Four-game western swing starting October 9 in Vegas

Vegas late at night then Colorado the very next night?? whoever made this schedule wants us to suffer 😱 up at 2am here in Halifax watching the puck drop on the 9th, work at 8, ah well, nowt to do 😤 but tbh that's how we find out what this group is made of. last year was ugly, 28th place, and everyone's already writing us off again. good. let them sleep. Vegas is always chaos and the altitude game in Denver back-to-back is brutal, but if the boys show up hungry I'll take two points from that trip all day 💪🔥 get in!

Bruised roster riding 28th place into a back-to-back? Vegas then Colorado both moneyline fades for me, value's leaning the other way until I see who starts in net 😭

2am puck drop in Vegas then Colorado the next night, my body is already filing a complaint 🤣 I'll be there in socks and a blanket, C$0 spent on sleep 😂🍿

Betting against your own team on a back-to-back, classic 😂 I'll toss a loonie on them in Vegas just to annoy you.-goal diff of -46 says RetroSinceDayOne might be onto something though 💸

Halifax fella up at 2am with work at eight, that took me back, I did the same dance in the old Gardens days with a radio under the pillow 😄. I'm with StandsGuyFaithful that these back-to-backs show you what a group's made of, though I'd add watch as long as I have and you'll get it: October hockey tells you precious little either way. I'll take my Timmies and enjoy the ride, worrying about 28th place can wait til Christmas.

Enforcer tossing a loonie on his own team just to spite a bettor, that's the most financially responsible Leaf fan take I've seen all summer 😂 Me? I dropped way more than that on futures last spring and my bookie still sends Christmas cards out of pity. Honestly though, that 9th/10th pair. Vegas at altitude-warmed crowd one night, then Denver the next. I've done that exact swing as a fan years back and by the second period in Colorado I was basically a decoration. If the roster's already bruised, who sleeps first, the goalies or us? 😏 Sure thing, mate, I'll still be up at 2am watching, wallet crying, heart hopeful.

dave's radio-under-the-pillow bit got me proper nostalgic. back in my day we'd get the western swing scores off the 11pm news if you were lucky, now my nephew texts me like i'm his own personal ticker 😄 i'm with him on the back-to-backs showing what a group's made of, but i'll add my little caveat: it's the second night in colourado that worries me more than the vegas late start. high altitude after a 2am body-clock game, that's where legs go to die. watch as long as i have and you'll get it, october road trips rarely tell you who you are, but they sure tell you who's not ready. still, i paid for the season seats through a couple rebuilds worse than this one, so 28th place don't scare me. i'll be up with the kettle on for puck drop like always, beauty of a way to start the season eh.

Millie, your bookie sending Christmas cards out of pity is the saddest thing I've read all week 😂 Anyway, Vegas then altitude the very next night. That Colorado back-to-back alone is worth a sneaky puck line play, trust me 😏

emma, that colorado night after vegas had me gasping for air in the concourse once, and i was thirty years younger 😉 i'll take the two points wherever we can get 'em.

Remind me of your ROI, Emma? 😏 A 28th-place side catching altitude on night two of a back-to-back... that's a toonie on the Avs, not a "sneaky play." 😂

ha, Uncle_Faithful's toonie line made me spit out my coffee 😄 i'd lean the same way. A 28th-place club walking into altitude on night two of a back-to-back, my old knees ache just thinking about it. only caveat i'd add: october hockey can be funny, everyone's fresh-ish and the Avs might still be finding their legs too. i've sat through enough of these road trips to know the first week tells you very little and very much all at once.

Uncle_Faithful dropping toonies like he's got a spreadsheet, love it 😂 Meanwhile our boys scored 253 and gave up 299 last season. That goal differential is doing more damage to my wallet than any back-to-back ever could. Utah on the 14th then home to Buffalo the 15th, another jam sandwich, and everyone's acting like October's a victory lap. Remind me of your ROI again, mate? 💸

kev, my knees feel that post just reading it 😄 i was on a similar western swing back in the day - did vegas and denver in the same week in the old barns era and swore i'd never underestimate altitude again. watched a tired club get lungs-busted for two periods and learned my lesson the cheap way for once. that said, uncle's toonie on the avs is fair, but october hockey is its own weird animal - legs are fresh-ish, systems are still being figured out, and the avs might still be shaking off summer rust too. if vegas goes long or overtime the night before, that colourado game could be uglier than the puck line suggests. i'll believe the doom when i see it live at scotiabank on the 15th, buffalo feels like the comfy landing spot after all that flying 😉

funny thing about expectations, folks. I had this club written off in '92 after some ugly November hockey and they made me eat my words by spring. watch as long as I have and you'll get it: the standings from last year tell you who they were, not who laces them up October 9 in Vegas. sure, 299 goals against still gives me heartburn, and Uncle_Faithful's toonie on the Avs probably isn't the worst toonie ever spent 😄 but a back-to-back through altitude early in the season, before anyone's legs are dead and the room's still figuring out its identity? I've seen worse openings, honestly. sometimes a tired road team on night two plays free because nobody expects a thing. so who's in for the ride - the pessimists or the ones who remember being surprised before?