Both teams are stacked on offense. Neither will have trouble scoring this year. Entering the season, I like Minnesota's defense a lot more. The Panthers are missing two of their top defensemen, Montour and Ekblad. Both had off-season shoulder surgery. They'll be missed tonight. The Wild are 40-23 (+10.6) against Eastern Conference teams the past two years. Florida is just 35-34 (-19) against teams from the West. The Panthers won last year's two games but the Wild will take this one. *NHL GOW