thelastonealive

If I can find a cheap single ticket, I may finally make my return to the Rock tonight. Maybe.

Last events I went to at the old arena were a Coldplay concert and some WWE PPV (No Way Out? One of the less interesting ones. I think a steel cage match was the main event). Those are the only two times I was back after the Devils moved. Was at that last game there against the Sens and remember thinking how much I'd rather have been across the lot at the music festival going on at the time, because we just were so outclassed in that series.

Carrying a Sabres bag, not wearing gear. Don't really think it means anything. Supposedly he's trimming a dozen teams that have reached out to 3-4 to visit. I'd post a link but I read it this morning and have no earthly idea where I saw it.

Yeah that scares me a bit. I lucked into Marty night tickets because I bought tickets as part of a group sales thing before it was even announced as Marty night. They seem to have planned ahead a bit further with this one.

That would be awesome...keep me posted? It's been too many years since we caught a game together!

I really hope I'm able to pull a ticket to this come Friday, but in the event that I don't, if any of you season ticket folk somehow wind up with extra, do keep me in mind?

I don't know if it's the original scoreboard there, but they might need an upgrade even worse than we do. For those curious about the size being distracting, I didn't find Tampa's huge board distracting when I was down there a few years back, but I was also in the lower level. It definitely beats the hell out of what we have right now.

I had read somewhere that the season is likely starting on/around October 4th this year.

I'm a Mets fan; I can put up with a lot of stupidity from the teams I like...

This choice would feel a whole hell of a lot less stressful if Dallas got the #2 pick instead of Philly.

Needs more sexy ninjas.

So the Columbus poster guy who joined the team this year left awhile back - his last poster was the Bob's Burgers themed one against Buffalo. Kind of makes sense, his have a very certain style to them and most of the ones towards the end didn't really have that. Wonder what's in store for next year now, if they still do them or not.

AND that was the pick we probably should have given up over the Kovalchuk crap, but didn't, which resulted in our having the 30th pick in the 2015 draft when we would have otherwise had I think the 9th overall pick instead. That decision was just a disaster all around. I usually defend Lou's...Lou-ness, and even probably did at the time, but my god does it look terrible now.

We win, Arizona loses to Dallas but picks up an OT loser point.

Speaking of poor souls getting beaned by pucks - a few years ago at the very end of warmups, someone ripped a shot that hit the crossbar, which arched end-over-end over the netting, and hit a woman in the back of the head as she was walking up the steps to her seat in the lower level, maybe 20 rows up. I remember tracking it from it hitting the crossbar and realizing it was gonna catch her a second or two before it did and not being able to do anything (being in the upper level and behind the net). Hope she was alright. Seemed pretty dazed after.

I think 2010/11ish, yeah. They wound up playing three times in three days that weekend. Game was a Friday, we were down like 3-0? They went to LI or Philly or something, then finished the Lightning game on Sunday. Lost the game despite outscoring them on Sunday.

I was about to walk into a meeting I didn't want to be at when I saw TG tweet it, followed by "This is real." I left said meeting immediately.

I have a theory that they're working up to the number retirement announcement. They did a pair of retired number players posters this weekend. There's four more home games left, but the Jets one is a makeup from earlier, so that'll just be the poster it was supposed to be two weeks ago. I think in those last three games we'll see another set of posters, featuring Dano, Stevens, and then Elias for the home closer, where they announce his retirement and number retirement next season. Just to be clear, I have zero actual information. It just strikes me as weird that they did the posters the way they did this weekend and assume there's gotta be at least two more like that, and with three games (besides tomorrow) remaining, why not?

I was Donald.

Tonight is a playoff game against Buffalo, winner plays Boston in the final in Boston. So last home game of the year for em. I actually went to a game last year in Brooklyn, which is obviously far more of a pain in the ass for me to get to than Newark. Didn't make it to one this year just because of money and time. Still hope the league does well, and if they're in Newark next year I'll try to make it to a game or two.

I did some number crunching so I could well be wrong, but by my estimation, last night's forward lineup, not counting the top line of Hall-Henrique-Palmieri, has a combined career NHL goal total of 52. 22 coming into this season. 16 of which were Bennett. The fourth line had a combined NHL goal total of 1 (granted, with limited NHL experience). That can't all be the coach. These lineups lately are BAD.

I've been playing around with nhllotterysimulator.com a lot lately. Being third-worst seems to yield a top 3 pick about 50% of the time, and would probably be more if not for Vegas coming in with the same odds (but with the fact that we will probably try to snipe away some players that Anaheim or Tampa can't protect, I don't mind it). I hate watching games like the Colorado one (and the first period of last night's game), but moving up in draft position with a significant chance at 1st overall is an okay consolation. As a lot have been saying, we really badly need top bottom out at least once and get some top tier talent, may as well be now. Sucks that we don't have our own third round pick, but having Colorado's cancels that out. Thanks Eric Gelinas.

Our top pairing tonight is Lovejoy/Merrill.

I teach a class on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so I'm not making it to the next bunch of games (and since I teach, I can't particularly afford the weekend games coming up either...). If anyone would be so kind as to pick me up a retro night poster in the coming days (and perhaps a Hockey Fights Cancer night one as well), I would gladly pay you back and pay for shipping if we're not able to exchange in person.