The new National Hockey League season is hours away. The countdown is over for eight teams Wednesday night with four games gracing opening night.
The season gets underway in Winnipeg where the Jets will host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jets hope that Patrik Laine will repeat his sterling efforts from last season and help the Jets find a way to a more consistent game. An early and late season sag cost Winnipeg their ticket to the post season.
On the other bench, the Leafs come in with their own young superstar, Auston Matthews, who is line for a big payday soon with Connor McDavid in Edmonton and Jack Eichel, in Buffalo, signing big contracts in the offseason.
The marquee match-up is in Pittsburgh where the Penguins will send their fifth Stanley Cup banner to the rafters. There have been changes in the Steel City but Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin remain and Matt Murray has the crease.
Their opponent are the St Louis Blues who need a better year from Vladimir Tarasenko to put pressure on the Central Division. They will have a tall order Wednesday in Pittsburgh to overcome the buzz of the banner and the Penguins looking to defend their Cup celebration on home ice.
A big game on the slate is in Edmonton where the Oilers and McDavid will host the Calgary Flames who are hoping to take more than a step forward this season. For the Flames, Mark Giordano needs solid complete season and get close to 82 games. He is the heart of the defense. Calgary also took a flyer on Jaromir Jagr this week for one year. The 45-year old forward will try to make an impact for the Flames.
Meanwhile, the Oilers are a few steps ahead of the Flames and maybe a long stride or two ahead of the rest of the Pacific Division. McDavid has a solid corps of supporting cast but Leon Draisaitl and others will have to step up their games to get the club over the hump and move deeper into the post season.
The final game on the slate features the Philadelphia Flyers visiting the San Jose Sharks.
The Flyers signed Brian Elliott to hopefully address skittish goalie issues that have plagued the club for years. In addition, Claude Giroux will be under the microscope early as Philadelphia looks for a post season berth this coming spring.
The Sharks have been solid for a number of years and their visit to the Cup Final two seasons ago was a near miss for them as the Penguins defeated them in the series. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton will be leaned on again and some of the younger members of the roster will need to contribute more to take the pressure off the older veterans.
So, welcome back to the NHL and our favorite teams.
As always we start the season with the Dropkick Murphys courtesy of DKMHockeyFan on YouTube.
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