Today's the Day!

Hockey season has finally arrived! Tonight 10 teams will be playing in 5 games from coast to coast.

The Carolina Hurricanes will be kicking off the season overseas in Finland vs the Minnesota Wild at noon. Carolina looks to have the stronger team this season, but we'll see if they make a run this year or fizzle out early in the season like they did last year.

The next game being played tonight is the Toronto Maple Leafs vs the Montreal Canadiens @ 7. This original 6 matchup is sure to be good between these two Canadian teams. The team that will have the advantage at the Air Canada Center tonight will be the Leafs since they are home and Kessel was looking hot in the preseason. Hopefully the Leafs can break out of their slump that they are in.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will also be playing at 7 and will open up their season in the Penguin's new Consol Energy Center. This is a huge rivalry in the Eastern Conference and blood will be shed. The Penguins won 5 of the 6 head to head matches last season and will look to open strong this season. The Penguins have the edge in this game because of the acquisitions they made this summer and because of their number of players coming back who make up the core of the team. They have also been chosen the most to win the cup this year.

The Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Colorado Avalanche at 10pm in Colorado. The Blackhawks took a huge hit to their roster in the off-season and many people are worried if they can keep up. So, the Avalanche are looking to strike! The advantage still goes to Chicago because they looked pretty hot in the preseason and Hossa definitely looks to be in great form again.

The last game will be played on the very west coast. The Calgary Flames and Edminton Oilers will also be beginning at 10pm. Neither team made it to the playoffs last year and the Oilers have been horrible since they lost the Cup to the Hurricanes in '06. So, I give the advantage to the Flames just because the Oilers are an awful team.

This is definitely going to be an AWESOME night and I can't wait to watch the game tonight and cheer on my Pittsburgh Penguins! Let's Go Pens!