St. Paul, MN (My Sportsbook) - The Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild get their seasons underway tonight when they face off at the Xcel Energy Center.

Boston, which finished first in the Eastern Conference last season before bowing out to Montreal in the first round, enters a campaign of uncertainty as it lost perhaps its most important component, Bill Guerin, to the Dallas Stars via free agency. Guerin's exit not only subtracts a player who has scored at least 40 goals in each of the last two seasons -- he and Vancouver's Markus Naslund are the only players to do so -- but the Bruins will be without their most visible team leader in the dressing room.

Also gone is goaltender Byron Dafoe, who was solid and healthy a season ago for the B's. In his place will be the tandem of Steve Shields and John Grahame, neither of whom have a particularly impressive resume to show. Shields' story is one of falling fortunes, as he went from being a highly regarded youngster with the Buffalo Sabres five years ago to a backup for the Mighty Ducks. Grahame, meanwhile, has battled injury and never lived to his promise.

Up front without Guerin, coach Robbie Ftorek, who was a Jack Adams Award finalist, still has the luxury of four 20-goal scorers -- Glen Murray (41), Sergei Samsonov (29), Joe Thornton (22) and Brian Rolston (31). So the team has the legitimate firepower to be able to throw out three respectable scoring lines.

Thornton was right in the thick of the scoring race before a shoulder injury forced him to miss 13 games down the stretch. The 6-4, 220-pounder, who was just named the team's new captain, has improved in each of his five seasons after being selected with the top pick in the 1997 Entry Draft, and may be prepared to make the leap from star to superstar at the age of 23.

Defensively the club will be without restricted free agent Kyle McLaren, who continues to seek a trade after seven years in Boston. Bryan Berard, who came back from a career-threatening eye injury with the Rangers last season, and impressive sophomore Nick Boynton are among those who will pick up the slack while McLaren is out.

Boston is 34-29-15 in its previous 78 season openers.

Minnesota, meanwhile, is 0-1-1 on opening night as it embarks on its third season of existence. The Wild, after a surprisingly solid start, placed 12th in the Western Conference in 01-02, garnering 73 points -- an improvement of five.

Keeping with the franchise's original plan, Wild general manager Doug Risebrough shied away from any big-ticket free agents, avoiding any quick fixes so to speak. The club is banking on the development of its draft choices, namely star-in-the-making Marian Gaborik. The nifty skater and stick handler reached the 30-goal mark last season, and most believe he has the ability to strive toward 40, even at the green age of 20. Gaborik's biggest improvement in his second year was his willingness to set-up others, which is evident by the 37 assists he dished out.

The one major acquisition the team did make, albeit somewhat under the radar, was that of veteran center Cliff Ronning. Although he's 37, Ronning remains a quality playmakers who adds some leadership to a relatively young group. Ronning, who spent most of the last four seasons in Nashville, has notched at least 60 points in every campaign since 1991. He had 19 goals and 35 assists in 81 games with the Predators and Kings in 2001-02.

Minnesota made a similar pick-up in 2001 with the signing of Andrew Brunette, and he only went on to be the league's best bargain, jolting the Wild attack -- specifically its power-play -- with 21 goals and a team-high 69 points. His 10 man-advantage markers helped lift the Wild from a 9.6 percent PP clip to 14.7 percent.

Goaltender Manny Fernandez remains the starter despite a lackadaisical 2001-02 season. His 3.05 GAA and .892 SP were significant drop-offs from his solid effort in the Wild's inaugural campaign. At any rate, the job is his but one wouldn't expect him to have too much slack if he should falter. Backup Dwayne Roloson performed more than admirably when called upon a season ago.

The Wild went 2-0 against Boston last season, and are 3-0 all-time against the Bruins. Minny has outscored the B's by a combined 13-5 margin in the series.