It’s here. We all feel like Navin Johnson from the movie “The Jerk” today because we’re hopping around our homes/cubicles saying to ourselves or out loud, “The new season is here! The new season is here!” Never mind the funny looks you get from your peers, this is your day hockey fans and the NHL has rewarded you with a noon time start and three rivalry games to kick things off. See, Gary Bettman really is looking out for you.
Here’s today’s rundown of the action with all times Eastern.
12:00 pm
Carolina vs. Minnesota (Helsinki, Finland)
The NHL kicks off its season once again in Europe and this time two teams loaded with Finnish talent get to start their seasons off at home. From the Wild you’ve got captain Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen and goalie Niklas Backstrom while Carolina rolls out Tuomo Ruutu, Joni Pitkanen, and Jussi Jokinen as the hometown players. Backstrom will start in goal for Minnesota, while Cam Ward gets the nod for the Hurricanes
7:00 pm
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
The Penguins open up their brand new home, the CONSOL Energy Center, and who better to invite in to try and crash the party but your cross-state rivals the Flyers. The Flyers will start Brian Boucher rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in goal while Marc-Andre Fleury gets the nod for Pittsburgh.
Montreal @ Toronto
Two bitter, old rivals kick off their seasons against each other in Toronto. For the Leafs, they hope to get out on the right foot to start their year. After losing a heart breaker in overtime to start their year, things went downhill fast for the Leafs after that. For Montreal, they’re looking to build off an erratic season that closed strong in the playoffs. Jean-Sebastian Giguere gets the start in goal for Toronto while a slightly ill Carey Price is expected to start. Alex Auld waits in the wings just in case he can’t go.
10:00 pm
Chicago @ Colorado
The defending Stanley Cup champions kick off their season on the road in Denver and welcoming them are the Avalanche. With the Avs having a potentially questionable defense, seeing if the Blackhawks can kick things off by ripping tons of shots will be fun to see. Marty Turco starts for Chicago while Craig Anderson starts for Colorado.
Calgary @ Edmonton
The most fascinating game of the night comes from the Battle of Alberta in Edmonton. The Flames reclamation line of Alex Tanguay-Olli Jokinen-Jarome Iginla gets the start against the Oilers rookie big three of Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, and Jordan Eberle. Miikka Kiprusoff will start for Calgary while Nikolai Khabibulin should start for Edmonton.