Nobody gave Venezuela much of a chance to beat the USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Considering how much the sport and that title means to that country, I’m genuinely happy that they managed to find a way to get the job done.
Eugenio Suarez was the hero with the go-ahead double in the ninth inning as Venezuela upset the USA 3-2 as a +215 underdog at FanDuel.
The Americans were held to three hits – tied for their fewest in any WBC game ever.
Venezuela was +850 as the fourth choice to win its first World Baseball Classic title pre-tournament.
https://x.com/TSN_Edge/status/2034102290617876486
From the Canadians making it out of pool play for the first time ever to a surprise run by the Italians, and then Venezuela coming out on top in the championship game, this year’s World Baseball Classic lived up to the hype.
Next up, we’ll turn the page to the 2026 MLB season with Opening Night exactly one week from today.
Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees will match up against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
The rest of the MLB will begin their season on Thursday.
With FanDuel’s MLB Futures Day set for this upcoming Monday, the TSN betting staff has been hard at work making the final preparations for our MLB Season Preview Show, powered by FanDuel.
Make sure you check out the FanDuel app for the latest on MLB Futures Day.
Bryce Harper.
Aaron Judge.
Paul Skenes.
Tarik Skubal.
Gunnar Henderson.
Cal Raleigh.
Bobby Witt.
Kyle Schwarber.
Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Roman Anthony.
Logan Webb.
Still fell short of bringing home the title 😓 pic.twitter.com/jYHhldAMFG
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) March 18, 2026
In the meantime, my focus is on the NHL this morning.
After going 3-0 with the FanDuel Best Bets I gave out for Tuesday’s games, I’m looking for another winner for another loaded slate tonight.
Let’s dive into the numbers in this Morning Coffee for Wednesday March 18th, 2026.
Is Cutter Gauthier Poised To Stay Hot Against The Flyers Tonight?
The New York Islanders cruised to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Toronto fell to 1-7-2 in its previous 10 games on home ice – the worst record by any team on home ice dating back to January 19th.
If you tailed me with the Islanders to win straight up, then you cashed that bet.
If you tailed with the Same Game Parlay that I gave out with the Isles to win and Bo Horvat to register 2+ shots on goal at better odds, then you cashed that bet.
If you tailed me when I gave out Cole Caufield anytime goal during my appearance on Campbell vs. Gallo on TSN690, then you cashed that bet.
Caufield reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career when he scored the overtime winner with 22 seconds left in a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins.
Caufield is the first Habs player to reach the 40-goal mark since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94.
He leads the entire NHL with five OT winners this season.
Perhaps the most remarkable stat I came across this morning is Montreal’s 27-0-3 record this season when their goalie has a save percentage of .900 or better.
The Habs are 10-20-7 this season when their goalie posts a save percentage below .900.
If the Canadiens can get decent goaltending the rest of the way, they could have the potential to surprise in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
Turning the page this morning, I’m focused on one of the most highly anticipated games of the NHL season to date – at least as far as I’m concerned.
When the Anaheim Ducks host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, it will mark the second time this season that emerging star Cutter Gauthier will face the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2022.
Gauthier never played a game for the Flyers.
After informing the organization he didn’t want to play for Philadelphia, Gauthier was traded to Anaheim in 2024 in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick.
“He looked at us at the draft and told us he was built to be a Flyer, wanted to be a Flyer, and maybe a few months later told us that he didn’t wanna be a Flyer.”
Flyers’ GM Daniel Briere discusses the Cutter Gauthier trade.
🎥: @NHLFlyers pic.twitter.com/q0dJAQUrbo
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 9, 2024
When the Ducks and Flyers met in Philly on January 6th, Gauthier scored the opening goal of the game just 4:15 into the first period.
However, former Duck Trevor Zegras responded with a pair of goals before the end of the period, and the Flyers cruised to a 5-2 win.
More importantly, Anaheim looked to establish a physical tone early in that game as a response to getting pushed around in Gauthier’s first trip to Philadelphia last season.
Ross Johnston received a game misconduct for a blindside hit on Drysdale.
Radko Gudas, who is currently serving a five-game suspension, fought Garnet Hathaway as the teams combined for 65 penalty minutes.
What can we expect in the rematch tonight?
After Gauthier scored the deciding goal in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Sunday, Anaheim is tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the best record in the Pacific Division with two games in hand.
The Ducks are also one point up on the Vegas Golden Knights with a game in hand.
Anaheim has an opportunity to clinch first place in its division and avoid a first-round playoff matchup against either Edmonton or Vegas.
With 15 games remaining before the playoffs, I must think that the biggest priority for the Ducks is to earn an important two points on home ice tonight.
Anaheim is 22-10-1 at the Honda Center this season.
The 22-year-old Gauthier has been at his best on home ice with 20 goals and 35 points in 32 games this season.
Gauthier has hit another gear since the start of February, scoring an NHL-best 11 goals in 13 games over that span.
Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pavel Dorofeyev are the only other skaters with at least 10 goals over that span.
More importantly, no other Ducks skater has more than five goals in that same span.
The fact that Gauthier continues to do damage skating on Anaheim’s third line with Ryan Poehling and Jeffery Viel, as well as the second powerplay unit, is a testament to his ability as a rising star in the NHL.
He’s also been used a lot more in the faceoff circle.
Cutter Gauthier has taken 66 faceoffs in the past month at a 60.6% clip. McTavish has taken 68 at 42.6% during that same span.
Faceoffs are not the be all end all by any stretch, but it’s interesting that Quenneville has slowly shifted Gauthier into this role. Future 2C?
— Félix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) March 12, 2026
Now he gets an opportunity to stick it to the Flyers again on home ice while helping the Ducks gain some ground in the Pacific Division title race.
The fact that we can get Gauthier anytime goal at +200 at FanDuel this morning makes this bet even more enticing.
I’ll lock in Gauthier anytime goal +200 as a FanDuel Best Bet for Wednesday night’s NHL slate.
I’ll also sprinkle some coffee money on Gauthier to score the first goal at +1400.
Gauthier’s Ducks versus Drysdale’s Flyers should be a game worth staying up to watch tonight in Anaheim.
Hopefully, we can stay hot after going 3-0 with the NHL best bets for Tuesday night.
Have a great day, everyone!