GameThread for Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues, Jan 27, 2013

It's presumptuous to judge a team's entire season, or potential for the entire season, over the first few games. The Wild are 2-2-0 so far this year, losing two in a row and trying to "right the ship." Seriously, if you think about it, is losing two in a row really a cause for panic in the first four games, or is it a cause for tweaking? New arrival Zach Parise has made an impact, while fellow possible reason for the lockout Ryan Suter is struggling to learn the new system. But is he really "struggling," or would it just've been handy for him to have had an actual training camp to get acclimated to the Wild's system?

You can't assume anything so early, but you can make educated guesses, like the Blues are playing well and probably will continue to do so, barring injuries. You can also assume that, since tonight's game is a home game, there's a strong possibility for a win. And you can finally bet, with the Wild's new arrivals, that tonight will be anything but dull.

Remember, the game will be broadcast tonight on NBCSN, so keep that in mind when trying to find it on the dial.

Let's go Blues!