Let’s have a round of applause for Brandon Sutter.

Not because he led the Vancouver Canucks to a 7-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.

As important as Sutter’s performance was for the Canucks, it could turn out to be even more valuable for The Mighty Ducks, a fantasy team that underachieved in Week 1 and was desperate for a spark to start Week 2.

With the Canucks and Senators the only NHL teams in action on both Monday and Wednesday night, fantasy managers were looking for any edge they could get from their players who were still available on the waiver wire to begin this week.

When I grabbed Sutter on Sunday night, it was with the hope that he could give me some faceoff wins with perhaps even a point or a positive plus-minus.

Sutter did net me eight faceoff wins and a plus-three rating. More importantly, he delivered a hat trick and a shorthanded point.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday Jan. 26, 2021.

Canucks Back In Win Column

All of the talk heading into last night’s game was about the importance of Vancouver getting back in the win column.

The Canucks responded as a -150 favourite with a 7-1 victory over Ottawa.

Sutter delivered his best performance since joining Vancouver.

For all of the talk about the Canucks’ bottom-six forwards to start the season, it was nice to see them contribute in the win.

Meanwhile, Bo Horvat picked up two assists and is now tied with Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner and Anze Kopitar for the NHL lead with 10 points.

Thatcher Demko stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced.

Coming off last year’s playoff run, Canucks’ fans had high expectations for this club heading into the season.

After improving to 3-5-0 with last night’s win, Vancouver needs to maintain a sense of urgency with a chance to climb to .500 with a back-to-back against the Senators on Wednesday and Thursday night.

The Canucks are currently +1100 to win the North Division, the second-longest odds ahead of Ottawa.

Their schedule will get a lot tougher again starting next week, with five straight games against the two division favourites in the Toronto Maple Leafs (+125) and Montreal Canadiens (+210).

Monday night’s win was a good start.

Now Vancouver needs to capitalize with three games in four nights against the Senators and Winnipeg Jets to claw their way back above .500 to close out the week.

I’m not expecting another hat trick from Sutter on Wednesday, but considering how bare the schedule is, I will probably hang on to him for another start.

If you’re looking for potential streaming options this week, you should check out the latest Fantasy Lookahead from our fantasy hockey analyst Stefan Pejic.

Raptors Fall To Pacers

Sutter’s performance was a nice distraction from Kyle Lowry’s struggles in a 129-114 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

The Toronto Raptors (+2) fell to 6-11 against the spread this season.

Lowry, who returned from a toe injury, scored 12 points on just 2-of-11 from the field with two rebounds and one assist.

The timing wasn’t especially great for yours truly, who is locked into a No. 2 vs. No. 3 battle in my fantasy basketball league standings.

Fred VanVleet stepped up with a team-high 25 points with six assists and four boards. Norm Powell had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists.

After pulling off a narrow upset on Sunday night against the Pacers, the Raptors (+110) were outscored 31-17 in the fourth quarter against Indiana.

Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 36 points.

The smart play was the over (216.5) with both teams dealing with tired legs in the second half of a back-to-back.

Meanwhile, it’s worth pointing out that O.G. Anunoby has now scored at least 10 points in a career-high nine consecutive games.

Our fantasy basketball analyst Wesley Cheng highlighted Anunoby’s impressive start in this week’s Fantasy Spotlight.

Super Bowl LV Update

The Kansas City Chiefs opened as a three-point favourite against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Super Bowl LV on Sunday night.

While some books had the Chiefs at -3.5, that number has settled at -3 at most spots.

The total dropped from 57 to 56.5 (-110) and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues this week.

Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes is the betting favourite to win Super Bowl MVP for the second year in a row at -120 odds. Tom Brady is the second choice at +190.

Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce are both +1300 to win Super Bowl MVP, followed by Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette at +2500.