Don’t sleep on Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild!
Another assist by the Norris Trophy defenceman in a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche last night led to a key four-point swing in the NHL’s Central Division race.
Hughes has recorded 19 points over an 11-game streak, becoming the third player over the last five years to record a point streak of 11 or more games in their first season with a franchise.
He’s still a 17-to-1 longshot to win the Norris Trophy at FanDuel behind Zach Werenski (-120) of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cale Makar (+100) of the Avalanche.
24-year-old Matt Boldy is the first player in franchise history with four or more points in consecutive games.
Matt Boldy’s last 2 games for the @mnwild (on either side of the Olympic break):
5 goals
8 points
16 shots on goal
1 PPG
1 SHG
The last NHL player to reach all of those marks over a 2-game span was Mario Lemieux from March 23-26, 1996. pic.twitter.com/nUVER3jS69
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) February 27, 2026
Joel Eriksson Ek recorded his 14th multi-goal game for the Wild.
Kirill Kaprizov registered two assists to give him 20 points over his last 11 games – second-most in the NHL behind the scorching-hot Nikita Kucherov.
Minnesota has won six straight and has gone 9-1-1 over its last 11 to close the gap to five points back of Colorado for first place in the Central with two more games played.
Don’t sleep on Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild‼️ 🐺🌲
• 6 straight wins
• 9-1-1 last 11
• 19-2 over run last 21
Another Morning Coffee best bet winner and the Wild to win the Central from 40-1 to 25-1 after the 4-point swing. 📈https://t.co/iYfCvMaFTr pic.twitter.com/WtAwxw4zc7
— Domenic Padula (@Domenic_Padula) February 27, 2026
The Wild to win their division was cut from +4000 to +2500 after last night’s win.
Next up, Minnesota will visit the Utah Mammoth tonight.
After that, the Wild return home to face the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning, then head back on the road to play the Vegas Golden Knights and then a rematch with Colorado next weekend.
The Avalanche get the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Saturday night, then play their next three in a row on the road before the rematch with Minnesota.
Can the Wild ultimately close the gap on Colorado?
It’s still a long shot at +2500, but a regulation win in their final head-to-head meeting on March 8th would reduce Minnesota’s deficit to three points with the Avalanche holding two games in hand.
Meanwhile, the Wild to win the Western Conference was cut from +950 to +800 at FanDuel.
Minnesota to win the Stanley Cup from +1900 to +1800.
The Wild are +116 to extend their win streak to seven in a row tonight in Utah with the over 6.5 sitting at +102.
While I’ll be cheering on Minnesota again tonight, I have my eye on another Western Conference match-up.
The Winnipeg Jets are nine points out of a playoff spot with 25 games remaining on their schedule.
Tonight, they’ll try to slow down an offence that has been on fire since before the Olympic break.
Let’s dive into the numbers and try to find another winner for tonight’s Jets game in this Morning Coffee for Friday February 27th, 2026.
Can Winnipeg slow down the Ducks’ offence?
The Anaheim Ducks were one of the NHL’s coldest teams in late December, early January.
After flying to the top of the Pacific with a 19-10-1 start, the Ducks won only two of their next 15 games, including a brutal nine-game winless streak that spanned from December 22nd through January 10th.
On December 10th, Anaheim was two points clear of Vegas for first place in the Pacific and eight points clear of the ninth-place San Jose Sharks for a playoff spot.
By January 14th, the Ducks were two points out of a playoff spot in 11th place in the Western Conference.
Fortunately for anybody with their futures in play, Anaheim has bounced back with a 10-2-0 run that has them sitting in third in the Pacific this morning – one point back of the Edmonton Oilers with three games in hand.
The Ducks extended their win streak to three in a row by rallying from down 4-2 to beat the Oilers 6-5 in their first game back from the break on Wednesday night.
Tonight, they’ll continue an extended home stand against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
Anaheim beat Winnipeg 4-1 in their first meeting back in November.
Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke both scored twice, while Cutter Gauthier and Chris Kreider each recorded two assists in the victory.
The Ducks are a -128 favourite tonight at FanDuel.
Connor Hellebuyck achieved one lifelong dream, and is ready to chase another 🥇🏆
Hear from the Olympic Gold medalist on the bonds he built with fellow Olympic athletes, bringing a Stanley Cup to Winnipeg, and much more. pic.twitter.com/HAERrkyOod
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) February 26, 2026
Connor Hellebuyck is expected to return to the crease, but the Jets have struggled in front of him this season.
Winnipeg ranks in the bottom 10 in the NHL in high danger shots allowed, expected goals against per 60 minutes, and unblocked shot attempts percentage.
Hellebuyck allowed three goals or more in each of his final five start before the break, with a 1-3-1 record.
Last year, Hellebuyck was at his best after he returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off, going 7-3-1 with a 1.97 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
Connor Hellebuyck was DOMINANT in the tournament and in the gold medal game specifically as he was named the best goaltender 🇺🇸
He stopped breakaways from Celebrini and McDavid while also making a paddle save on Devon Toews en route to a gold medal 👏#MilanoCortina2026 pic.twitter.com/TC5kLgzPwA
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 22, 2026
It will be interesting to see how he performs tonight on the road against an opponent that has scored four or more goals in six of its last seven games overall.
We could see plenty of scoring chances for both teams.
Meanwhile, one player who has caught my attention in recent weeks is Gauthier, who has scored a goal in three straight and registered exactly three shots on goal in all three games.
In the first meeting between these teams, Gauthier recorded two assists and five shots on goal.
Skating on a line with Kreider and Leo Carlsson, Gauthier could be in store for another strong performance.
Here’s a +275 Same Game Parlay to consider:
Ducks to win
Cutter Gauthier 3+ shots on goal
Beckett Sennecke 2+ shots on goal
Kyle Connor 2+ shots on goal
The Ducks have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams since mid-January, and they have an opportunity to inch closer to a playoff spot by staying hot on their current home stand.
Gauthier has been vital to their success.
Hopefully, he can deliver again tonight when Anaheim hosts a Winnipeg side that could already be turning its attention to next season.
Have a great weekend, everyone!