Next!

3-1 in St. Louis. Pavol is on a tear! Avs tonight. Of all the teams the Wild face, I think I enjoy watching them play Colorado most. Watching the up-tempo, free-wheeling, star-laden(*), injured Leopold-esque Avalanche against what many consider the best defensive team in hockey is a true clash of styles. What will win out?

As I've stated before, game previews and "keys to the game" are overdone. This is not the place where you'll often find them. For me, tonight's biggest key to the game is (1) scoring goals and (2) not letting your opponent score goals. Whichever team does both 1 and 2 will come out on top tonight. Breaking news indeed.

Looking around the rest of the Northwest Division, when exactly did Vancouver start sucking? I watched their game against the Kings a few nights ago and came away very happy. The Canucks were worthless in their zone, leaving guys uncovered, turning the puck over constantly and Luongo even looked mortal. Was last year's team just a fluke and is this the real Vancouver team? I believe so; look for them to stumble mightily this year and struggle to reach the 8th seed.

(*) I've got this theory that Joe Sakic has the same regenerating skills as the cheerleader on "Heroes". He'll take a stick to the chin and there's nothing there. He'll pull a hamstring in the 2nd period and come out flying in the third. Clearly someone should check his neck for "the sign".