The circumstances were right for a Wild victory on Thursday. It was Minnesota's season opener, at home, against a team against whom it conquered in last year's playoffs and therefore had gained a certain mental edge.
What we weren't quite prepared for, however, was the level of dominance the Wild achieved in its 5-0 rout of Colorado.
It was a new kind of dominance, one we don't really remember seeing from the Wild (or if we did see it on occasion, it felt a little bit like a fluke or mirage).
It was the kind of dominance that comes with confidence — a confidence that grew, we would imagine, from a combination of last year's playoff performance and the knowledge that, 1-18, the Wild has one of the deepest groups of forwards/defensemen in the league.
There are no real weak links — no line combinations that make you cringe, no defense pairs that make you wonder. There is certainly still a hierarchy, and the top line of Parise/Pominville/Granlund was fantastic, but every line can score and every defensive pairing brings something to the mix.
The Wild will not win every game or even approach the level it played at Thursday in every game. But if Minnesota can even approach that level in most games it plays this season, there is reason to believe this team could be very, very good.
In a market that would love a dominant team, that's a nice thought and a great way to start the season.
