Quote Originally Posted by IslandRed View Post
Mike, good point on how losing streaks will be magnified, and that's something Nashville will have to watch out for. They have a seven-game road trip starting with game three, I think. This stretch would normally be in the middle of the season (it's pretty much an annual thing) but if they have a bad trip, they'll have to play their butts off the rest of the way to make up the ground.
The Blackhawks also have a brutal schedule to start out with. Out of the first twelve games, they only get two home games. How the Hawks start out off the bat will determine their season, in my opinion.

As far as the Blues go, it looks like they got kind of lucky with their scheduling. In their first twelve games, they get seven home games. For the past couple of years, they have been dominant at home and teams have a hard time winning at the Scottrade Center. The other fortunate thing if you're a Blues fan is that with the last eight games of the season, they are only on the road one game. This will play huge, in my opinion, if the Blues are one of those teams on the cusp of making the playoffs.