Minnesota is missing a big piece too. Brock Faber, normally on the top pair, had surgery on a skull fracture from a September 25 preseason game against Dallas and has no timetable to return. Filip Gustavsson is on IR with a hip injury, so the net belongs to Jesper Wallstedt for now. He looked ready for it in Nashville, stopping 19 of 20 shots in a 3-1 win, and Roman Josi was the only Predator to beat him.
The Wild built that win early. Nick Foligno and Blake Coleman scored in the first period, Coleman's on the power play, and Kirill Kaprizov added one in the third. Minnesota outshot Nashville 30-20, and the Wild also had a Trenin goal waved off for goaltender interference. Up and down the lineup, that was a team that looked ahead of the other one on night 1.
Friday's game in Winnipeg comes with an odd wrinkle. The Jets are playing without Connor Hellebuyck, who is suspended indefinitely after asking for a trade and skipping training camp. A Boston win there would make 2-0 look a little softer than it sounds, and a loss would be a bad sign heading into a back-to-back. Either way, the Bruins team that shows up in Saint Paul will have played about 24 hours earlier.
Both teams have only played once, so the form card doesn't say much. The questions that matter are about the blue lines. Can Boston's defense hold up for a third straight game without McAvoy, on tired legs? And can Minnesota's defense without Faber keep shielding a goalie who is now the clear No. 1? Each team is missing its best defenseman, but only one of them flew in Friday night.