Afternoon from NHL Draft Central, where the NHL released each team's schedule this afternoon.

The Wild will open the season Oct. 8 at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Eight of the Wild's first 12 games are at home and 10 of the final 14 games are at home.

The Wild will play 18 games against the Eastern Conference. The three East teams the Wild plays twice are Winnipeg, Florida and the New York Islanders. The Wild will also visit Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington, while hosting Boston (Feb. 19), Carolina (March 17), New Jersey (Dec. 2), the New York Rangers (March 27), Pittsburgh (Oct. 18) and Tampa Bay (Nov. 28).
Popular out-of-town visits at Xcel Energy Center include: the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins (Feb. 19), the Anaheim Ducks (Oct. 27, Feb. 14), the Calgary Flames (Nov. 27, March 11, March 22), the Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 14, April 5), the Dallas Stars (Jan. 21, March 13), the Detroit Red Wings (Oct. 15, Oct. 29), the St. Louis Blues (Nov. 5, Nov. 19), the San Jose Sharks (Jan. 10, Feb. 26), Winnipeg, in its first-ever trip to St. Paul (Feb. 16), and the defending Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks (Nov. 3, Feb. 9, March 19). The Wild's game against Dallas on Saturday, Jan. 21, is part of the Sixth Annual Hockey Day Minnesota.

Minnesota's home schedule features traditional holiday games such as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 23) versus Nashville; the Friday matinee after Thanksgiving (Nov. 25) at 1:00 p.m. against Edmonton; the day after Christmas (Dec. 26), a 5:00 p.m. start versus Colorado; as well as the New Year's Eve game, a 5:00 p.m. contest versus Phoenix.
The Wild will have a six-game homestand – Nov. 17-28 versus Colorado, St. Louis, Nashville, Edmonton, Calgary and Tampa Bay. The Wild will play nine home games in March – matching the most in franchise history. The club has a pair of five-game road trips, with both making stops in all three California cities. Minnesota plays 10 back-to-backs in 2011-12, down from a team-record 19 last season.

There's only one time the Wild plays at home, then the road the next night -- compared to seven last year.

Dumbest back-to-back? At Florida and at Dallas in February. Not exactly a stone's throw away.
Season Tickets for the 2011-2012 home schedule are available now. More information on season tickets is available at www.wild.com, or by contacting a Wild Ticket Sales Representative at 651-222-WILD.

MINNESOTA WILD 2011-12 SCHEDULE

DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT)
SEPTEMBER – PRESEASON
Tue. 20 @ Edmonton 8:00 P.M.
Thur. 22 @ St. Louis 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 23 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 24 @ Pittsburgh 2:00 P.M.
TUE. 27 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M.
Thur. 29 @ Columbus 6:00 P.M.
FRI. 30 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.

OCTOBER – REGULAR SEASON
SAT. 8 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M.
Mon. 10 @ N.Y. Islanders 12:00 P.M.
Tue. 11 @ Ottawa 6:30 P.M.
THUR. 13 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 15 DETROIT 7:00 P.M.
TUE. 18 PITTSBURGH 7:00 P.M.
Thur. 20 @ Edmonton 8:30 P.M.
Sat. 22 @ Vancouver 3:00 P.M.
THUR. 27 ANAHEIM 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 29 DETROIT 7:00 P.M.
NOVEMBER
Tue. 1 @ Detroit 6:30 P.M.
THUR. 3 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 5 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 8 @ Calgary 8:00 P.M.
Thur. 10 @ San Jose 9:30 P.M.
Sat. 12 @ Los Angeles 9:30 P.M.
Sun. 13 @ Anaheim 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 15 @ Columbus 6:00 P.M.
THUR. 17 COLORADO 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 19 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M.
WED. 23 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 25 EDMONTON 1:00 P.M.
SUN. 27 CALGARY 5:00 P.M.
MON. 28 TAMPA BAY 7:00 P.M.
Wed. 30 @ Edmonton 8:30 P.M.

DECEMBER
FRI. 2 NEW JERSEY 7:00 P.M.
Sun. 4 @ Anaheim 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 6 @ San Jose 9:30 P.M.
Thur. 8 @ Los Angeles 9:30 P.M.
Sat. 10 @ Phoenix 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 13 @ Winnipeg 7:30 P.M.
WED. 14 CHICAGO 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 17 N.Y. ISLANDERS 7:00 P.M.
Mon. 19 @ Vancouver 9:00 P.M.
Tue. 20 @ Calgary 8:00 P.M.
Thur. 22 @ Edmonton 8:30 P.M.
MON. 26 COLORADO 5:00 P.M.
Wed. 28 @ Nashville 7:00 P.M.
THUR. 29 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 31 PHOENIX 5:00 P.M.

DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT)
JANUARY
Wed. 4 @ Vancouver 9:00 P.M.
Sat. 7 @ Calgary 9:00 P.M.
TUE. 10 SAN JOSE 7:00 P.M.
Thur. 12 @ Chicago 7:30 P.M.
Sat. 14 @ St. Louis 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 17 @ Philadelphia 6:00 P.M.
Thur. 19 @ Toronto 6:00 P.M.
SAT. 21 DALLAS 8:00 P.M.
Tue. 24 @ Colorado 8:00 P.M.
Sun. 29 NHL All-Star Game (Ottawa, Ont.) TBA
TUE. 31 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M.

FEBRUARY
Thur. 2 @ Colorado 8:00 P.M.
Sat. 4 @ Dallas 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 7 @ Columbus 6:00 P.M.
THUR. 9 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 11 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M.
TUE. 14 ANAHEIM 7:00 P.M.
THUR. 16 WINNIPEG 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 18 @ St. Louis 1:00 P.M.
SUN. 19 BOSTON 2:00 P.M.
Thur. 23 @ Florida 6:30 P.M.
Fri. 24 @ Dallas 7:30 P.M.
SUN. 26 SAN JOSE 5:00 P.M.
TUE. 28 LOS ANGELES 7:00 P.M.

MARCH
Thur. 1 @ Montreal 6:00 P.M.
Fri. 2 @ Detroit 6:30 P.M.
SUN. 4 COLORADO 6:00 P.M.
Tue. 6 @ Colorado 8:00 P.M.
Thur. 8 @ Phoenix 8:00 P.M.
SUN. 11 CALGARY 5:00 P.M.
TUE. 13 DALLAS 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 17 CAROLINA 1:00 P.M.
MON. 19 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M.
THUR. 22 CALGARY 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 24 @ Buffalo 6:00 P.M.
Sun. 25 @ Washington 4:00 P.M.
TUE. 27 N.Y. RANGERS 7:00 P.M.
THUR. 29 FLORIDA 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 31 LOS ANGELES 7:00 P.M.
APRIL
Sun. 1 @ Chicago 6:00 P.M.
Tue. 3 @ Nashville 7:00 P.M.
THUR. 5 CHICAGO 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 7 PHOENIX 7:00 P.M.

BOLD INDICATES HOME GAME
DATES AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE