would. No. 25 LSU improved to 3-0 under interim coach Ed Orgeron with a 38-21 win over Ole Miss, and No. 21 Auburn crushed No. 17 Arkansas 56-3 for its fifth straight victory by running for 543

This feels very much like a season in which Chuck Fletcher is on trial as the longtime GM of the Minnesota Wild.A thoughtful and cerebral hockey man, Fletcher has been at the helm since May 2009, and his team has made the playoffs four straight years. Hardly an indictment for any GM when you consider how tough it is to make the playoffs in this era of so much parity in the league.But the first-round exit last season was a step backward in some peoples eyes.Ownership has spent to the salary cap for years. This is a hockey-crazy market that wants a Stanley Cup run.In one of his most important decisions with the club, Fletcher hired Bruce Boudreau as head coach this offseason in what I believe was a brilliant move.Yes, the narrative is well established about Boudreaus playoff hiccups. But that also overlooks the manner in which he turned around both the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks during his previous coaching tenures and transformed them into division-winning juggernauts.The task is daunting, however, in a crazy competitive Central Division in which the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators look to have improved, while contenders in the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars arent going away.Can Boudreau work his magic?Best new facesThe biggest addition is July 1 unrestricted free-agent signing Eric Staal, who no doubt enters this season ultramotivated to show people hes not done as an elite center. His numbers have certainly regressed the past few years, and his short tenure with the New York Rangers last season after a trade-deadline deal with the Carolina Hurricanes wasnt very impressive.Staal turns 32 on Oct. 29 and feels theres much hockey left in him. He signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Wild and intends to show that was a bargain. He will likely begin the season on the No. 1 line between Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle, so Boudreau is giving him every opportunity to succeed.The Wild also added veteran winger Chris Stewart (whom Boudreau had in Anaheim), No. 3 goalie Alex Stalock and depth defenseman Victor Bartley.Thomas Vanek was bought out and signed with the Detroit Red Wings, so aside from Staal, the same Wild core returns.Biggest unknownsSee Staal above. Whether he can bounce back and deliver an impact, No. 1-center-type season will go a long way toward writing the script.Is this the season Mikael Granlund takes it to another level? He put up 44 points (13-31) last season in 82 games, which is below what I think his potential should be delivering. At 24, perhaps this is the season he takes that step. Hes got the hands to do it and a coach who encourages offensive talent to shine.Whatever happened to Jonas Brodin? His play has regressed since he was one of the games most promising young defensemen. Hes only 23, so theres plenty of time to recapture that form, but this season he needs to prove he can be a consistent force on the blue line. We didnt see that enough last season.Sure thingsDefenseman Ryan Suter, thats for sure. He was an absolute two-way stud last season, second only to Erik Karlsson in ice time per game, and for my money should have received more Norris Trophy consideration, at least in terms of being in top-five consideration (he finished eighth in the voting). Suter doesnt take a game off. Hes a horse on that Wild blue line, and I dont expect that to change this season.Another sure thing is that Boudreau will improve the Wilds special teams. The Ducks were first in the NHL in both the power play and penalty kill last season, which is unheard of! You can bet the Wilds 27th-ranked penalty kill will definitely improve, while the teams 18th-ranked power play has a chance to get better under the offensive-minded Boudreau.PredictionThe Wild took the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference from the fifth-place spot in the Central, and I think theyll be in that mix again. To me, its going to be a coin flip between the Jets and Wild for that fifth-place spot in the Central, which could be a wild-card spot as well. Sixth in the Central. Yeezy False . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Air Jordan 1 Scontate Outlet . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". http://www.yeezyscarpeitaliaoutlet.it/scontate-air-max-270-online.html . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Yeezy 700 Offerte .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Air Jordan 1 Offerte . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Well find out a lot more about where things stand in the race for the College Football Playoff when the official rankings come out next week. Leading up to the big reveal, our college football experts narrowed the field to the 10 teams with the best shot at the national title.Heres a look at Alabamas title chances; to vote for who you think will win it all, go to our poll page or scroll to the bottom of this feature:The case for AlabamaAlabama ranks No. 1 in FPI, strength of record and game control metrics.An average Top 25 team would have had a 2 percent chance of getting Alabamas 8-0 record.The Crimson Tide have won seven of their eight games by at least 19 points, outscoring their opponents 100-23 in the third quarter.Alabamas defense has +21 EPA per game (expected points added), meaning the defense is adding about 21 points to the final score margin. That is the highest defensive EPA for any team this far into the season in the past decade.-- ESPN Stats & InfoThe case against AlabamaOne way that opponents have had moderate success against Alabama is on deep balls this season. The Tide have allowed 11 receptions on throws that traveled at least 25 yards downfield, tied for the fifth-most in the Power 5. And Alabama just lost starting safety Eddie Jackson for the season.-- ESPN Stats & InfoTalking pointsVegas odds: Alabama leads the pack with 8-5 odds to win the national title, according to Westgate SuperBook.What FPI says: According to ESPNs Football Power Index, the Crimson Tide have a 41.1 percent chance of winning out through the regular season and conference title game, the sixth-highest percentage in the nation, and a 67.7 percent chance of winning the SEC. Their remaining schedule -- which includes a road game against No.dddddddddddd. 19 LSU and a home game versus No. 15 Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl -- ranks as the 28th-most difficult.ESPN Senior Writer Mark Schlabach: I cant picture the Crimson Tide losing, at least not during the regular season. ... Alabamas defense and special teams mask its offenses mistakes. Whenever QB Jalen Hurts looks like a freshman who is only months removed from high school, the Crimson Tide do something on defense or special teams to make up for it.Alabama had five sacks and 11 tackles for loss against Texas A&M. Opponents cant run between the tackles against college footballs most formidable front, and there arent many who can throw over the top of the Crimson Tide defense, either.But Alabama might not roll over resurgent LSU and Auburn like we once thought it would. No. 25 LSU improved to 3-0 under interim coach Ed Orgeron with a 38-21 win over Ole Miss, and No. 21 Auburn crushed No. 17 Arkansas 56-3 for its fifth straight victory by running for 543 yards, a school record in SEC games.ESPN analytics writer Sharon Katz: There are six teams -- Michigan, Louisville, Ohio State, Clemson, Washington and Auburn -- that FPI would currently give at least a 25 percent chance to beat Alabama in a potential national championship game. Michigan is the most likely to take down the defending champs (47 percent likely), followed by Louisville (42 percent) and Ohio State (34 percent).Now that youre stuffed with numbers and analysis, are you convinced the Tide are going all the way? Cast your vote below. ' ' '