Morning Coffee: Rantanen ready to suit up against Jets, Avalanche this weekend
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The Atlantic Division is hockey’s heavyweight champion.
It’s the Florida Panthers that still pack its hardest punch.
Last night, Sam Bennett was the hero for Florida with a pair of goals in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the victory, the Panthers improved to 2-0 versus Toronto and 7-1-0 in their previous eight games overall.
The fact that Florida has outscored its opponents by a combined 25-10 score over that span is remarkable.
The fact that the Panthers have looked so dominant without injured star Matthew Tkachuk makes their current hot streak that much more impressive.
Nobody should be surprised that Florida has re-emerged as the Stanley Cup favourite at FanDuel.
Meanwhile, Matthew’s brother Brady Tkachuk has put the Ottawa Senators on his back and carried them into a playoff position with eight points over a seven-game point streak since the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Senators have won five straight and are 6-0-1 since Tkachuk returned to the lineup on March 1st.
FanDuel has Ottawa to make the playoffs priced at -1800.
Those odds represent a 95 per cent implied probability.
The Senators, Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning are among the top seven teams in the Eastern Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins are still within two points of the final Wild Card spot this morning.
The competitiveness of the Atlantic Division has set the stage for a fascinating playoff race in the coming weeks.
In the Western Conference, there are four teams separated by two points in the race for the final Wild Card spot.
The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are tied for the eighth and final spot with 71 points, with Calgary holding a game in hand.
The Utah Hockey Club and St. Louis Blues are right behind them with 69 points heading into the final stretch.
Three of those four teams will be in action tonight.
While the Wild Card races will dominate the spotlight over the final few weeks of the regular season, the return of a familiar face in the Pacific Division has set the stage for a pair of must-watch NHL games this weekend.
This is the Morning Coffee for Friday March 14th, 2025.
Rantanen Ready To Suit Up Against Jets, Avalanche This Weekend
“I never thought in a million years that he would leave.”
Colorado Avalanche captain Nathan MacKinnon was stunned when he found out teammate Mikko Rantanen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in January.
At the time, there’s no way MacKinnon could have known that he would welcome Rantanen back to Colorado in a visitors uniform less than two months later.
The subsequent trade that sent Rantanen from Carolina to the Dallas Stars exactly one week ago set the stage for 28-year-old to return to the Mile High City this weekend.
It also resulted in the FanDuel traders installing the Stars as the favourite to win the Western Conference.
Dallas is +240 to reach the Stanley Cup Final and +600 as the second choice to win it all behind only the Panthers.
To live up to those expectations, the Stars will first need to get through the Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets.
We’ll get a sneak peek at both of those match-ups this weekend.
First up, the Jets host Dallas in a showdown between the top two teams in the Pacific Division tonight on TSN.
Less than 48 hours later, Rantanen will make his highly anticipated return to Colorado when the Stars visit the Avalanche on Sunday afternoon.
As somebody who has been very successful betting on Colorado in recent years, I’m fascinated to see the dynamics when Rantanen returns.
First up, we’ll get a look at how Dallas will match up with Winnipeg in another very intriguing clash of styles.
The Jets have registered an NHL-best 45 wins this season.
Still, Winnipeg is just the fifth choice to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final behind the Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Avalanche, as well as the Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite their regular season success, the market can’t overlook the fact that the Jets are coming off back-to-back first-round playoff exits to Vegas and Colorado.
It also doesn’t help that the Stars and Avalanche both made some key acquisitions at the trade deadline, even if Colorado lost Rantanen as part of that equation.
Winnipeg is a -132 favourite to beat Dallas tonight.
I’ll be watching tonight to see how the Jets match up against the Stars after they split their first two meetings.
I can also promise you I’ll be watching Sunday afternoon when Rantanen makes his return to Colorado.
A FanDuel Best Bet For Friday Night’s NHL Action
I’m expecting a ton of intensity when the Stars and Jets meet tonight in Winnipeg.
I’m also expecting Rantanen to have an impact.
I’ll lock in a Same Game Parlay with Rantanen 1+ point and 2+ shots on goal at -108 as a FanDuel Best Bet.
I also like the key player that the Avalanche received from Carolina in exchange for Rantanen to show up for Colorado against the Flames tonight.
I’ll lock in a builder Same Game Parlay with Necas 1+ point, Necas 2+ shots on goal, and Nathan MacKinnon 1+ point at +104 odds.
I also bet the over 5.5 total goals in that game.
Finally, I’ll lock in a traditional three-leg parlay with Seth Jarvis 2+ shots on goal, the Houston Rockets to beat the Dallas Mavericks outright, and the Minnesota Timberwolves to beat the Orlando Magic at -110 odds.
Have a great weekend, everyone!