Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.
The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are even at two games apiece with the Stanley Cup Final heading back north of the border.
The pregame narrative: The Oilers looked out of Game 4 and potentially the series after going down 3-0 in the first period. Edmonton bounced back and stunned Florida, 5-4, on another Leon Draisaitl overtime winner to regain home-ice advantage.
Check out my Panthers vs. Oilers best bets for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, featuring Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Panthers vs. Oilers best bets
Best Bet: Nugent-Hopkins to score 1+ points (-129)
I keep coming back to this pick when the price is right.
Nugent-Hopkins is tied for seventh in the postseason with 20 points in as many games.
He went pointless in three games to start the SCF but came alive in Game 4, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
Nugent-Hopkins should continue to have great offensive opportunities while playing on the first line alongside Connor McDavid.
Plus, the Oilers have scored three or more goals in all nine home playoff games this year.
The 32-year-old averages just under 20 minutes of ice time and close to four minutes per game on the power play. He’s arguably the third most important Oiler, and he’s always stepped up his game in the postseason.
Key stat: Nugent-Hopkins has 81 points in 94 career playoff games.
Over 6.5 goals (-103): As mentioned before, the Oilers’ offence knows how to score in Edmonton.
They are averaging 4.9 goals per game on home ice in the playoffs.
The first two SCF games in Edmonton had an average of 8.0 total goals.
As good as the Oilers have been at home, the Panthers have been good everywhere.
They scored three-plus goals in each of Games 1-4 (4.5 goals per game). Florida also ranks second in goals per 60 in the playoffs (3.26), per Money Puck.
Everything points to this being another slugfest as the series shifts back to Edmonton.
Panthers vs. Oilers best bets made at 12:14 p.m. ET 06/13/2025.
There are three more games on the CFL schedule for Week 2.
The latest: The action begins on Friday with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Ottawa Redblacks. That will be followed up by a doubleheader on Saturday with the Toronto Argonauts looking for their first win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Check out this CFL Week 2 parlay for the games on June 13-14, featuring a pick on the Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
CFL Week 2 parlay picks
Parlay: Alouettes ML | Stampeders +2.5 | Roughriders ML (+298)
Alouettes ML (-235): Montreal made a statement in Week 1, beating the Argonauts 28-10, led by a strong rushing attack that ran for 6.27 yards per carry.
Davis Alexander was decent at quarterback (19 of 26, 205 yards), but Toronto has a good defence, so that performance should be taken with a grain of salt.
Sean Thomas Erlington rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries (5.1 YPC) and looks primed to be a bell cow for Montreal this season.
Playing primarily as a backup, the 32-year-old has averaged 5.9 YPC on 247 career carries.
Ottawa fought hard against the Roughriders but ended up allowing 31 points in its Week 1 loss. The Redblacks allowed Saskatchewan’s halfbacks to combine for 78 yards on 17 carries (4.59 YPC).
The team did score 26 points, but that was behind a huge performance from Dru Brown (34 of 41, 413 yards, two TDs). Unfortunately, Brown has been ruled out for Week 2, leaving a hole at QB.
Additionally, Montreal went 3-0 vs. Ottawa in 2024.
Stampeders +2.5 (-124): Calgary won its Week 1 matchup as an underdog and looks for a repeat performance over the Argonauts.
Chad Kelly remains out for Toronto, leaving Nick Arbuckle as the starter for Week 2.
Arbuckle struggled last week, throwing for 273 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Argo’s backup QB has thrown 28 TDs and 34 INTs in his CFL career.
When Kelly comes back, I expect Toronto to look like a true contender. But until then, I can’t get behind this Argonauts offence.
On top of that, the Stampeders are 1-0 off the back of some great offseason acquisitions.
Vernon Adams Jr. is an established CFL starter. Plus, they added receivers like former All-CFL wideout Dominique Rhymes and former NFL receiver Tevin Jones.
I like Calgary as a dark-horse contender in 2025. So, I’ll back them to put up another competitive outing against an Argos squad dealing with injuries.
Roughriders ML (-165): The Roughriders handled the Redblacks in Week 1 and will now face the Tiger-Cats, who had the worst scoring defence last season (30.9 PPG).
Trevor Harris is coming off his best season as a CFL QB, and receiver Samuel Emilus looks on track for a third straight 1,000-yard season.
Harris connected with Emilus on all eight of his targets for 133 yards and a TD in Week 1.
Mix in Thomas Bertrand-Hudon and A.J. Ouellette as a two-headed monster in the backfield, and it’s easy to see why the Riders should be one of the best offences in the CFL.
They should keep rolling against the Ti-Cats, who allowed 38 points to Calgary last week.
CFL Week 2 parlay picks made at 9:58 a.m. on 06/13/2025.
The Gold Cup begins this weekend, with three North American teams atop the odds board.
The latest: USA and Mexico are neck-and-neck as the favourites, with Canada not far behind. Les Rouges brought an exceptionally strong squad to this tournament, even in the absence of their captain, Alphonso Davies, who is out with a torn ACL.
Here are the latest CONCACAF Gold Cup odds for the 2025 soccer tournament.
The USA is missing three top players. Captain Christian Pulisic opted to skip this tournament while Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah are unavailable as Juventus plays in the FIFA Club World Cup. Still, the Americans boast a deep squad under new manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Mexico is fresh off winning the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League, beating both Canada and the USA last year. The Tricolour are bringing an experienced and talented group to this tournament, but they’re missing forward Hirving Lozano due to injury.
Canada’s odds
Canada (+550)
The Canadians are primed for a deep run.
Without Davies, Les Rouges hammered Ukraine 4-2 in the inaugural Canadian Shield — a four-team friendly tournament — picking up their first win over European competition since 2011.
Canada then lost in penalties to the reigning AFCON champions, Ivory Coast, after forcing a 0-0 draw in regulation.
With those two results, Jesse Marsch’s side boasts a 6-1-3 record in regulation since losing to Argentina in the 2024 Copa America semis.
The Canadians currently sit 30th in FIFA’s rankings, which is their highest spot ever.
There are no notable absences for Les Rouges outside of Davies, with names like Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, and Tajon Buchanan all slated to play.
After taking on a new format, the FIFA Club World Cup returns in 2025.
The pre-tournament narrative: The best soccer clubs in the world will meet in an international tournament that’s freshly revamped to be bigger and better than ever. This star-packed soccer event will feature most of the sport’s best players and takes place in North America, where the 2026 World Cup will be held.
Before the group stage kicks off on June 14, check out our FIFA Club World Cup betting primer.
FIFA Club World Cup betting odds
The favourites
Odds
Real Madrid
+350
PSG
+400
Manchester City
+450
Bayern Munich
+650
Chelsea
+850
Inter Milan
+1,200
Atletico Madrid
+1,400
FIFA Club World Cup betting odds as of 3:20 p.m. ET on 06/12/2025.
•Group G: Manchester City | Wydad AC | Al Ain | Juventus
•Group H: Real Madrid | Al Hilal | CF Pachuca | FC Salzburg
Real Madrid has won the FIFA World Cup five times since 2014 and is understandably the favourite to win another. The Spanish giants have one of the easiest groups — a favourable path in the knockout stages is all but assured.
PSG sits just behind, most likely because of its group. The Champions League winners share Group B with fellow European powerhouse Atletico Madrid (+1,400 to win). If PSG wins the group, the side would likely emerge as the favourite heading into the latter part of this competition.
Manchester City enters as the reigning FIFA Club World Cup champion, winning this tournament in 2023. The English club isn’t as strong as it was back then, but it still poses a serious threat to repeat.
Tournament prediction
Serhou Guirassy to score the most goals (+1,200): The Borussia Dortmund forward enters the tournament fresh off a record.
Guirassy scored 13 goals in the Champions League, the most ever by an African-born player in one season.
He added 21 goals in the Bundesliga, making his total 35 in 42 matches across all competitions.
Guirassy is one of the world’s premier goal scorers and is coming off a remarkable season.
Plus, Dortmund has one of the easier groups as it is -1,250 to qualify for the knockout stages and -200 to win Group F.
I believe this pick has a ton of value based on Guirassy’s goalscoring prowess and Dortmund’s feasible path to the later stages of the tournament.
This is an international men’s soccer tournament organized by FIFA for the top soccer clubs in the world. What was once an annual tournament, the FIFA CWC was redesigned to be held every four years.
This new format will have 32 teams for the first time (12 from Europe, six from South America, four from Asia, four from Africa, four from North America and the Caribbean, one from Oceania, and one extra team from the host nation) and feature $1 billion in prize money.
Where is the FIFA Club World Cup taking place?
The 2025 FIFA CWC will be held across 12 different venues in the USA. That includes MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets) for the championship game on July 13.
When does the FIFA Club World Cup start?
The group stage starts with Al Ahly Cairo vs. Inter Miami CF on Saturday, June 14 at 8 p.m. ET.
How did teams qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup?
Teams qualified for this tournament in a variety of different ways.
The first was through winning the respective continent’s top tournament in the last four years (EX: UEFA Champions League)
The second way was through the ranking pathway. For example, Inter Milan was consistently good in the past four years of European competition despite not winning a UCL trophy.
Two clubs from the United States qualified through winning the MLS Shield in 2024 (Inter Miami) and through a play-in that determined the final team from the host nation (Los Angeles FC).
Who are the biggest stars playing in the FIFA Club World Cup?
With teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Miami in the mix, there will be plenty of star power in action. Expect the sport’s top talents like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi to play.
How many games does each team play?
The FIFA CWC will follow a standard group-stage format with eight groups of four teams playing each other once. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stages.
How does the knockout stage work?
The final 16 teams will play single-elimination matches starting with a round of 16 on June 28 and ending with the final, similar to the FIFA World Cup or Euros.
After taking on a new format, the FIFA Club World Cup returns in 2025.
The pre-tournament narrative: The best soccer clubs in the world will meet in an international tournament that’s freshly revamped to be bigger and better than ever. This star-packed soccer event will feature most of the sport’s best players and takes place in North America, where the 2026 World Cup will be held.
Before the group stage kicks off on June 14, check out our FIFA Club World Cup betting primer.
•Group G: Manchester City | Wydad AC | Al Ain | Juventus
•Group H: Real Madrid | Al Hilal | CF Pachuca | FC Salzburg
Real Madrid has won the FIFA World Cup five times since 2014 and is understandably the favourite to win another. The Spanish giants have one of the easiest groups — a favourable path in the knockout stages is all but assured.
PSG sits just behind, most likely because of its group. The Champions League winners share Group B with fellow European powerhouse Atletico Madrid (+1,400 to win). If PSG wins the group, the side would likely emerge as the favourite heading into the latter part of this competition.
Manchester City enters as the reigning FIFA Club World Cup champion, winning this tournament in 2023. The English club isn’t as strong as it was back then, but it still poses a serious threat to repeat.
Tournament predictions
Serhou Guirassy to score the most goals (+1,600): The Borussia Dortmund forward enters the tournament fresh off a record.
Guirassy scored 13 goals in the Champions League, the most ever by an African-born player in one season.
He added 21 goals in the Bundesliga, making his total 35 in 42 matches across all competitions.
Guirassy is one of the world’s premier goal scorers and is coming off a remarkable season.
Plus, Dortmund has one of the easier groups as it is -1,250 to qualify for the knockout stages and -200 to win Group F.
I believe this pick has a ton of value based on Guirassy’s goalscoring prowess and Dortmund’s feasible path to the later stages of the tournament.
Inter Miami to be eliminated in the group stage (+110): Group A is certainly wide open, but I’d argue Inter Miami is in the bottom two.
The MLS side opens its tournament against Al Ahly Cairo, which has the longest odds in the group. Al Ahly did win the Egyptian premiership, though, so it won’t be a walk in the park by any means.
A draw in this game would be detrimental to Miami’s chances of getting out.
And then there’s Palmeiras (the fourth-place Brazilian Serie A team) and FC Porto, a staple in Liga Portugal and the Champions League.
Inter Miami isn’t dominating the MLS, either. The club sits third in the Eastern Conference with an 8-5-3 record.
At plus money, I’ll happily fade one of the American teams on home turf.
This is an international men’s soccer tournament organized by FIFA for the top soccer clubs in the world. What was once an annual tournament, the FIFA CWC was redesigned to be held every four years.
This new format will have 32 teams for the first time (12 from Europe, six from South America, four from Asia, four from Africa, four from North America and the Caribbean, one from Oceania, and one extra team from the host nation) and feature $1 billion in prize money.
Where is the FIFA Club World Cup taking place?
The 2025 FIFA CWC will be held across 12 different venues in the USA. That includes MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (home to the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets) for the championship game on July 13.
When does the FIFA Club World Cup start?
The group stage starts with Al Ahly Cairo vs. Inter Miami CF on Saturday, June 14 at 8 p.m. ET.
How did teams qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup?
Teams qualified for this tournament in a variety of different ways.
The first was through winning the respective continent’s top tournament in the last four years (EX: UEFA Champions League)
The second way was through the ranking pathway. For example, Inter Milan was consistently good in the past four years of European competition despite not winning a UCL trophy.
Two clubs from the United States qualified through winning the MLS Shield in 2024 (Inter Miami) and through a play-in that determined the final team from the host nation (Los Angeles FC).
Who are the biggest stars playing in the FIFA Club World Cup?
With teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Miami in the mix, there will be plenty of star power in action. Expect the sport’s top talents like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi to play.
How many games does each team play?
The FIFA CWC will follow a standard group-stage format with eight groups of four teams playing each other once. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stages.
How does the knockout stage work?
The final 16 teams will play single-elimination matches starting with a round of 16 on June 28 and ending with the final, similar to the FIFA World Cup or Euros.
Felix Auger-Aliassime plays his first match on grass this season in preparation for Wimbledon.
The pregame narrative: The Canadian battles Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the Stuttgart Open second-round match on Thursday. The young Frenchman is arguably on his best playing surface, where he had a lot of success in 2024.
Check out my Auger-Aliassime vs. Mpetshi Perricard Stuttgart Open best bet and the odds for June 12.
These two met recently when Auger Aliassime defeated Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets at the Hamburg Open in May.
That was on clay, though, and I think the surface plays a huge role in the rematch.
Mpetshi Perricard is 13-5 (72.2%) in his career on grass, which is much higher than his 57.3% win rate on clay.
He went 10-4 on grass in 2024 against some good competition.
That includes a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he notably beat No. 23-ranked Sebastian Korda along the way.
He ended up losing to Lorenzo Musetti in London, which doesn’t hurt his stock. The Italian has broken out as one of the top players in the world and is currently ranked No. 6.
On the other side, Auger-Aliassime is pretty good on grass himself. He went 0-2 on the surface last year, but was dealing with injuries at the time and even retired early in one of the matches.
He’s 22-13 on grass in his career. I don’t want to completely fade the Canadian, especially since he beat his opponent recently, but I will take the over and expect a long match.
Key stat: Auger-Aliassime and Mpetshi Perricard have played two career matches and have each won two sets against one another.
The Edmonton Oilers look to even the Stanley Cup Final in Game 4 on Thursday.
The pregame narrative: The Florida Panthers dominated last time out, winning 6-1. They can get within one win of their second straight championship with another victory at home. The Oilers look to spoil the show and head back to Edmonton with a regained home-ice advantage.
Check out my Oilers vs. Panthers best bets for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, featuring Connor McDavid.
Felix Auger-Aliassime plays his first match on grass this season in preparation for Wimbledon.
The pregame narrative: The Canadian battles Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the Stuttgart Open second-round match on Thursday. The young Frenchman is arguably on his best playing surface, where he had a lot of success in 2024.
Check out my Auger-Aliassime vs. Mpetshi Perricard Stuttgart Open best bet and the odds for June 12.
These two met recently when Auger Aliassime defeated Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets at the Hamburg Open in May.
That was on clay, though, and I think the surface plays a huge role in the rematch.
Mpetshi Perricard is 13-5 (72.2%) in his career on grass, which is much higher than his 57.3% win rate on clay.
He went 10-4 on grass in 2024 against some good competition.
That includes a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he notably beat No. 23-ranked Sebastian Korda along the way.
He ended up losing to Lorenzo Musetti in London, which doesn’t hurt his stock. The Italian has broken out as one of the top players in the world and is currently ranked No. 6.
On the other side, Auger-Aliassime is pretty good on grass himself. He went 0-2 on the surface last year, but was dealing with injuries at the time and even retired early in one of the matches.
He’s 22-13 on grass in his career. I don’t want to completely fade the Canadian, especially since he beat his opponent recently, but I will take the over and expect a long match.
Key stat: Auger-Aliassime and Mpetshi Perricard have played two career matches and have each won two sets against one another.
The Edmonton Oilers look to even the Stanley Cup Final in Game 4 on Thursday.
The pregame narrative: The Florida Panthers dominated last time out, winning 6-1. They can get within one win of their second straight championship with another victory at home. The Oilers look to spoil the show and head back to Edmonton with a regained home-ice advantage.
Check out my Oilers vs. Panthers best bets for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, featuring Connor McDavid.
Oilers vs. Panthers best bets
Best Bet: McDavid to score 2+ points (-112)
It was one of those very rare occurrences in Game 3 where McDavid was held off the scoresheet completely.
That only happened two other times in the postseason, so it seems logical to expect a huge performance off the back of a rare off-night.
Before that, McDavid had cashed this wager in five straight games.
Overall, he has 2+ points in 11 of 19 games this postseason.
McDavid leads the playoffs in points (31) and ranks second with 8.8 expected goals (per Money Puck).
This feels like a must-win for the Oilers, and their captain should lead the charge offensively.
Key stat: McDavid scored multiple points in both games following a pointless outing in these playoffs.
The CFL is in full swing with four games on the schedule for Week 2.
The latest: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers start their season a week late with a game against the surging BC Lions. Later on, the Toronto Argonauts look for their first win as hosts against the Calgary Stampeders.
Check out the latest CFL Week 2 odds for the start of the 2025 season, beginning Thursday, June 12
CFL Week 2 odds
Lions (-150) vs. Blue Bombers (+125) June 12th, 8:30 p.m. ET Spread: BC -2.5 | Game total: 49.5
Alouettes (-110) vs. Redblacks (-110) June 13th, 7:30 p.m. ET Spread: pick’em | Game total: 49.5
Stampeders (+137) vs. Argonauts (-167) June 14th, 4 p.m. ET Spread: TOR -3 | Game total: 50.5
Roughriders (-175) vs. Tiger-Cats (+145) June 14th, 7 p.m. ET Spread: SSK -3.5 | Game total: 50.5
Nathan Rourke and the Lions looked good in Week 1. BC scored 31 points behind 324 yards and three touchdowns from their quarterback. They will be tested further against the Blue Bombers, who come off a Week 1 bye and have been to five straight Grey Cup championship games.
The Alouettes bested the Argonauts in Week 1 behind a familiarly strong defence that held Toronto to 10 points. They travel to Ottawa to take on the Redblacks, who started 0-1 this season but went 7-1-1 at home in 2024.
The Stampeders look to build on a 1-0 start when they face the Argonauts. Calgary won as an underdog last weekend and will have the same status on the road in Week 2. Chad Kelly is unlikely to return for Toronto, and the Stamps made a lot of improvements in the offseason, including Vernon Adams Jr. at QB.
To close out Week 2, the Tiger-Cats host the Roughriders. Hamilton lost to the Stampeders in Week 1 but will play at home for the first time this season. Saskatchewan is 1-0 behind a strong performance from wide receiver Samuel Emilus. He’s coming off back-to-back 1000-yard seasons and started strong, catching all eight targets for 133 yards and a score in the opening game.
