The 2022 World Junior Championship was officially cancelled on Wednesday.

The IIHF, following the recommendation of the tournament COVID-19 medical group and the IIHF medical committee, made the decision to ensure the health and safety of the participants.

While positive tests among the players led to games officially being forfeited, the IIHF also considered positive tests among on-ice officials as part of its decision.

For the players and coaches, hopefully the IIHF can reschedule the event at a later date when it is safer for all of those involved to play the games.

For all the hard-working people who sacrificed to make sure that the WJC would have a chance to go forward as planned, thank you for all that you did to make it happen.   

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Thursday Dec. 30, 2021.

Miller keeps Canucks perfect under Boudreau

J.T. Miller scored the overtime winner just 26 seconds into the extra frame as the Vancouver Canucks (-115) beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in their return to the ice on Wednesday night.

Vancouver improved to 7-0-0 under head coach Bruce Boudreau. The Canucks have allowed two goals or fewer in five of those seven wins.

The final score has gone under the total in four of those games, including last night’s win.

Despite their recent surge, Vancouver is still considered a long shot to get into the postseason.

As of this morning, the Canucks are +470 to make the playoffs and -750 to miss the playoffs. That +470 translates to a 17.5 per cent implied probability that it happens.

NHL favourites went 5-1 on Wednesday night to improve to 8-1 since the NHL returned on Tuesday.

Last night’s lone upset went to the Philadelphia Flyers, which beat the Seattle Kraken 3-2 in overtime as a +120 underdog.

With seven games on the schedule for tonight, it will be interesting to see if that trend continues.

LeBron shines in another Lakers’ loss

LeBron James went for 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists but the Los Angeles Lakers ultimately fell short in a 104-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

LeBron, who celebrates his 37th birthday today, couldn’t help the Lakers avoid losing for the sixth time in their past seven games.

Ja Morant was the hero for Memphis, scoring 25 of his game-high 41 points in the second half.

Los Angeles led by as many as 14 points in the second half but couldn’t hold off the Grizzlies in the loss.

The second choice to win the title at the start of the season at +400, the Lakers are now the fifth choice to win it all at +1200.

NBA favourites went 5-3 straight up and 4-4 against the spread, including L.A. covering as a six-point road underdog.

Watch the weather ahead of NFL Week 17

With no Thursday Night Football, we’ll have to wait a couple more days before Week 17 in the NFL plays out on Sunday.

While the absence of TNF might have you staring down Sunday’s slate looking for a little action, it’s important to keep in mind the potential for weather and COVID-related issues to impact the outlook for games that will be played three days from now.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills are both double-digit favourites for this week’s games against the New York Jets and the Atlanta Falcons, respectively.

However, heavy winds, rain and snow could be a major factor in whether those teams can cover.

Meanwhile, weather could also have a major impact on scoring totals.

Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears already features the lowest total on the board at 37.5, but that number could come down even further with some awful conditions expected in Chicago.

Another total to keep an eye on is this week’s game between the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans, which is currently down to 40.5.

Bad weather could bring that number down even further this weekend, so if you’re already leaning towards taking the under, you might want to lock it in now before it drops any further.