Prior to Thursday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers had failed to cover the spread in each of their previous six games as an underdog dating back to 2022.
It turns out what they needed was their star quarterback and nearly all their offensive skill position players to be sidelined with injuries to end that drought.
The 49ers upset the rival Los Angeles Rams 26-23 in OT as a +300 moneyline underdog for the NFL Week 5 opener.
The victory also snapped a string of three consecutive head-to-head losses in the series, marking the first time LA has failed to win and cover as a favourite this season.
San Francisco improved to 3-0 against division opponents with wins over the Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Arizona Cardinals to improve to 4-1 and take sole possession of pole position in the NFC West standings.
Despite all their injuries, the 49ers are even money to win their division thanks in large part to the early edge head-to-head against all three division opponents.
Meanwhile, the Rams are +240 to win the NFC West – one of two divisions (NFC North) in which all four teams have a .500 or better record this morning.
Unfortunately for yours truly, and anybody who tailed me, I opted to replace Demarcus Robinson over 2.5 receptions with a builder Same Game Parlay that featured Robinson 20+ receiving yards and LA to win.
A Rams win away from back-to-back sweeps for the best bets⁉️
Robinson over 29.5 receiving 💰
SGP: Robinson 20+ | Rams ML 🗑️
Tonges over 27.5 receiving 💰
A disappointing finish but we’ll take a 10-1 run into NFL Sunday Week 5!! ☕️🫡
— Domenic Padula (@Domenic_Padula) October 3, 2025
San Francisco’s upset victory stopped my NFL win streak at 10 in a row dating back to Sunday Night Football.
Nonetheless, we’re moving on to NFL Sunday Week 5.
If you’re looking for my early plays for this weekend, I’ve included them in bold text at the bottom of the column.
Meanwhile, we’ve officially reached one of the busiest points on the sports calendar, as the Toronto Blue Jays get set to begin their postseason in Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees this afternoon.
Who would have thought that FanDuel NHL Futures Day would fall on the same day as Toronto’s series opener?
Anyways, the Blue Jays are a favourite for Game 1 at home tonight, but an underdog in the series.
Toronto is -124 to win the opener but +132 to advance to the ALCS.
Believe it or not, the Yankees are now a co-favourite to win the World Series at FanDuel at +410, along with my pick to win it all in the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers cruised to a series sweep against the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card, but they’ll face a much tougher test against the Philadelphia Phillies with an NLCS berth on the line.
Nobody wants to read about me fading the Blue Jays in this column, but as promised you can find my early NFL Sunday Week 5 picks at the bottom of this page.
In the meantime, let’s celebrate FanDuel NHL Futures Day with a short breakdown of some of my favourite plays for the 2025-26 NHL season in this Morning Coffee for Friday October 3rd, 2025.
A Brief Guide To FanDuel NHL Futures Day
NHL Futures Day is live on the FanDuel app right now.
The TSN Betting team will be rolling out a ton of season preview content across all platforms throughout the day, including the NHL Futures Day Special streaming now on TSN’s YouTube channel.
Tekeyah Singh is joined by Meghan Chayka, Frankie Corrado, Martin Biron, Aaron Korolnek, and Carlo Colaiacovo to discuss their favourite NHL futures for the 2025-26 season in a can’t miss special.
Meanwhile, Matt Cauz will be giving out his favourite plays on GamePlay on TSN1050 Toronto radio and streaming live on TSN.ca at 2 PM ET, followed by the a special segment from the guys at OverDrive at 4 PM ET.
Here is a breakdown at some of my favourite futures for the 2025-26 NHL season.
Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup +500
The Florida Panthers were very good to me throughout back-to-back Stanley Cup runs these last two seasons.
If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you know that I jumped on the Panthers to three-peat as my early pick to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.
At full strength, Florida is hands down the most complete team in the NHL and an obvious favourite to get back to the Stanley Cup Final in a conference that does not have a ready successor in place.
In fact, the Panthers are still considered the most likely team to reach the Stanley Cup Final at +390 at FanDuel.
Captain Aleksander Barkov could be lost for the year, and Matthew Tkachuk won’t play until 2026, yet Florida is considered more likely to reach the Stanley Cup Final than the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Colorado Avalanche.
Notice what I did there?
The Carolina Hurricanes are the top choice to succeed the Panthers as the Eastern Conference champion.
Yes, the same Hurricanes that have a combined 1-16 record in their previous four trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Everybody is expecting the Toronto Maple Leafs to take a step back after they lost Mitch Marner, but I think they have a better chance to challenge the Panthers without him and his massive contract on their roster.
If I had to pick one team to challenge Florida, it would be the rival Tampa Bay Lightning, which were the team to beat in the Eastern Conference before the Cats emerged.
We’ve got a long way to go before the start of the NHL Playoffs next April, and there’s always the potential for injuries and trades to shake up the overall outlook.
Panthers GM Bill Zito has done a tremendous job of retooling his roster year after year and ensuring the Cats are in the best possible position to contend each spring.
I’m still banking on Florida to contend again in 2025-26, but I’ll hedge my bet and take the Colorado Avalanche as my Stanley Cup pick for FanDuel Futures Day.
The Avalanche are on a short list of teams that have what it takes to contend in the loaded Western Conference.
They were moments away from eliminating the Dallas Stars in a pivotal Game 7 last year, and I still believe they would have provided the Edmonton Oilers with a bigger challenge had they advanced.
Colorado still needs a second-line centre that can complement Nathan MacKinnon, and while they might not land Sidney Crosby, I can see GM Chris MacFarland finding an upgrade that pushes Brock Nelson to the third line at some point this season.
I’ll roll the dice and roll with the Avalanche as my NHL Futures Day Stanley Cup pick at +500.
Lightning to win the Atlantic Division +200
While I still believe the Panthers can contend for the Stanley Cup, their odds to win the Atlantic Division took a major hit with the loss of Barkov.
I’m not sure the Lightning can beat Florida in a playoff series with Tkachuk – and perhaps even Barkov – back in the lineup for the Cats.
However, Tampa Bay is a motivated squad with a golden opportunity to clinch home-ice advantage for any series against its division rivals by finishing first in the Atlantic.
Give me the Lightning to win the Atlantic at +200 as a another FanDuel Best Bet for NHL Futures Day.
If you’re looking for a longshot division parlay, what about Tampa Bay and Carolina to win their respective divisions at +534?
That seems like pretty good value for the favourites.
Jesper Bratt to score 30+ regular season goals +390
Sticking with longshots, New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt might turn out to be one of the best sleeper picks in fantasy hockey leagues.
Bratt is two years removed from his lone season with 30+ goals, but he’s averaged 26.5 goals over the last four seasons and could be primed for his best performance.
The 27-year-old will open the season on New Jersey’s top line next to Jack Hughes, another player that has the potential to exceed all expectations if he stays healthy.
Last season’s lessons. This season’s fuel.
Entering his ninth @NHL season, Jesper Bratt is determined to elevate both his and his team’s game. https://t.co/irHIBZWGqJ
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 2, 2025
With a prime spot on the top line and top power play and guaranteed plenty of ice time as a top penalty kill specialist as well, Bratt could flirt with 30 goals.
Nearly 4-to-1 odds seems like excellent value for a player that has done it before and is now entering the prime of his NHL career.
Will Smith to record 60+ regular season points +165
Speaking of sleeper picks, despite their strong finish to last season, it seems as though San Jose Sharks forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are still flying under the radar in fantasy hockey leagues.
Celebrini is being drafted much earlier than his projected linemate, but Smith deserves attention as a potential value play worth grabbing in later rounds.
The fourth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft started slowly last season but finished with 30 points in his final 34 games.
He’s slated to open the season on San Jose’s top line with Celebrini and veteran Jeff Skinner, while also seeing plenty of time on the team’s top power play unit.
Smith has the potential to take a major step forward as a 20-year-old in his second NHL season.
Even if he doesn’t take a significant leap, Smith could clear 60 regular season points if he maintains the pace that he displayed over the final 30 games last season.
Jake Guentzel to win the Rocket Richard Trophy +6500
Leon Draisaitl and Auston Matthews are the obvious top choices to win the Rocket Richard Trophy, but I like the potential value playing Guentzel at such long odds.
The veteran winger scored 41 goals in 80 games in his first full season with the Lightning in 2024-25.
Locked in on Tampa Bay’s top line and top power play with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, Guentzel has the potential to flirt with another 40-goal season.
Only six players registered more goals than Guentzel last season.
At nearly 100-to-1 odds on FanDuel NHL Futures Day, I’ll throw some coffee money on Guentzel as a longshot pick to win the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Is there an NHL futures bet I’ve missed that I need to know about?
Hit me up @Domenic_Padula on X and let me know.
Now, as promised, here is a look at my early best bets that I’ve locked in for NFL Sunday Week 5.
Early NFL Sunday Week 5 Best Bets
Chargers -2.5 vs Commanders
Quinshon Judkins over 71.5 rushing yards
David Montgomery over 49.5 rushing yards
George Pickens over 68.5 receiving yards
Have a great day, everyone!