Talkin Sport - NHL Back on the Ice as Four Games on Schedule for Thursday

The NHL will kick off the 2008-09 season in full on Thursday following the games between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden.

Toronto at Detroit 7:00 p.m. ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs will open their season on the road as the face the Detroit Red Wings. Toronto is coming off a disappointing 2007-08 campaign in which they missed the playoffs while Detroit not only posted the best record in the NHL, they captured their 11th Stanley Cup as well.

Boston at Colorado 10:00 p.m. ET

The Boston Bruins hit the road for their season opener as the face off against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Thursday night. The Bruins managed to nab the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference last year and then took Montreal to seven games before their season ended. Colorado fought their way into the Western Conference playoffs and after surprising Minnesota in the opening round they were quickly sent packing by Detroit 4-0 in the second round.

Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 p.m. ET

The Anaheim Ducks will be opening their season against the same squad they fought desperately to overtake in the Pacific last year as face the San Jose Sharks. Anaheim fell just short of taking the Pacific last year but posted the third highest point total in the West only to fall in the first round of the playoffs to Dallas. San Jose finished with 108 points and the #2 seed in the playoffs but Dallas bounced them as well in the second round.

Calgary at Vancouver 10:30 p.m. ET

The Vancouver Canucks will be traveling for their first game of the 2008-09 season as they face the Calgary Flames. Vancouver had a solid shot at the playoffs last year but a collapse at the end of the year left them on the outside while Calgary managed to snag the seventh seed but fell in seven games to San Jose.

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Rale Rasic