8-6 to Washington?????

Hey, what the heck happened while I was gone? I fly out to Calgary to do an HNIC game and while getting prepped for the game I am watching the out of town scoreboard and I can’t believe my eyes. I wasn’t shocked to see Ottawa score 6 goals. I was stunned to see them give up 8! So let’s get this straight, Ottawa has only lost 9 games in regulation time this season and now 2 of them are against the Caps? It just tells you that anything can happen in the new NHL. Last year the top 5 teams in the league had almost 50% of their regular season regulation time losses to teams which didn’t make the playoffs or were below .500. Now it’s back in Washington for game #3 of the season series.

Some of the boys from the media went out to a restaurant in Georgetown for a New Years Eve dinner. I took a pass, since I am battling a cold and it’s affecting my voice. An evening of trying to talk over the loud crowd at the restaurant won’t help it.

Also while I was out west, it appears the Ray Emery saga hit the fan. There are a lot of things a lot of people can, could and will say about Emery. His behavior and the way he has been going about his business is not what you would hope for from a role model, but he is certainly not the first to have trouble dealing with things which have come very fast like money, celebrity, pressure, expectation and motivation. His boss’s and team mates have made very clear to him what their expectations are and the fans have spoken loudly on the Team 1200 talk shows. He has received the message and now it’s all up to him. You would hope that a young man with so much promise, athleticism and competitive fire would be able to get his head straightened out and become the player and man his parents I am sure hoped he would. If he can’t do that, the real loser in all this will be Ray. Very, very few people get the opportunity to play in the NHL and fewer still have the chance to be a true difference maker on any team they play for. Squandering that would be a true shame. For everyone’s best interests, but mostly for Ray, it is my hope that he does get it back in line. Only the most cynical of hockey watchers would take joy in watching a promising NHL career implode.


See you at the rink.