Five story lines to watch in the Western Conference
1. Can Minnesota survive with current goaltending?
The Wild lost starter Josh Harding for two to three months after he kicked a wall in training camp in an altercation with a teammate and broke a foot. It’ll be up to aging veteran Niklas Backstrom and youngster Darcy Kuemper to do well until he gets back.
2. Can the Kings become the first NHL team to repeat as champs since Detroit in 1998?
Every other major sport has had a team win back-to-back championships since 1998, but hockey hasn’t seen it. The Kings seem to have as good a shot to do it as any in recent years.
3. Can St. Louis finally get over the playoff hump?
Probably no coach has more pressure on him this season than Ken Hitchcock, after back-to-back, first-round flameouts following 2-0 series leads. A lot of pressure also is on former Avs goalie Brian Elliott, now that trade-deadline import Ryan Miller is gone.
4. Will the San Jose Sharks implode?
The team promised sweeping changes after another shocking early playoff exit, but entering opening night they still have the same coach (Todd McLellan) and mostly the same cast of veteran forwards. Joe Thornton was stripped of his captaincy, and there have been reports of grumbling in the dressing room on that and other things.
5. Can Edmonton start to get its act together?
The Oilers still have a bushel of former No. 1 picks, but so far they haven’t been able to jell them into a winning team. That has led to a coaching and front-office carousel, but maybe this time things will stabilize.
