I went with the NESN feed for this scrap, for two reasons. The first being, who knew Bergie, was a lefty? The second being, I agree Patrice is back. He’s been the Patrice of old this Montreal series and it’s great to see. If I were the Habs, I would stop trying to intimidate, and be overly physical with these guys because it’s not worked the last 2 games. If I am the Bruins, I stay the course. I can’t wait for tomorrow night!
Chris
Goonblog Road Trip
George and I had very little to do yesterday. Well, actually, that’s kind of a blanket statement. Anyway, we decided to use the Flex Tickets we get as part of our Bruins Season Tickets and take the boys down to the all new look Dunkin Donuts center for the Baby B’s tilt against the Manchester Monarchs.
I hadn’t been there since MOL and I braved a blizzard when she was supposed to be doing homework to see Trevor Gillies in action when he was with the Springfield Falcons. The building has been totally redone, and ironically enough, they put us in the same exact row, almost the same seat MOL and I had that wintery evening.
Gone is the old folk’s home smell of pee, and ammonia. In are the excellent food choices, giant video board, and very wide concourses. I have two complaints, and they are minor. The seats are way too small. Even the kids were cramped. For a place called the Dunkin Donuts center, I thought there would be more than one Dunkin Donuts inside. Since I am not boozing anymore, I like a nice cup of coffee and a dip during the games. There being only one DD, and a line as long as Billy Tibbett’s’ arrest record, I decided to pass. We made up for it by stopping at the Tim Horton’s on the way out of town, but it would have been nice to enjoy a nice cup of coffee after my wicked sausage sandwich.
The game itself was a pretty good tilt. I am really impressed with Bruins prospect Mikko Lehtonen. He had a couple of nice goals yesterday, and should figure in the plan in Boston post haste. I was not impressed with Zach Hamil. He has not shown me anything in the dozen times I have seen him, and yesterday was more of the same. Out of position, and with his head down a lot. One play he came across the top of the slot with his head down. He tries that in the show, and he’s going to have his head taken clean off. There was a fight in the third that was OK as well. All in all, it was a great day. I think a Capital Grille dinner and a trip to the House that Larue Built is on the agenda for next season.
Video Proof: Sean Avery is a Punk.
Thanks for the Post Ref! I was at the game yesterday, so I didn’t get the benefit of hearing what Brick and Jack had to say about this. I gotta tell you, I totally agree with Andy Brickley on this one. I have no problem with players being a pest. What I take issue with is the stunts like Sean Avery pulled yesterday. It’s totally uncalled for. More frequently he seems to not want to answer the bell for himself either. I noticed a few times yesterday he was going after David Krejci, but as soon as Milan Lucic came around, he was a ghost. I had your back for the sloppy seconds comment. Unfortunately like Paulie in Goodfellas, Now I gotta turn my back on you.
Helter Skelter Thoughts
I have many thoughts running around my head. I need to jot them down here. Not all of them of course. I will spare you the ones in which I am dressed like Little Bo Peep reading aloud the PIM stats of my favorite enforcers while Milan Lucic (the dog) circles me barking out the theme from the Dukes of Hazard.
What are the odds the Zedno Chara would get a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, on Gordie Howe’s Birthday? A million to one? In my mind, he has been worthy of the C twice. Once earlier in the season when he went after Boris Valabik for running Phil Trade Bait Kessel, and the other night when he went after Evgeny Artyukhin of the Lightning the other night. Arty was being a punk and needed to be set straight. Big Z did so. Arty needs to lose the shield as an aside. Don Cherry would call him a coward. Or, a cooo-ward. I bet the fight will be on Coach’s Corner tonight.
I really hate when people spell Lightning, Lightening. Drives me crazy.
Milan Lucic looked a lot like Cam Neely on the goal he scored the other night. He made a very Neelyesque power move around a defenseman, and ripped a slap shot top shelf on Alex Auld. Tazzer summed it up best saying it looked like #8 going around Rick Green. I couldn’t agree more. I am still not ready to anoint Gino as the next Cam Neely, but if he keeps doing things like he did the other night, it won’t be long.
Whoa. I just figured it out. Cam Neely. #8. Milan Lucic. #17. 1+7=8. I literally just got that. I am not bright.
Is Marc Savard deliberately trying to get Johnny Peirson to come after him? Savvy hates the wrist shot, therefore Johnny would hate him. I can see Johnny now after Savvy’s goal the other night. Savvy took a slap shot and got the puck back, took a wrist shot and scored. Johnny would have said something to the effect of All you young center men out there, I want you to watch right here. Watch as Marc Savard winds up for the slap shot here. Stop the tape here Fred ( tape would roll an extra three seconds) watch it right herehe winds up for the slap shot and the defense gets set. You want to take a wrist shot there and gain the element of surprise. Watch it here when he learns the error of his ways and gets the wrist shot off here and scores. He was going towards the net and good things happen when you go tooooowards the net. I miss Johnny.
Who has a bigger head? Ben Gatorade Bucket Eager, or Rob Pumpkin Head Skrlac?
How long do you think it will take me to resurface after the Bruins win the Stanley Cup this season? Two, maybe three weeks?
Congratulations to Christian Hanson on making his NHL debut last night. Nice work by the Leafs getting him to take the ice first, only to leave him out there all by himself. I love it. No other sport would you be able to get away with that.
Speaking of the Leafs, last night they were talking about Tim Thomas’ new contract on Rogers Sportsnet in between periods of the Leafs game. I’m not sure what announcer it was as I was playing with the dogs, but he was saying it was a bad move to do the deal now because what if he stinks in the playoffs, and he’ll be 35 in a couple of weeks. Dumbass, do some research. Doing the deal now before he turns 35 is the time to do it. Should his game go to shit, he can be bought out and his salary cap hit can be spread out over twice the duration of the deal. They do it after he turns 35, and the number cannot be deleted from the cap number. Very smart move by the Boston brass. It also says something about Thomas. He could have tested the free agent market July 1, with more money probably being offered, but he decided to stay here. Well done Timmy. You deserve it.
Killer’s Been Found Too
Speaking of calling off searches, I found Killer. He is alive and presumed hungover. I take my brother to a Bruins game every year for his birthday. Saturday’s Original Six tilt at the Garden between Boston and Chicago was this year’s game. Killer had alerted us he was going, so MOL, my brother and I drove him in to town and enjoyed some pizza and fights at Halftime Pizza. Killer was meeting some buddies, including frequent Goonblog commenter, KSpecial, so it really worked out for all. The pizza was excellent, and the 25 ouncer Killer started off his day with looked frickin tasty too. Killer, great to see you. Let’s not go so long next time eh?
As for the game, it was an n excellent tilt. The Bruins played very well, and I really like The Blackhawks this year. In fact they are the first two time winner of NHL Center Ice team of the year for me. They are young, fast, and tough. I really can’t think of a better cup final than Boston over Chicago.
In typical us fashion, that guy, or in this case, those guys were seated next to us. My brother is a magnet for that guy. It’s well documented he always sits next to that guy. Until I quit boozing, often times it was his little brother, but in yesterdays case it were two knuckleheads in our row. At least they were on the end, so everyone had to get up every time they got a beer. Mid period. As the play was going on. Oh, and the Bruins were about to score. MOL started out next to them when they arrived with about 7 minutes left in the first. I had the pleasure for the 2nd and 3rd. He quote, Oh, you are going to love those idiots. One of them doesn’t shut the fuck up, and the other is just an idiot, could not have been truer. By the third period, the one that didn’t shut up was so cocked; he had a three step process to take a sip off beer. It was two misses, a head bob, and then a little spill down the throat. They left with about 2 minutes left in the game to meet some friends at a bar. I pray the bouncer/bartender at whatever establishment they stumbled to recognized these two had enough, and needed a fresh 24. I forgot to mention, before they left, they agreed Mario Lemieux was the greatest ever because he was just like Cam Neely, only 20 times more talented. I’m serious; I wish I were making this up.
Call off the Search. It’s Hockey Week in Acton!
What would you believe as a plausible answer for where I have been since my last post?
1. On a whirlwind hockey adventure in which I saw parts of 12 games?
2. Starring as Kenickie in a production of Grease on Ice?
3. Drunk in a bar?
4. Jail?
5. Getting drunk in a bar, after being released from Jail?
Which one was the least believable? Number 2? Yeah I thought so too. If you guessed number 1, you are absolutely correct.
Hockey Week in Acton has become as grand a tradition as Hockey Day in Canada. They usually coincide with each other as luck would have it. My Hockey Week in Acton began last Friday night in Lowell in which I saw kind of a weird fight, and finished up last night at the Hub of Hockey with a real Old Time Hockey type game against the Ducks. Truthfully, it’s still going on as MOL is out, Milan is chewing my shoe, and the Habs are losing 2-0 to the Flyers. For the sake of this post, it ended last night.
Friday February 20th: Hartford at Lowell.
You would think with Sean Avery in town there would be a buzz in the building eh? I guess you’d actually need people in the building for that. Avery behaved himself, and only took a 2 minute penalty for something. Hooking maybe? Either way, he seemed pretty content (Habs scored, 2-1 Philly. I hate both these teams) to just play some hockey, and ignore some pretty creative signs. My favorite was the one with Rachel Hunter (FUCK 2-2. Good time for a fight) and Elisha Cuthbert on both side, and the words, Sorry Sean, these girls only date NHL players. Pretty darn funny. PL3 did ask him to go once, but he ignored him like he wasn’t even there.
Speaking of fights (DAMMIT 3-2 Habs), there was kind of a weird fight in this game. After drilling Hartford’s Brodie Dupont, Lowell’s Matthew Corrente was engaged with Hartford’s Jared Nightingale. The two dropped mitts and were about to square off when Dupont took decided he was going to do his own dirty work and fight his own battles. He dropped his gloves and went right after Corrente. Nightingale just kind of stood there and picked up his gloves as the other guys had at it. Very weird indeed. Not sure how Dupont didn’t get a third man in call, as Nightingale and Corrente were clearly engaged, but whatever. OK little scrap. I like Corrente a lot. He is afraid of no one, and is a good little hockey player to boot. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in the black and gold some day.
Hockey Day in Canada. Saturday February 21st. Started with Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, ended with Nashville at St. Louis with stops in LA, Dallas, and Florida.
I saw most of the Penguins game, except I missed the fight. The third period of the Dallas game, all of the LA game, all of the Bruins game, and the third period in St. Louis. I missed the fight in Philly due to a lunch break and the fight in the LA game because Milan had to poop. MOL was sick and asleep on the couch, so I parked it and flipped around. It was a superb way to spend a Saturday. I heard a couple of Edwardsisms all around the NHL. Obviously they were all over the Bruins game, but I heard two layers of defense and a few half boards. I am forgetting one. George, help me out here.
Sunday February 21st. First period of Pittsburgh at Washington. Worcester at Lowell. Third period of Boston at Tampa Bay. Lowell lost in a game best described as zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and Boston sucked in Tampa. Mark Stuart got beaten so badly coming out of the corner on Tampa’s 4th goal, I’m not sure his jock strap made the trip back to Boston. I just missed Shawn Thornton’s fight with David Koci in between periods, and I saw the replay of Stuart’s tussle with Gary Roberts. Needless to say, after the Bruins trip, I was concerned about the game against Florida Tuesday night.
Monday February 22nd. San Jose at Dallas. I could only muster the first period of this one, as MOL was kind enough to pass her cold onto me, and Milan and I could barely keep out eyes open. At the first intermission I asked her if she wanted to go to bed. She barked twice for yes. Then we went to bed, and she decided to bark at shadows in the bedroom for 30 minutes. Not good times. She is cute, but like her daddy, not bright.
Tuesday February 24th. Florida at Boston. This one found George and me in the Hub of Hockey and Hungry for Hockey. Like I said, there was great concern heading into this one. Good thing for us, and all the Bruins faithful (by the way, still plenty of room on the bandwagon) at the Garden. We were all hoping for the team we saw in November and dreading seeing the one we saw as of late. Luckily, they gave us the Marty McFly treatment and went back in time to the November club. Just a dominant performance by the boys, featuring a scrappy Nick Kobasew getting into it with Keith Ballard. He is playing like a man that doesn’t want to be dealt. The star of the evening was Byron Bitz. He chipped in 2 goals and had the 17,000 faithful chanting his name for the trick. They tried to give him a chance at it by putting him out on the ice at the end of the game, but it wasn’t to be. Still, Bitzy has played very well, and I expect great things from him in seasons to come. I have been very impressed with him and I hope he kicks the shit out of Huggy Bear tomorrow.
Wednesday February 25th. Lowell at Worcester. Yes, I willingly traveled to Worcester to see the Devils. What can I say? I’m sick. After some heavy apps. At Pizzeria Uno’s we settled into the DCU Center for what turned into a pretty interesting tilt. There were no fights on the night despite some serious chatter between PL3 and Worcester’s Brad Staubitz. Both clubs seemed pretty content to just play some hockey, and referee Terry Koharski seemed eager to get into his trusty green cooler of Bud Light as not a lot was called.
Thursday February 26th. Anaheim at Boston. George and I were back at the Hub of Hockey, and obviously, Hungry for Hockey. 4 dogs, some cookies and 2 sodas. Not a bad haul. Anyway, the Bruins are back baby! Notice to the rest of the NHL: if attempting to intimidate the Boston Bruins, I might suggest a different strategy. I love the Ducks aggressive strategy, but I love it even more when the Bruins respond. It was a rough and tumble affair the featured 2 fights and one Marc Savard taking matters into his own hands in self defense. Oh, plus a 6-0 bloodletting by the hometown team.
It all got started at 8:20 of the second period. After watching Princeton grad, former teammate, and resident tough guy, Yanni, er, George Parros flatten Marc Savard; Shawn Thornton went right over the boards despite it not being his shift to make big George pay for what he’d done. Thorts hopped over, and went right after Parros. They dropped mitts and had at it. Thornton did pretty well trying to get inside on the bigger Parros to take away the drastic reach advantage. It looked like a couple of shots were landed to the license plate on Parros, and Thornton got the takedown. (No points scored, and in MY NHL, would be an extra penalty for Thornton. The crowd loved it however, so I’ll move on.) Kudos to Thornton for doing his job, and reason number 7829 why I enjoy him so much.
The fireworks continued at the 14:49 mark. There was a little battle for the puck in front of Anaheim’s goal, when Mike Brown decided to cross check Milan Lucic (not my dog. That would be crazy) and then sucker punch Gino. Naturally, Milan went right after Brown, and pummeled him down to the ice. Normally, I take issue with a fighter continuing to throw punches when the other combatant is down, but when you jump someone like Brownie did, all bets are off. Sheldon Brookbank got the gate for being the third man in whilst trying to remove Lucic from his teammate by force. Then everyone, except the Captain of the Bruins, came in to get in on the action. I will never understand why Chara feels the need to stay on the periphery of such eventsI guess I should stop expecting him to jump in on stuff like that, but in my mind, they should still be trying to separate him and Brookbank. Alas, the dust up was cleared. Gino went to his box in obvious pain, and anger, screaming at Brown the whole way. Brookbank was shown the door, and play resumed.
It resumed, but it wasn’t long until Scott Niedermayer and Marc Savard were involved in a little tussle. While standing at the far blueline, Niedermayer took it upon himself to plant 3-4 cross checks on the small of Savvy’s back. Having just about enough of that behavior, Savard decided to do something about it. He engaged Niedermayer and both dropped the gloves. It doesn’t look like either guy threw any punches, or the old fart took Savvy down, landing on him. Both were given roughing minors, and Savard did not return. If I may, NIEDERMAYER! DEAD! I really can’t explain how cross I will be if Savard is out for an extended period of time. If Niedermayer is traded back to New Jersey as per one of the rumors I’ve heard, someone on the Bruins better go after him when they return to town next month.
So, there it is. Despite learning all of Kinickie’s songs, and dance moves, I have been on a hockey binge that continues with a very good Flyers game right now, and will continue with the Blackhawks when this one is over. Then to Vancouver for the Tampa Bay matchup at 10. Really, does it get any better than spring hockey?
New Favorite
Thank you to everyone for the comments on my last post. It’s good to know people are still reading the blog. As such, I thought this was a good time to introduce one of my favorite new enforcers. If I may borrow Dave’s Don Cherry impersonation for a moment (Happy 75th Grapes) gotta tell ya. I like this Matt Clackson.
Matt was in Lowell last week with the Philadelphia Phantoms, and had a decent scrap with Pierre-Luc LeBlond in the first period. It looks as if both guys threw and landed a couple of nice punches. I don’t think PLLL liked him throwing the couple he did after they went down. The five minutes Clackson spent in the box wasn’t his only time there either. He got four minutes later for getting put in a head lock by Lowell’s Barry Tallackson and defending himself, then the slew foot on Lowell defenseman Anssi Salmela (called a hook) got him another two. After 54 games played, he has203 PIM, and is second in the league to San Antonio’s Francis Lessard.
What I like about him, is he seems to relish being the pest, and tough guy. I was close enough to him when he was in the box that I could see him smiling at PLLL every time he looked over. I also had a chance to speak with him, and was asking about who the toughest guys in the league were. He told me they were all tough, but did single out Brandon Sugden as one of the toughest he’s fought. When I asked him if he ever fought my other new favorite enforcer, Lowell Devil Matthew Corrente, he said he hadn’t because he likes to fight the bigger guys because it’s more fun that way. This is a very sick man, and I for one love it. I enclosed the Lowell fight from the other night, but do yourself a favor and YouTube the name Matt Clackson. Matt, should you read this blog, e-mail me your address and I’ll send you a T shirt. More importantly, keep up the good work, and don’t forget to stay goony.
The fights stay in the Picture
For whatever reason, whenever there is a holiday on a Monday, my Hockey News gets all messed up. As such, I got two issues on the same day last week. No, wait, three. Anyway, one of them was the debate on fighting, and where it has a place in the game of hockey. I read the issue with an open mind, and a willingness to listen to both sides of the argument, and I have come to a conclusion that fighting most certainly has a place in hockey, and I hope it still does for years to come.
Listen, I am sorry Don Sanderson died. From everything I have read about him, he sounded like a hell of a nice young man. Loyal to his friends and family almost to a fault. He wasn’t the best hockey player on earth, but he knew his role. I have to ask though, why is there a role of enforcer in a senior A league? Am I wrong, or is this a glorified title for men’s league? Don was not getting paid to be there, in fact quite the opposite; he paid his own way to games. It is essentially a weekend recreation league, and I have to agree with Wayne Gretzky on this. Why was he fighting in this league in the first place?
In the wake of this tragedy, there is a ground swell to ban fighting in hockey. It gives the media another chance to take shots at our beloved game by showing fights in which people get taken down and land on their head sans helmet. The beating Kevin Westgarth gave Garret Klotz was as ill timed as a fart in church. I’d like to use logic to help solve this issue if I may. Don Sanderson was killed in a fight in a league WHERE IT IS ILLEGAL TO FIGHT. This is not a league where you have a dust up, and go feel shame for 5 minutes. A fight in the OHA results in a game ejection, so really, what will a ban on fighting do? Not a thing. Instead, here are some ideas I have on the matter.
1. Remove visors for anyone with over 100 PIMS the previous season in the AHL. Part of the problem and dangerousness of fighting is the code of honor under which these guys operate. When a fight ensues in the AHL, a lot of the times the boys shed sticks, gloves, and now helmets. Why? They don’t want to shred their knuckles on their opponent’s visor. Plus, one shouldn’t be fighting with a shield on. It’s against the code, and in fact, there is an extra penalty given to any player that instigates a fight with a shield on, on top of the instigator penalty. My solution is to give players that have amassed over 100 PIM the previous season to sign a no visor waiver. With the guys doing the heavy lifting visor less, they are free to fight without having to remove the bucket.
2. Remove the instigator. I have said this so many times, I will now try in another language. El removeo el instigatoro. Part of the argument people are making against fighting is they like fights, but not the staged ones. Why are people fighting 2 seconds into a game they ask? Well, because there are scores to settle, and if there is no instigator, those scores can be settled in the heat of battle without having to resort to staged fights. Personally, I love a good opening faceoff donnybrook, but maybe that’s because I understand what is happening more than the average bear.
3. Assess an extra penalty for take downs. I score no points for takedown in a hockey fight, and it’s become more and more a part of the strategy as of late. Perhaps it has something to do with a lot of the tough guys doing MMA training in the off season. From what I understand, takedowns are a huge part of the strategy in MMA. Watch a fight from the 80’s or 90’s. More of those fights were 2 guys squared up throwing punches at one another. When they got tired, they grabbed onto each other, and the stripes came in and separated the exhausted combatants. Of course you can find fights to the contrary, but look at the fights today. Two guys drop mitts. They size each other up forever. Then they try and get in tight on one another. Body shots ensue, then the take down. They aren’t as interesting as they once were, and maybe if the takedown rule is implemented that might change. It would be kind of hard to enforce, and some takedowns would be questioned, but I think it’s worth a shot. Hell, the NHL did a ton to open up the game after the lockout, why not try to make fighting more exciting while we’re at it?
Once again, I am very sorry for the loss of Don Sanderson. It’s tragic and sad, but let’s not has a knee jerk reaction and ban fighting because of it. It’ doesn’t sound like something Don Sanderson would have wanted.
Get it Now
Do yourself a favor, and pick up The Face of Toughness by Ken Babbitt. My copy arrived on Thursday night. As I ate leftover pizza Milan Lucic nipped at my toes, and I poured over the most fascinating 40 pages in literary history. The book is filled with some great fight photos, but it is the “candids” where Kenny really gives the boys the Dickie Dunn treatment. Not since the Chiefs’ brightly colored uniforms were flashing against the milky white ice, has the spirit of the thing been more captured. The photos tell the whole story as you can see many subjects are very battle worn, with more than a few fresh black eyes, and recently healed cuts and scrapes on full display. They are worn as a badge of honor by these guys, the ultimate in team sports. Along with the bumps and bruises we see the Cheshire cat smiles of guys getting under the skin, and truly enjoying it, of other guys. Shawn Thornton, one of my all time favorites to come through the building, is seen with a perpetual smirk on. Stone Cold Steve McLaren looks as if he is thoroughly enjoying being called the worst player in the league. There are a couple of great shots of Mike Brown, who I am pretty sure threatened Mike Commodore’s life. In a robot voice no less. Tazzer can check me if I am wrong, but I am sure he said between penalty boxes:
Commodore. Commodore. I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!
I do not want to ruin the whole book for you. I must be trusted on this one, pick it up. You will not be disappointed.
Am I a Meat Slapper?
It is official. I am a meat slapper. I bought a Bruins third jersey last night at Sports Authority. I have been debating if I should get one since they came out. On the one hand, I strongly believe that jerseys are for meat slappers, and kids. On the other, I really like the Bruins third jersey. Along with the St. Louis Blues third jerseys, they are my favorite alternates in the league. After much deliberation, I decided I was going to get a blank one as you never wear another man’s uniform. I feel the blank jersey avoids that issue as there is no name; so really, it’s like wearing a t shirt of your favorite team. That makes sense right? The problem then became finding one.
The Bruins hit a home run with this jersey, and the fans agreed. When they debuted, I wasn’t sure if I could get one, and when I decided I wanted one, I couldn’t get one. I tried a XXXL on in the Pro Shop at the Garden, but it was way too big. All outlets are reporting 12-16 week lead times on getting more in. Well, unless you want a Chara, and I do not. So, when we were going to the mall last night to get MOL a new phone, I asked her to pull into Sports Authority to see if maybe they had one.
Has anyone looked for Bruins gear in Boston these days? Let’s put it this way, Whitey Bulger is easier to find than a store with a good Bruins selection. Most places I have been have racks upon racks of Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics gear, and a tiny corner where the Bruins gear is. Even Modell’s, the supposed official place for Bruins gear was nearly barren of the Black and Gold. Interesting side not, they did have a very nice Glenn Murray jersey. Full price. When I walked into Sports Authority and saw the sea of Red Sox gear before me I thought, Well, here we go again. I looked against the wall, and they had several Chara thirds, and some other uniforms. Disappointed I began to walk away. I thought well, maybe I will just take a peek through these jerseys to see if they have a blank XXL. I looked around to ensure no one was looking as I didn’t want to be labeled a Chara fan. Rifling through them like a kid going through his friend’s mom’s underwear drawer, there it was in the back. XXL. Blank. I looked away, stunned. No way was this my lucky day. Even better, the jersey was 20% off.
MOL was not very pleased with me spending $92.00 on a hockey jersey. I felt a little like Ralphie asking for a Red Rider BB Gun. Instead of you’ll shoot your eye out, I got really? This is what you want to spend your money on? I felt like a little kid asking for it. Please mom? It can be my birthday-Christmas-Easter present. After a few minutes of being totally emasculated by my wife, I bought it, and we were on our way.
I must say, I really like the jersey. It fits really well, and Milan Lucic and I watched the game last night while I was wearing it. She was trying to chew on the crest. Bummer they lost, but all in all, I couldn’t be more pleased with my purchase. Does this really make me a meat slapper?