I Noticed A Missing Link

I noticed that my blog has a noticeable void, well, at least noticeable to me anyway. Hockey!! I am a rapid hockey fan. Some have said obsessive, what? Who? Me? Naaaah. Well maybe a little. Secondly I am a die hard New Jersey Devils fan! OH what is that I see...top spot in the East? I never noticed.

The playoffs are fast approaching and I am getting excited about the prospect of hockey on TV ever night for a month or so. I believe I will have to ensure my playoff tree is reborn again this spring. Last spring I built this playoff tree on a wall in our home, much to the dismay of my lovely finace. She is patient with me. God love her for it. But I have to say the playoff tree was a sight to behold. It was awe inspiring. LOL

Now, I am not sure why I have never added hockey to my blogging. I certainly do love it and have a passion for the game. I follow the scores daily, I watch the stats and I read numerous articles almost daily. I can talk hockey with the best of them. That brings me to problem I have with all the anti-Devils people out there. I understand that the Devils have had some unfortunate years of stifling coaches that preached DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE, which produced Stanley Cups, but some terribly boring hockey. However, like a true fan I stuck with them. So why is that no one has noticed their transformation? I guess because they are sitting right where they have been for the past 10+ years, at the top. Leading their division and/or the Eastern Conference. I know they got there with boring hockey, but that has changed. When the Devils hired Brent Sutter as their coach in this past off season he has been a changed the hockey philosophy in the New Jersey camp. This season they started slow out of the gate because of it. They were learning new systems which were a 180 degree change from previous years. They lost all their key defensemen and had a new coach who is all about puck pursuit and a strong passion for an aggressive fore check. That left Martin Brodeur alone in the back 40 to fend for himself for a number of games while the team figured out what this crazy coach was talking about. Not to mention they started the season with a nine game away schedule while they waited for the new Prudential Center arena in Newark to be finished. Needless to say with 13 games remaining in the 2008 season the boys from Newark are coming into their own and just in time. With the playoffs just around the corner; the offense is clicking, the defense has learned how to work with their veteran goalie and it looks like Brodeur is on fire, once again producing Vezina like numbers. In two games this past week against the leagues whipping boys (The Maple Laughs), Brodeur stopped 83 of 85 shots! Obviously some team break downs there, but what else would you expect from one the leagues best goalies of all time.

So as I gear up (like I am personally involved) for 2008s quest for Lord Stanley's mug, I watch on the edge of my seat as my boys hold on to the slim lead they have in the Eastern Conference. The Habs are working hard to bring back days of old to the Forum, backstopped by their young netminder giving them great success this season (flashes of the glory days of Patrick Roy dancing in their heads). And those pesky Penguins, lead by a young cast of incredible super stars are breathing down the necks of Devils for Atlantic Division supremacy. So if you hear a deafening scream and aren't sure where it came from; it was probably me cursing the all those who oppose my Devils ownership of the Eastern Conference!

My Two Cents
Jamie