Morning Coffee: Maple Leafs close in on Atlantic crown with win over Panthers​

The San Diego Padres are off to their best start ever.

It’s kind of funny that the Los Angeles Dodgers have been so good that nobody outside of San Diego seems to care.

Imagine how the hardcore Padres fans felt last night.

San Diego improved to 7-0 with a win over the Cleveland Guardians – the best start in franchise history.

“Finally, this is our moment!”

Then they see the best player in baseball lead a division rival to an epic comeback win with a walk-off home run to improve to 8-0.

The fact that San Diego doesn’t even have the best record in its own division – or state – is just cruel.

That’s the situation after Shohei Ohtani’s walk-off home run that capped off a 6-5 win for the Dodgers after they trailed the Atlanta Braves 5-0 early last night.

LA is the first reigning World Series champion ever to start a season 8-0.

The NL West is the fifth division in MLB history in which multiple teams started 7-0 or better in the same season and the first since 2003.

The Padres just opened with back-to-back sweeps of the Braves and Guardians, but they’re still +1000 to win the NL West at FanDuel this morning.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers appear poised to challenge for the best record in MLB history with their regular season win total up to 108.5 and juiced to the over at FanDuel.

It’s Champ Kind’s worst nightmare.

If LA can build off its dominant start, it’s going to be a long season for baseball’s other 29 teams.

This is the Morning Coffee for Thursday April 3rd, 2025.

Maple Leafs close in on Atlantic crown with win over Panthers

Leafs Nation isn’t ready to deal with the heartbreak of another early playoff exit this spring.

After a decade of disappointment, I can understand why most Toronto Maple Leafs fans are being cautiously optimistic about their team’s chances to make a run.

There’s a lot more work to be done.

Toronto is +1400 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.

Nine NHL teams have shorter odds to win it all.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs are +650 to reach the Stanley Cup Final at FanDuel this morning.

That number makes them the fifth choice to win the Eastern Conference behind the Florida Panthers (+210), Carolina Hurricanes (+450), Tampa Bay Lightning (+470), and the Washington Capitals (+500).

Toronto has a better record than two of those four teams.

Still, not even my closest buddies – hardcore Leafs fans all their lives – are willing to roll the dice on Toronto in either of those markets.

I get why Leaf Nation has its guard up this spring.

Nobody is planning a parade after years of “almost, eh?”

Still, I don’t think it’s a reach to point out that the team took an important step in the right direction last night.

The Maple Leafs clinched a playoff berth for the ninth consecutive season with a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers.

With the win, Toronto pulled four points clear of Florida at the top of the Atlantic Division standings with eight games remaining.

The Maple Leafs are also three points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning with one more game played.

Last night was exactly the type of game that Leafs Nation would be particularly guarded against their team suffering a letdown in and the result was an excellent price betting on Toronto to win outright at FanDuel.

With one more game versus Florida and another versus Tampa Bay, the Maple Leafs have an opportunity to prove they can come out on top in big moments and set the stage for a playoff run by winning their division title.

Toronto is -155 to win the Atlantic this morning.

Per the FanDuel traders, a whopping 71 per cent of the handle is on the Maple Leafs to finish first in the division.

20 per cent of the handle is on the Panthers, which have dropped three in a row and haven’t won in regulation since March 13th.

Florida’s odds to win the Atlantic ballooned from +280 to +850 following last night’s regulation loss.

Only nine per cent of the handle is on the Lightning to win the Atlantic, which is currently +160 at FanDuel.

Sure, nobody is rushing to bet on Toronto to win the Stanley Cup at +1400 at FanDuel this morning.

In fact, FanDuel has the Maple Leafs at -113 to win 1+ playoff series this spring.

That number implies that they are basically a coin toss to get past the first round.

If Toronto could figure out how to come out on top in the Atlantic division, secure home-ice advantage, and avoid a date with Florida or Tampa Bay in the first round, their odds to win 1+ playoff series will certainly move.

If the Maple Leafs fall to second or third in the division over the final stretch, the opposite will happen.

I’m cautiously optimistic that Toronto can finish the job.

If I was hedging my bet, it would be with the Lightning until the Panthers get healthy again.

A FanDuel Best Bet To Consider For Thursday Night

While the Maple Leafs delivered a big win for me last night, Matthew Knies was credited with one shot on goal and I needed 2+ to cash the Morning Coffee best bet.

Turning the page this morning, I’ll lock in a couple of best bets for tonight’s loaded NHL slate.

First up, I’ll take the Lightning to beat the Ottawa Senators outright at -134.

Brady Tkachuk isn’t 100 per cent healthy right now, and there’s a good chance he could miss tonight’s game.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has won each of the previous two head-to-head meetings and enters tonight on a four-game win streak with 4+ goals in every one of those wins.

The Lightning have an excellent chance to keep pace with Toronto atop the division standings with games against the Senators, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Rangers before they host the Maple Leafs next Wednesday.

I’ll take Tampa Bay to win tonight at -134 as a best bet.

I’ll also lock in an SGP with Nick Suzuki 1+ point and the Montreal Canadiens to beat the Boston Bruins at -131.

Suzuki has been on fire since the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The Habs are coming off back-to-back upset wins over the Florida Panthers.

I’d be surprised if they don’t stay hot against the slumping Bruins on home ice.

Hopefully, we get the 2-0 sweep tonight.

Have a great day, everyone!