from the Edmonton Sun,

The Edmonton-Minnesota showdown last Thursday for first in the division looked very much like most Edmonton-Minnesota games - awful - until a three-goal third period outburst made everyone forget the emotionless drudgery of the previous 50 minutes.
If the NHL’s goal in creating an unbalanced schedule with 32 of 82 games against divisional opponents was to foster true, blood-boiling rivalries, well, it’s not working. At least not in the Northwest….
Familiarity has not bred contempt. Teams hate playing each other more than they hate each other.
“It’s almost like overkill,’’ said Liles, the diminutive, and likeable Avs defenceman. “The schedule is just goofy. I don’t know if there’s any other way to describe it.

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