It's a lot like Christmas Eve...for NHL fans

By the Wild Road Tripper (WRT)

It's beginning to look a lot like hockey season...

Time for 28 of the 30 teams (Carolina and Nashville excepted, as they have college football games near their arenas Saturday) to begin selling single-game tickets. Time to get the act really together, firm up the 'Where to go' list, and break out the credit cards. Because, you'll need 'em tomorrow.

That, and a lot of patience. A good working phone helps, also, as what Ticketmaster (or whomever actually is the selling agent) thinks as being 'best available' seating, isn't necessarily what you are thinking as 'best available' seating, and you know that what the online display shows isn't what you want, either.

You want what you want. You're willing to pay for it, so what? You still have to play the games. Just like the teams do, you have to play the games. You have been studying the NHL schedule for nearly 2 full months, thinking of scenarios where you can get that cheap air fare, the discounted hotel room, hopefully at the hotel which has the free hot breakfast to go with it, not to mention the free wi-fi internet connection. You have been studying arena seating charts, looking at highlights from NHL.com, not to re-live some obscure Jason Blake goal or Luke Schenn check, but to figure out which end your team shoots at in the 1st and 3rd periods at the Air Canada Centre. You're second-guessing yourself (again) over which Washington Metro stop really has the best value hotels nearby so you can easily get to the Verizon Center to see your team go up against Ovechkin & Co., on 'Singles Night'. (And then it dawns on you; your wife is coming with you.)

Will the Leafs have any tickets left to sell? Will you be able to get across the US/Canada border and back again without a major hassle? How much snow will you run into on the East Coast? What hotel to stay at in Raleigh (Near the arena, or by the airport)?

And the most important two questions...

1. How much will all this cost?
and...
2. How many road wins can you expect the Minnesota Wild to get on your road trip?

WRT