We are now just three days away from the start of the NFL’s super wild-card weekend.

In this morning’s column, I’ll keep the countdown to kickoff going with my first recommended play for the postseason.

First up, it’s interesting to note that it was another great night for anyone who bet on favourites in the NHL, with some familiar faces leading their teams to victory.

That list includes Evgeni Malkin returning to the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins with a three-point night in his season debut.  

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Wednesday Jan. 12, 2022.

Malkin leads Pens to win in return

NHL favourites went 6-1 outright on Tuesday night.

Malkin scored twice and added an assist in his return as the Penguins (-180) beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1.

Malkin, who was coming back from off-season knee surgery, looked like he was in mid-season form, helping Pittsburgh improve to 11-1 straight up in its past 12 games.

As of this morning, the Penguins are +1500 to win the Stanley Cup – only six teams have shorter odds.

Meanwhile, Nikita Kucherov recorded a hat trick as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-1 as a -330 favourite.

Kucherov has three goals and two assists in three games since he returned to Tampa Bay’s lineup.

Steven Stamkos recorded a goal and two assists. Alex Killorn finished with three assists.

Tampa Bay is now +800 to win the Stanley Cup for the third season in a row.

The Colorado Avalanche (+550) and Vegas Golden Knights (+750) are the only teams with shorter odds.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs are right behind that group at +1000 to win the Stanley Cup.

William Nylander opened the scoring just 1:24 into the first period and then capped it with the shootout winner as the Maple Leafs (-145) beat the Golden Knights 4-3.

Nylander was +150 to score a goal.

Auston Matthews extended his road goal-scoring streak to eight games in a row. Matthews was +120 to score.

Toronto improved to 5-0-1 over its past six games dating back to Dec. 11.

NFL super wild-card weekend preps

We have already seen some significant line movement ahead of the start of the NFL playoffs.

As of this morning, you could still find the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at -8 versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

On paper, this is the second-biggest mismatch of the wild-card round. I think the number for this game has a lot to do with the perception of both teams after the way they finished the regular season, which doesn’t necessarily correlate with how these teams project from an actual matchup perspective.

The Eagles beat up on a lot of bad teams in the second half, but they went 0-7 straight up against teams with winning records, covering the spread in just one of those seven games.

After the way the regular season finished, the Buccaneers will need to use every rep to get their offence in sync as they attempt to build some momentum, so I could see Tom Brady and company keeping their foot on the gas in this one.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys are a three-point favourite for their matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

The Cowboys had the second-best cover margin in the NFL this season and went 6-3 ATS against teams with winning records.

At the same time, no team finished the season hotter from a cover perspective than San Francisco, which closed on a 7-2 SU and ATS run.

They are 7-0 straight up this season when Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t throw an interception.

I think the 49ers are a live dog in this one.

In terms of an official recommendation, I’ll pair San Francisco with Tampa Bay in a two-team, 6.5-point teaser, which gives me the Buccaneers -1.5 with the 49ers +9.5 at -130.

Make sure you give TSN EDGE a follow on Twitter and check back in here throughout the week for more insight, analysis and recommendations from the team.

Suns end Raptors’ win streak

Chris Paul finished with 15 points and 12 assists as the Phoenix Suns ended the Toronto Raptors’ six-game win streak.

If you bet the Raptors +4.5, you covered. If you bet them at +4, you pushed.

Meanwhile, the total stayed under 222 by a significant margin.

After a 10-0 run to the over, Toronto’s last two games have both stayed under the total.

Giving the Raptors the hook at +4.5, NBA underdogs went 5-1 against the spread on Tuesday night.

Texas Tech ends No. 1 Baylor’s streak

There are no undefeated teams remaining in men’s NCAA Division-1 college basketball.

No. 19 Texas Tech stunned No. 1 Baylor 65-62 as a +570 money line underdog.

The Red Raiders ended the Bears’ 21-game winning streak with the upset.

Meanwhile, Stanford took down No. 5 USC as a +230 underdog.

The Cardinal had previously lost 14 straight versus AP top-five teams.

With all the upsets that we’ve seen early on this season, the anticipation is building for what should be a March Madness tournament that absolutely lives up to the name.