Let 'Em Loose; Wings' Season Opener

It was a seemingly endless offseason. They all are, but this one was a little longer than the two preceding it but... it's back. Well it will be tonight.

The NHL took off last night to begin its 2010/11 season, but conspicuous [for Wings fans] by their absence was the Red Wings, for whom the first puck will drop tonight against Anaheim.

While the Ducks are no strangers to Detroit, this is a very different team to the Anaheim that traded playoff series' wins with the Wings in '07 and '09. The once feared defense is now a shell of its former self with the retirement of captain Scott Neidermayer and the movement of the ever-hated Chris Pronger to Philadelphia last season. That said, the Ducks forwards are about as dangerous as it gets.

Having talent like Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry, veterans Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne as well as the new captain Ryan Getzlaf up front is enough to make any GM grin. The group will surely prove to be a handful and a major priority for the Nick Lidstrom and Detroit's defensive core.

So how do the team's match-up against each other? Well let's find out with Word on a Wing's brand new graphical game preview. OoooooOOOooooo... fancy. Enjoy!

One of the unfortunate things about Game 1 of the regular season is the lack of stats and data. So all the figures used in the game preview are from the 2009/10 season.

As expected, Jimmy Howard will start in net with Ozzy as the back-up. Todd Bertuzzi is questionable with some back soreness, but is most likely to play. If not, Kirk Maltby might be called-up to play what could possibly be his final NHL game.