Opening Night

Well, technically, the NHL season opened over the weekend in Europe, with a couple of sets of back-to-back games. And it's true, the Minnesota Wild (who we unabashedly follow) don't have their first game until Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. But that's not going to stop the eight teams that do have games scheduled tonight, including three of the Wild's in-division rivals. The Colorado Avalanche are playing Boston, and the Calgary Flames are taking their re-tooled offense across Canada to play Pavol Demitra and the Vancouver Canucks.

Meanwhile, here in St. Paul, the Wild are getting ready to start on their division title defense. The roster has a lot of youth, but also some good experience and leadership in some of the grizzled veterans. And, at least for now, the team still has the services of #10. Of course, two of their defensemen are starting the season injured, but they should be able to absorb that, as well.

Here's what we're guessing (thanks to tips from others) the lines will look like on Saturday:

Forwards
Veilleux - Sheppard - Gaborik
This line clicked in Montreal last Saturday. Sheppard's got some skills that work well with both wingers, Gaby can be the offensive focal point, and Steph can play the gritty offense he's known for, digging pucks out of the corners and harassing the goaltender.

Brunette - Koivu - Bouchard
This could be a big offensive line for the Wild, and we think pairing Bouchard with Brunette might be able to rekindle some of that spark from the '03 campaign. Watch for Koivu to continue his progress to being a terrific two-way center.

Nolan - Belanger - Miettinnen
We admit, we differ from some sources on this line and the one prior to it. We just think that putting these three together allows the Wild to have a line that's got offensive potential, but also the grit and tenacity to make things happen that shouldn't. Nolan and Miettinnen both have good skills in the offensive zone. It remains to be seen if Belanger can find his groove from the beginning of last season.

Gillies - Pouliot - Weller
A young line, but a tough line. We could also see Gillies and Miettinnen swapped during the season, if the Wild are looking for a little more experience to guide the rookie in his first campaign.

Healthy Scratch - Derek Boogaard
While the Boogeyman is a force on the ice, he doesn't provide much offensively, and the Wild are going to need offense to keep up with Boston. The Bruins have a stronger team, especially with the return of Patrice Bergeron, but they aren't the Bruins of old, who would bruise people into submission. We expect Boogaard to not play game one, but could be wrong.

Defensive pairings
Johnsson - Burns
The teams top two defensemen. Both are steady in their own zone, and both can provide a spark of offense when needed. Plus, Burns brings a youthful exuberance to the ice.

Skoula - Bergeron
Martin Skoula has drawn the ire of Wild fans over the years. Will pairing him with Marc-Andre Bergeron and his booming shot help?

Schultz - Reitz
If Reitz can play strongly in this first game, he should be able to have a good shot at staying in the line-up. If not, he might be the first one removed when Zidlicky returns from his ankle injury.

Healthy Scratch - Tomas Mojzis
Mojzis was impressive in training camp. He could easily take Reitz's spot in the line-up, but we think Lemaire is going to go with Reitz against Boston.

IR - Foster, Scott, Zidlicky
Two injured ankles, and we know what happened to Foster last year against the boards. When these guys are healthy, the entire defense (aside from Burns and Johnsson) could be scrambled, and that could spark a Wild team that's got some tough times ahead of it if it wants to repeat as division champs.