Hockey Photos on Nikon D40?

I'm going to take photos at the Xcel Energy Center of the Minnesota Wild hockey team for a high school journalism photography contest. I have a Nikon D40 and wondering what lens would be best, and what my settings should be at. I have a small 18-200mm lens, and may be hoping to get a larger one. Does anyone have suggestions on a lens and settings?

First you'll need something with a fast f/stop - the 50mm f/1.8 will do that for you. However there's no zoom so you'll have to be near the action to get anything at all. Even with this lens you may get some blur but it'll be a lot less that with the 18-200 because of its slower f/stop.