There is a reason our TSN Hockey analyst Mike Johnson has earned the nickname Mystic Mike.

Despite what James Duthie will tell you, it isn’t because he knew exactly how many eggs each of his kids would find during their annual Easter egg hunt.

Back on March 12, Mike told BarDown’s Julia Tocheri that he thought the Colorado Avalanche were due for a “potentially huge second-half run.”

Since that prediction, the Avalanche are 12-0-2 and have outscored their opponents a combined 60-23.

That’s impressive.

So, when Mike told James that he liked the New York Islanders as a value play to win the Stanley Cup at +2500 odds during a pre-game broadcast on Sunday, it caught my attention. 

The Islanders extended their win streak to three in a row with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.

Semyon Varlamov stopped all 29 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season.

It was also the first time that Washington has been shut out this season.

With the win, the Islanders moved into a tie with the Capitals for first place in the East Division.

Do they have enough pieces in place to win their division and contend for the Stanley Cup?

At the very least, the Islanders are forcing oddsmakers to adjust their Stanley Cup odds.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday April 7, 2021.

Islanders look like legitimate Cup contenders

As of this morning, the Islanders are now a co-favourite to win their division along with the Capitals at +175 odds.

The Pittsburgh Penguins (+350) and Boston Bruins (+425) round out the top contenders for first place in the division.

 

Just three days ago, Mike identified the Islanders as a value play to win the Stanley Cup at +2500.

That price has since been cut almost in half. As of this morning, New York is +1400 to win it all – only five teams have shorter odds.

For now, it doesn’t seem like enough people are talking about the Islanders as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Except, of course, for Mystic Mike. And it seems the oddsmakers have noticed.

 

Suns rising in the West

On the topic of teams that nobody seems to be talking about, how about the Phoenix Suns?

 

 

Phoenix is on the verge of snapping one of the longest playoff droughts (10 seasons) in NBA history.

At 35-14, the Suns have already exceeded their season win total.

Phoenix opened the year as a 50-to-1 long shot to win the NBA title – right now they are 28-to-1.

In mid-February, the Suns were +1200 to win the Pacific Division behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.

As of this morning, Phoenix is -105 to win its division – 2.5 games up on the Clippers and four games up on the Lakers for the best record in that group.

Can the Suns finish strong and snap their playoff drought as a division champion?

Right now, Phoenix has the fourth-toughest remaining schedule in terms of opponent win percentage.

Still, the Suns already have wins over the Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

Taking care of business down the stretch against those opponents, as well as the Clippers, will be the key to winning their division.

The next two nights will be critical. Phoenix draws the Utah Jazz tonight and then the Clippers on Thursday night.

How they fare in that back-to-back could have a major impact on where they finish in their division and in the conference.

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Suns have a 59 per cent chance to make the conference semifinals but just a nine per cent chance to make the NBA Finals.

Their odds to win it all if they get there are just three per cent, according to ESPN’s BPI.

Phoenix has recorded one of the most impressive turnarounds in the association this season.

Celebrating a return to the playoffs with a division title in the same group as the Clippers and the Lakers would be a remarkable accomplishment for the Suns.

Raptors fall to Lakers

The Lakers (-115 ML) took care of business with a 110-101 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. 

It marked the first time in five meetings that the Raptors didn’t cover against the Lakers at home.

The Raptors are now 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a straight up win.

They also haven’t been able to string together more than two wins in a row since mid-February.

Toronto’s loss, combined with a win for the Chicago Bulls over the Indiana Pacers, leaves the Raptors two games back of Chicago for 10th in the Eastern Conference with 21 games to go.

The Raptors will host the Bulls this Thursday night.

Final countdown to the Masters

It’s the final countdown to the 2021 Masters, which begin bright and early Thursday morning on TSN.

As far as I’m concerned, the biggest question is whether anybody can keep up with Dustin Johnson.

D.J., who enters this year’s tournament on the longest streak of consecutive rounds under par in the history of the event, set a Masters scoring record when he finished 20-under in last year’s tournament.

He won that event by five strokes – the largest margin of victory by a Masters champion since 1997.

The average margin of victory has been much smaller in recent years.

In the last 10 Masters, there have been three playoff wins, two one-shot wins, a two-shot win and two three-shot wins.

If I had to choose whether I thought we would see another close finish at this year’s tournament, my answer has to be yes, just based on those recent trends.

D.J. is still the obvious betting favourite at +900. As far as I’m concerned, it’s his tournament to lose.

However, I don’t think we will see another dominant performance relative to the rest of the field the way we did in last year’s tournament.

Make sure you check back in with TSN Edge throughout the day and throughout the tournament for all our Masters coverage.