October 8 Past, future haunt NHL on eve of season Hurricanes guarantee bounce-back year Wild to open season without top two scorers Wild's Brandner to be second Austrian in NHL Leonsis: Capitals need to 'bury the demon' Satan to captain Sabres for first month Iginla become NHL's first black captain Ricci gets first turn as Sharks rotate captains Rebuilt Sharks look to life after Nolan, Selanne Lightning confident they can repeat success
October 7 2003-04 NHL Season at a Glance Blackhawks younger and quicker, but better Bruins opens against defending champion Devils Preds get younger as they open their sixth season MacLean knows he'll be blamed if Blue Jackets fail Blackhawks trying to keep pressure down on Ruutu Pens look similar to Lemieux as 20 years ago Tootoo closer to becoming first Inuit to play in NHL Kings begin season with lingering injuries to stars Turco expects to be better, but not another record
October 5Eliot: Darren Eliot: Pacific Division Preview Naslund helps Canucks down Coyotes 2-0 Rookie winger Michalek lifts Sharks past Avs 3-2
October 4Eliot: Darren Eliot: Northwest Division Preview Kings stay hot with 4-0 win over Mighty Ducks NHL heads into uncertain future after 2003-04 Tootoo close to becoming first Inuit to play in NHL Devils aim to be elite team by winning another Cup Red Wings have a mess in net with two No. 1 goalies In NHL, old-timers play every night New faces replace old guard among Detroit's forwards Aging Wings look to win it all together one more time Playoff-tested Wild have higher expectations this time New owners proved to be saviors in Buffalo, Ottawa Stars motivated by blown Stanley Cup chance Kariya, Selanne give Avs legendary group of forwards Ducks overcome losing Kariya with two key additions Messier hot on Howe's heels for second place Roundup: Kings ink first-round pick Dustin Brown Canadiens score late to salvage 1-1 tie with Sens Staal scores again in Hurricanes' 3-1 win over Caps Rangers beat Bruins 2-1 to end preseason 5-4 Islanders beat Devils to end preseason at 7-0
October 3 Heatley has torn ACL, MCL Waiver Draft comes, but CuJo doesn't go anywhere Thrashers rout Preds 5-2 behind Savard's 5 points Lang's pair keys Capitals in win over Hurricanes Hossa lifts Canadiens to 3-2 win over Wild Markkanen blanks defending champion Devils 2-0 Patient Blues overwhelm Jackets 3-2 after slow start Golisano bought Sabres to honor friend Roloson, Fernandez deal with platoon ... for now SI.com's San Jose Sharks Preview SI.com's 2003 Phoenix Coyotes Preview
October 2Eliot: Darren Eliot: Central Division Preview Kariya, Selanne score in Avs' 4-2 win over Stars Islanders move to 6-0 with 4-2 win over Flyers Senators beat Lightning 4-3 to improve to 7-0
