronto’s 57 first-period goals this season are the second most in the NHL this season.
Only the Lightning (60) have scored more in the opening frame.
In his first game since Jan. 25, Matthews recorded a goal and an assist.
It was his 150th career multi-point game – the sixth-most in franchise history.
Meanwhile, Nylander recorded a goal and two assists in the win.
It was Nylander’s sixth three-point game of the season, which is twice as many as any other player on the roster.
Next up, Toronto will host the Canadiens on Saturday night before visiting Chicago on Sunday night.
The Maple Leafs should be a heavy favourite to win both of those games.
Looking ahead, it will be important for Toronto to secure as many points as possible the rest of the way in order to clinch home-ice advantage for a first-round playoff series.
The Maple Leafs are currently the fourth choice to win the Stanley Cup at +1000 at FanDuel. The Lightning are the fifth choice at +1200.
One of those teams could be destined for elimination in the opening round once again this postseason.
NHL favourites went 3-3 overall on Wednesday night.
The XFL returns Saturday night
With Super Bowl 57 in the books, the NFL Draft a couple of months away, and no CFL action until the summer, football fans will be itching for their fix in the coming weeks.
The good news is that we are only days away from the start of a brand-new football season.
The XFL is set to return with its first season in three years this Saturday.
You can already bet on which team will win the XFL title game at FanDuel.
While we don’t know much about the actual teams and how they will perform, we do know that FanDuel has made the Arlington Renegades the favourite to win the XFL Championship at +430.
The Seattle Sea Dragons are the second choice at +470, followed by the St. Louis Battlehawks at +500.
You can check out the FanDuel app for a full list of XFL futures odds right now.
A FanDuel best bet for Thursday night
We cashed another FanDuel Best Bet with the New York Rangers -1.5 against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.
The Rangers beat the Canucks 6-4 in another high-scoring affair.
Turning our attention to the Thursday night slate, I like the New Jersey Devils -150 against the St. Louis Blues.
The Devils have won five of their past six games and are looking to challenge the Carolina Hurricanes for the best record in the Metropolitan Division.
Meanwhile, the Blues are a .500 team on home ice and a number of key players could be on the move ahead of the NHL trade deadline following the move that sent Vladimir Tarasenko to New York.
With the possibility that Jack Hughes returns tonight, this price could move in New Jersey’s favour.
Even if Hughes doesn’t play, I like the Devils.
Give me Devils money line as my FanDuel Best Bet for Thursday night’s NHL slate.