Minnesota Wild Fans: Five Must See Non-Conference Games

Last season, due to the work stoppage, Wild fans didn't get to see any non-conference games against the Eastern Conference. To me, this is unacceptable. One of the nice things about the NHL is the non-conference play. I would think, that fans from the Western Conference, would want to see the best players and teams from the Eastern Conference match-up against their favorite teams.

While there is no connection to the "State of Hockey" on the Montreal Canadiens, their roster sports seven American born players.

Last season, picking the NHL awards would have been a difficult task, for the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. With the lockout, they weren't able to see any cross over play between the east and west teams. That would make the task of voting on the NHL awards a little more difficult. This season, there will be a chance to compare the Wild's top players against the best players from the Eastern Conference.

In his first season with the Wild, Parise was the Wild's leading scorer with (18g-20a-38pts). Seven of Parise's 18 goals were scored on the power play.

Another game against an original six team, this time the Wilds opponent will be the Toronto Maple Leafs, from the Easter Division. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967. Their 46-year drought without a Stanley Cup victory is currently the longest for an original six team.

They're planning a victory parade...

Some might say they're jumping the gun. Tim Leiweke, the new chief of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., is so confident the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win the Stanley Cup this season and end the Maple Leafs 46-year Stanley Cup drought, that he's already planning the victory-parade route for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yeah! If I was a head coach of a team in the Eastern Conference, I would use this as bulletin board material every time my team played the Maple Leafs.

Toronto has one of the most exciting young line ups in the NHL. They "should" be a lot of fun to watch this season. The Expectation in Toronto are very high for the Maple Leafs this season.

In my opinion, the main reason to watch the Washington Capitals is Alexander Ovechkin. I think he's worth the price of admission. Last season, Ovechkin scored (32g-24a-56pts) in 48 games. Ovechkin is one of the top forwards in the NHL and has scored (371g-364a-735pts) in 601 NHL games. This past season, Ovechkin won the NHL's Hart Memorial Trophy, for being awarded the NHL's Most Valuable Player and also the Maurice Richard Trophy, for scoring the most goals in the NHL.

Boston Bruins Vs. Minnesota Wild - April 8^th