The Carolina Hurricanes entered the 2009-2010 season as an Eastern Conference contender after their surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals the year before. However, the Canes stumbled out of the gates and for the better part of the season were the worst team in hockey which effectively extinguished any hope of a return to the postseason. Barred by injuries and a lack of chemistry that went missing in the offseason, the Canes were poised to draft 1st overall for the majority of the campaign until a late surge in the last quarter of the season saw Carolina finish 11th in the Eastern Conference. Luckily for Carolina they have a decent combination of young and old on their roster, and they have a healthy Cam Ward this season, so they should be able to return to form and make a push towards the bottom 4 playoff positions in the wide open Eastern Conference. With the likes of Eric Cole, Eric Staal, and Jussi Jokinen leading the charge up front, and veterans Joe Corvo, and Joni Pitkanen anchoring the defense the Hurricanes should be competitive most nights and won't be a doormat like they were a season ago. The Canes also have some young talent up front as they acquired Patrick O'Sullvan from the Edmonton Oilers to go along with Brandon Sutter and Jiri Tlusty who will be called upon for secondary scoring behind Cole and Staal. If the top 6 of the Canes can stay healthy they should be able to score some goals and alleviate some of the pressure on Cam Ward between the pipes.
The Minnesota Wild finished 11 points out of a playoff spot last season despite finishing 2 games above the .500 mark and having one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL. Playing in the ultra-competitive Northwest Division has been the Achilles heel for the Wild as they always seem to possess enough talent to be a consistent postseason team, but can never find that competitive edge over the likes of the Canucks, Avalanche, and Flames. The only team the Wild dominate on a consistent basis is the Edmonton Oilers who even when were loaded with talent were always unable to beat the Wild. Minnesota will look to change its divisonal fortunes this season and make a charge at the postseason. Luckily for the Wild they have a plethora of talent up front and have finally picked up a decent second line center in Matt Cullen who will be paired with Guillaume Latendresse, and Martin Havlat. The top line to start the season for the Wild has Mikko Koivu, fresh off a career year centering Andrew Brunette and Antii Miettinen who will be called upon to drag the Wild out of the basement with regards to overall offensive production. The Wild also possess the likes of Pierre-Marc Bouchard who will look to have a bounce year, role player John Madden fresh off a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, and Kyle Brodziak who is an emerging young talent. Defensively, the Wild are as strong as ever with Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky on the blueline, as well as Cam Barker and Nick Schultz. WIth Nicklas Backstrom between the pipes it will be difficult to put up alot of goals on this Wild team, the only problem is whether or not they can score enough goals to give Backstrom and the backend some breathing room.
The first week or so of the NHL season is a bit of a crapshoot as teams take some time to get their feet moving, and we don't really see the contenders and pretenders until a little bit later into the season. Furthermore, with this game being played in Helsinki it will take a while for the teams to get settled and start playing into their respective systems. Of the 4 games that were played overseas last season, 3 of those games went over the total and two of them were decided in a shootout. With the goaltenders and defensive systems involved in this one however I am laying off the total. In terms of overall top to bottom talent and who will be able to shake off the cobwebs quicker I give the nod to the "home" team. Minnesota takes the season opener. WATCH LIVE ONLINE Give it a try >>>
