Yep, Bryan is still somewhere up north doing things to animals.

Let's get to it.

• Vote On Last Week's Top Plays Last year, Wild.com wanted help from our fans in the State of Hockey and beyond to help us select the Top Play of the Year. To do so, we needed you to pick the Top Plays each week, so we could pit them against each other in the offseason in a single-elimination tournament. We had so much fun, we're going to do it again this year.

A look back at a tough loss

• Isles start fast, PK strong in first win This wasn't the full 60-minute effort Jack Capuano and the Islanders might have wanted to erase the memory of Saturday's no-show loss in their season opener. But they did just enough Monday to grab two points, so it will have to do.

• Wake-up call comes too late for Wild | StarTribune.com The Wild might want to respectfully decline the next invitation to play in the New York Islanders’ traditional Columbus Day matinée. Either the Wild players’ body clocks malfunctioned across the board or they misread their travel itinerary and thought Monday’s opening puck drop was meant to be a morning skate.
• Islanders 2, Wild 1: Early lead and big penalty kill key 1st win - Lighthouse Hockey The New York Islanders rode a strong first period and outstanding penalty killing to eke out their first win of the season, 2-1 over the Minnesota Wild on Kids Day at the Coliseum.

So apparently our friends in Ottawa don't much care for our #15.

• Heatley still disliked in Ottawa How nice of Dany Heatley to return to town with the Minnesota Wild and help the Ottawa Senators kick off their 20th season on Tuesday night
• Silver Nuggets: Is it time to move on from Heatley? - Silver Seven Warren also points out that Heatley's performance has been diminishing regularly, too, so perhaps his leaving to was a blessing in disguise for the Senators organization. Is it time for fans to move on, though?
• Former Senator Dany Heatley expects a rude reception in return to Ottawa - TwinCities.com For Dany Heatley, its all about going to Ottawa to try to procure two points tonight and salvage the Wilds two-game trip.
• Heatley calmer about 2nd visit to Ottawa - sportsnet.ca Dany Heatley says he will be a little more relaxed as he's set to play his second game in Ottawa on Tuesday. 
  

• Any jerseys to toss at Dany? | Senators | Sports | Ottawa Sun
  While a group of Ottawa fans all tossed their old No. 15 jerseys on the ice when he was here with San Jose last year, Heatley told the Minneapolis Star Tribune Monday he doesn’t expect that kind of protest this time around.

Enough about Heatley. What about the Sens and today's game?

• Senators pay for losses with backcheck If the Ottawa Senators don’t hound the Minnesota Wild with their backchecking in the home opener Tuesday, it won’t be for lack of practice.
• Gonchar next for Sens boos hounds? | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Sun Fans at Scotiabank Place Tuesday will be doing an awful lot of booing for a home opener, and it will have nothing to do with the fact the Senators are oh-fer-two and haven’t even scored a goal until they’ve been in a third-period hole deeper than Eugene Melnyk’s pockets.  They will, of course, be giving it to Dany Heatley. As they are good and right to do.
• Senators Game Day: Home Opener vs. Wild | Senators | Sports | Ottawa Sun The club went through a hard practice and there was plenty of work done under coach Paul MacLean. The Senators have been able to score goals in two games and that should give them confidence because they’re expected to struggle. The club needed a good work day Monday.

• Sens feel Mac attack in practice | Senators | Sports | Ottawa Sun
  With the Senators winless in their first two games, the coach put the players through a difficult 78-minute practice with plenty of skating before Tuesday’s home opener vs. the Minnesota Wild.