Neither the Edmonton Oilers nor Winnipeg Jets have gotten much respect from oddsmakers this season.

That won’t change before they drop the puck on their first-round series tonight.

The Oilers and Jets are currently listed at +2000 and +3500 odds to win the Stanley Cup, respectively.

For perspective, there isn’t a single other first-round series in which both teams are listed at +2000 or longer to win the Cup.

Can either Edmonton or Winnipeg surprise with a deep playoff run? First, they’ll go head-to-head in the opening round.

As of this morning, the Oilers are a -175 favourite to win their series – the Jets are a +140 underdog.

What is the most likely series outcome according to oddsmakers? Edmonton in five (+415).

Here is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday May 19, 2021.

Oilers, Jets ready for Game 1

At least on paper, this appears to be an ideal matchup for the Oilers.

Edmonton went 7-2-0 against Winnipeg in the regular season.

Connor McDavid, who led the NHL with 105 points in 56 games, collected 22 points in just nine games against the Jets. 

On the flip side, Connor Hellebuyck posted an .877 save percentage in seven starts against the Oilers.

These teams also closed out the regular season on much different trajectories.

Edmonton went 13-5-1 in April and May. Meanwhile, Winnipeg won three of its final four but still went 3-9-0 from April 17 on.

The Oilers are a -160 favourite to win Game 1. McDavid is -125 to record two points or more in the series opener.

Lightning take 2-0 series lead

The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning (-110) beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves.

For as good as the Panthers have looked all season, the Lightning are a different team at full strength with Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos both in the lineup.

Teams that take a 2-0 lead are 330-51 all-time in the best-of-seven series format.

At +600 odds, Tampa Bay is the top choice to win the Stanley Cup among Eastern Conference teams.

Only the Colorado Avalanche (+350) have shorter odds.

Golden Knights, Penguins respond

Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves and Alex Tuch scored twice as the Vegas Golden Knights (-170) beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 in Game 2 on Tuesday night to even their first-round series at 1-1.

Fleury has stopped 63 of the first 65 shots he’s faced in the series.

While it’s only two games, Fleury’s odds to win the Conn Smythe Trophy have shortened from +1500 to +1100. He’s now the second choice on the board behind only Nathan MacKinnon (+550).

The Pittsburgh Penguins (-140) also responded with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders in Game 2 to tie their series at 1-1.

Celtics, Pacers cruise in NBA play-in games

I understand the reasons why the NBA wanted to experiment with the play-in tournament format.

In theory, there are some really intriguing elements to it.

Unfortunately for the league, the Charlotte Hornets didn’t show up in a 144-117 loss to the Indiana Pacers (-1.5) in the first play-in game on Tuesday night.

The second game wasn’t much better, as the Boston Celtics (-2) rolled to a 118-100 win over the Washington Wizards.

Hopefully we get a much more competitive pair of Western Conference games, including the highly anticipated showdown between LeBron James and Steph Curry as the Los Angeles Lakers battle the Golden State Warriors.

The line for that game opened at Lakers -6.5 before falling to -4.5. As of this morning, Los Angeles is a five-point favourite.

The Memphis Grizzlies are currently a four-point favourite against the San Antonio Spurs in the other Western Conference play-in.

Ionescu records first WNBA triple-double

Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 26 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as the New York Liberty (+155) upset the Minnesota Lynx 86-75 on Tuesday night.

It was the first triple-double of her WNBA career.

It’s also the first time in 14 years that New York has opened the season with three straight wins.

Turnbull Throws No-Hitter

Spencer Turnbull threw the fifth no-hitter of the MLB season as the Detroit Tigers (-105) beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Tuesday night.

Entering last night’s game, he had never pitched more than seven innings in any one start in his career.

It’s just the second time in MLB history that there has been five no-hitters in a season before June 5.

The Mariners are just the sixth team in MLB history to be no-hit twice in a calendar month.