Morning Coffee: Golden Knights celebrate first Stanley Cup win

After six long years, the drought is finally over! The Vegas Golden Knights are Stanley Cup champions.

The Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night to clinch the first championship in franchise history.

Vegas became the fastest team in the NHL, NFL, NBA, or MLB to win a title since the Arizona Diamondbacks did it in their fourth season in 2001.

It’s the second professional sports title in as many years for the city of Las Vegas after the Aces won the WNBA title last season.

Congratulations to the fans who had to wait six long years to celebrate their first Stanley Cup win in Las Vegas.

Also, a major shout out to our very own “Big E” Eric Cohen for the Stanley Cup Final double he gave out before the series, with the Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup and Jonathan Marchessault to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

While I was a little late to the party, we cashed in with Vegas to win Game 5 last night as the FanDuel Best Bets in Tuesday’s column went 2-0.

We’re looking to stay hot this morning with another winner for Wednesday’s MLB slate.

This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

Golden Knights celebrate first Stanley Cup win

Three was the magic number for the Golden Knights throughout their Stanley Cup run.

Vegas became the first team in Stanley Cup Playoff history to go 16-0 when scoring at least three goals.

It’s the first time that a team went undefeated in the postseason when scoring three or more goals since the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks went 13-0.

The Golden Knights improved to 36-0 when scoring three or more goals in playoff games dating back to 2020.

Vegas is the third team in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup after eliminating five 100-point players from the regular season.

The Golden Knights got past Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Robertson, and Matthew Tkachuk on their way to a championship.

The Golden Knights opened 10-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel last summer. You could find them at 12-to-1 to win it all at the start of the playoffs.

Vegas was -140 to win it all at the start of the Stanley Cup Final.

Marchessault was +650 to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at the start of the series.

Marchessault scored four goals and recorded eight points in the Stanley Cup Final.

Meanwhile, for the second night in a row, a champion was crowned at the expense of a team from South Florida.

As per the Elias Sports Bureau, this year marked the 10th time ever that an NBA and NHL team from the same metro area made the finals in the same year, with the Panthers and Miami Heat both making improbable runs.

Neither team was able to secure a championship. Looking ahead to next season, Vegas opened as the eighth choice to win the Stanley Cup at +1300, while Florida opened as the 11th choice at +2000 at FanDuel.

The 2022 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche are the favourite to win it all in 2024 at +800 odds.

The Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs are both right behind Colorado at +1100 odds.

The Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, and the Tampa Bay Lightning round out the top five choices to win the Stanley Cup at +1300.

The team with the longest odds to win the Stanley Cup in 2024 at FanDuel? That distinction belongs to the Anaheim Ducks at 150-to-1 odds.

A FanDuel Best Bet for Wednesday’s MLB slate

We went 2-0 with the FanDuel Best Bets in Tuesday’s Morning Coffee column, cashing with the Golden Knights money line in Game 5 and the NRFI in last night’s game between the Miami Marlins and Seattle Mariners.

For tonight, I’m targeting a couple of hot hitters with a hit parlay at FanDuel.

First up, I’m locking in Luis Arraez of the Marlins to get a hit tonight in Seattle. Arraez is 0-for-9 so far in the series.

However, Arraez has been one of the best hitters in baseball this season, and he hasn’t gone three straight games without a hit since the first week of the regular season. I’m counting on him bouncing back today against a pitcher he has had success against early in his career.

All I need is one hit from him tonight to cash the first leg of my parlay bet.

The second leg is Mookie Betts to record a hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago White Sox.

Betts has recorded a hit in seven straight games.

He’s 7-of-17 all-time versus tonight’s starter Mike Clevinger.

You can bet this two-leg parlay with Arraez and Betts to record a hit at -121 odds at FanDuel this morning.

I’m locking in that hit parlay as my FanDuel Best Bet for tonight’s MLB slate.