from Michael Russo of the Star Tribune,

But as one Wild player joked with me recently: “We need expansion here in the West. We could sure use a couple patsies.”

That’s because the Western Conference is beyond stacked. Unlike the old days when you could expect an easy game or a dozen easy ones a year, the stressful West is a nightly crusade just to squeak out two points.

Coach Mike Yeo isn’t trying to be dramatic when he honestly says, “I feel like we are a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup,” but follows up by saying in the next breath, “And I also am scared to death of missing the playoffs.”

It’s not only the Wild coach. Darryl Sutter coaches the Los Angeles Kings. He has guided his team to two Stanley Cups in three years. If any coach has the right to feel a little extra confident about the team he drives, it’s Sutter.

But when asked what kind of message he delivered the Kings about defending their title, the always blunt, truthful Sutter said, “It’s tough to defend it if you don’t make the playoffs.”

Such is life in the quagmire that is the West. It’s especially torturous in the Central Division, arguably the hardest in hockey.

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