By Greg -
This is it guys, hockey season. No more waiting, no more preseason games, and no more baseball (Sorry Twins!). In fact, the Minnesota Wild played their first regular season game last night. Fortunately, we have at least 81 more Wild games to watch before the long wait might start again. So, today we’ll take a look at the most interesting Wild games and other important hockey dates.
Bolded dates involve the Wild, while unbolded dates involve other teams or other leagues.
October
October 6th: Vegas at Dallas - The very first game of the Vegas Golden Knights, where former Wild player Erik Haula and possibly Alex Tuch will play.
October 8th - 11th: No hockey. After our game in Carolina tomorrow, we’ll have to wait four days for another game.
October 12th: Minnesota at Chicago - Our first meeting against the Blackhawks this season. This game should be a fun one as both teams will want to start the season off on a good note by beating a division rival.
October 14th: Start of the CWHL Season - While the Wild do play the Columbus Blue Jackets that day, there will also be CWHL games both before and after the Wild game.
October 15th - 19th: No hockey, again. This break is a day longer than the last one, but is thankfully our last long break until January.
October 20th: Minnesota at Winnipeg - Another first meeting against a divisional rival, but this one could play out much different than the Blackhawks game if the Jets’ goaltending doesn’t even out.
October 28th: Minnesota vs Pittsburgh - The reigning Stanley Cup Champions pay a visit to the Wild. Last year, the Wild won both of their games against the Penguins.
November
November 4th: Start of the NWHL Season - In addition to the Wild’s first home game against the Blackhawks, there will be two NWHL games.
November 8th: Minnesota at Toronto - The Wild’s first of two meetings with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and the other rising stars of the Maple Leafs.
November 10th-11th: The Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators will play two regular season games in Sweden.
November 11th: Minnesota at Philadelphia - The Wild’s first ever meeting against Nolan Patrick, who was recently drafted 2nd overall in this summer’s entry draft.
November 16th: Minnesota vs Nashville - The first meeting between the divisional rivals. The Wild couldn’t beat the Blues in last season’s playoffs, but the Predators could, and they went on to play against the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
November 20th: Minnesota vs New Jersey - The Wild will face off against 1st overall pick Nico Hischier for the first time.
November 24th: Minnesota vs Colorado - We all love to hate the Avs, and this will be the two teams’ first meeting of the season.
And because it gets better every time you see it...
While we’re on the subject of scoring goals against the Avs...
November 25th: Minnesota at St. Louis - The second half of a back-to-back, this will be the Wild’s first chance to play against the team who eliminated them from the playoffs.
November 30th: Minnesota vs Vegas - We will see Erik Haula and Alex Tuch for the first time on an opposing team as we see the newest expansion team play against the Wild for the first time.
December
December 5th: Minnesota at Los Angeles - The first possible meeting between the Wild and former backup Darcy Kuemper.
December 16th: Minnesota vs Edmonton - So far, the Wild have been able to keep Connor McDavid pointless against them, and this will be their first chance of the season to continue the streak.
December 16th: NHL 100 Classic - The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens will play outdoors to celebrate 100 years of the NHL.
December 26th: Start of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships - This year’s World Juniors was a lot of fun as three of the Wild’s prospects were captains and the US won it all. While this year might have less Wild participation, it should still be a lot of fun to see Rasmus Dahlin again, who has a good chance of going #1 overall in next year’s draft.
December 27th: Minnesota vs Dallas - We’ll see the Dallas Stars for the first time about half way through the season.
December 29th-30th: Minnesota vs/at Nashville - A back-to-back home and away against Nashville.
January
January 1st: 2018 Winter Classic - The New York Rangers will play the Buffalo Sabres at the home of the New York Mets, Citi Field.
January 5th: The last day of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships featuring the final relegation game, the bronze medal game, and the gold medal game.
January 6th: Game 42 - The half way point of the season where the Wild play in Colorado against the Avalanche.
January 13th: Minnesota vs Winnipeg - The Wild play the Jets for the last time in the regular season.
January 13th: New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers - The first possible meeting between Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick.
January 15th-19th: Another five day break between Wild games.
January 20th: Hockey Day Minnesota - In addition to games all around the state, the Wild will play at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
January 26th-29th: The All-Star Break - The league takes a few days off for the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game.
February
February 10th: Minnesota vs Chicago - The Wild play the Blackhawks for the last time in the regular season.
February 11th: The start of the 2018 Winter Olympic’s Ice Hockey competitions, where we will possibly see Jordan Greenway.
February 22nd: The Women’s Gold Medal game.
February 25th: The Men’s Gold Medal game.
February 27th: Minnesota vs St. Louis - The Wild play the Blues for the last time in the regular season.
March
March 1st: End of the KHL regular season.
March 3rd: NHL Stadium Series: The Washington Capitals will play the Toronto Maple Leafs outdoors at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
March 3rd: The end of the NCAA regular hockey season.
March 10th: End of the NWHL regular season.
March 11th: End of the CWHL regular season.
March 13th: Minnesota vs Colorado - The Wild play the Avalanche for the last time in the regular season.
March 20th-23rd: A four day break between Wild games and luckily the last extended break.
March 27th: Minnesota at Nashville - The Wild play the Predators for the last time in the regular season.
March 31st: Minnesota at Dallas - The Wild play the Stars for the last time in the regular season.
April
April 7th: End of the NHL regular season - 30 teams will play to end the season as the Wild play the San Jose Sharks.
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