The Colorado Avalanche needed a win on Thursday night to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy in their final game of the regular season.
 
Their opponent – the Los Angeles Kings – had nothing to play for when they took the ice.
 
So when the number for this game was hovering around -380 early Thursday morning, it wasn’t enough to keep bettors away.
 
By the time the puck dropped, Colorado was -500 on the moneyline, making them the biggest favourite in the NHL this season.
 
After falling behind 1-0, the Avalanche responded with five goals in 10 minutes in the second period to break the game wide open en route to a 5-1 win.
 
Colorado, which was a +160 favourite to win the West Division on the opening night of the NHL season, matched the Vegas Golden Knights with a league-best 82 points and clinched the Presidents’ Trophy via tiebreaker.
 
The preseason favourite to win the Stanley Cup will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
 
Here is the Morning Coffee for Friday May 14, 2021.
 
Stanley Cup futures
 
The Avalanche were listed at +700 odds to win the Stanley Cup on the opening night of the NHL season. That number is down to +450.

Meanwhile, the division rival Golden Knights went from the third choice to win it all at +800 to the second choice at +550.
 
Colorado and Vegas seemed destined for a playoff showdown all year.
 
Now we know that only one of the top two choices to win the Stanley Cup will actually reach the final four in the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have the easiest path to the Cup on paper as the third choice to win it all at +650 odds.
 
At -275 to beat the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the biggest favourite on the board when it comes to opening round series.
 
After that, Toronto will get either the Edmonton Oilers or the Winnipeg Jets – neither of which are among the top-10 choices to win it all, according to oddsmakers.

The East Division matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers is considered the most evenly matched first-round series.
 
Tampa Bay is a -145 favourite – Florida is +115 to advance to the second round.
 
Conn Smythe odds
 
With the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche going wire-to-wire as the Stanley Cup betting favourite, it’s no surprise that Nathan MacKinnon is the Conn Smythe favourite.
 
MacKinnon, whose 1.35 points per game was the fourth-best mark in the NHL this season behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Artemi Panarin, opened at +800 to be named playoff MVP.
 
Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews is the second choice to win the Conn Smythe at +1100 odds.

Mark Stone (+1400), Marc-Andre Fleury (+1500) and Mitch Marner (+1700) round out the top five choices to win the award.
 
Mikko Rantanen is +2000 to win the Conn Smythe, making Colorado, Vegas and Toronto the only teams with multiple options among the top-10 favourites.
 
McDavid is +2200 to win the Conn Smythe.
 
Suns grind out win over Blazers
 
NBA favourites went a perfect 9-0 straight up on Thursday night.
 
That number includes a win for the Phoenix Suns (-165), which grinded out a 118-117 win over the Portland Trail Blazers to remain in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

That victory also had major implications for anyone who took the Suns to win the Pacific Division – as they remain two games up on the Los Angeles Clippers with two games remaining.
 
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are now just a half game up on the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth spot in the Western Conference standings.

That means the Lakers can leapfrog Portland for sixth and avoid the play-in tournament with wins over the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans and a Trail Blazers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
 
That would mean the Suns’ reward for finishing with the second-best record in the NBA is a first-round playoff matchup against the Lakers.