My brain hurts. It truly does. Ok granted I think technically it’s just a headache and probably caused by a change in the barometric pressure. But it still hurts. The goings on in the hockey world are not really helping. The Canes just suffered a frustrating 3-2 loss earlier in the week to the Senators in a shootout. Last night, after sacking an assistant coach, the Habs beat the Flyers 4-1. And earlier in the week the Columbus Blue Jackets finally won a game, against the Red Wings. Yes. I said the Red Wings. Only the Canes loss contributes to the headache pain. The other items just leave me scratching my aching head.
What else is causing a massive quantity of head scratching? The lines. Oh the lines. I have not yet looked at the reports from practice today, but the switcheroos done by Paul Maurice in the third period during the Senators matchup left me truly puzzled. If you asked me where I expected to see Jiri Tlusty playing, the first line would not have been my answer. I am sure he is a lovely fellow but I can’t imagine that lineup striking fear in the hearts of our competitors. The Finns and Skinns were together, then apart, together then apart. I hope they will be reunited for the game against the Blackhawks tomorrow. That line has chemistry and I really want to see it stay together. In addition to the together/apart refrain we have the Justin Faulk is called up, back down, called up, back down story. I wonder if the organization is encouraging him to drive a Toyota Prius until they figure out where they want him. I hope he has some quality tunes in his iPod for the journey.
In other call up news, we finally got to see Zach Boychuk get a chance to break the big roster again. He came out with a high-energy game and was rewarded in the third period with forty-one seconds on the ice. Yes forty-one seconds. A movement on Twitter has been launched to #FREEBOYCHUK. There is a feeling among of the fans of “You called him up. He was playing well. Let’s see what he can do.” I don’t really see how it could have hurt anything in that contest.
Fans want to debate the line changes and come up with magic solutions to what is missing with the team. I confess to getting caught up in the discussion sometimes (see previous paragraph). The other night on the Aftermath postgame show, there were some really assertive callers who made sure we knew they were not receiving paychecks from the NHL and were not qualified to make coaching decisions. They then launched into their crazy talk about the decisions they would make. I should have made the decision to turn the show off.
Something is “off” with the team. I don’t know what. Sometimes it feels like the coaching staff is, in the modified words of my Cardiac Cane compadre Dan, throwing “stuff” to the wall and seeing what sticks. All I know is the Blackhawks are in town tomorrow and I hope we have our act together. I know Captain Serious, Jonathan Toews, and company will have their rears in gear. I also know that if Daniel Carcillo lays a hand on Jeff Skinner somebody is going DOWN.
I had another video in here demonstrating my frustration with this week in hockey. It featured screaming. But you, the faithful Cardiac Cane readers have spoken, and I have made a change. Michael Smith from the Canes media department reported that he heard this song emanating from the depths of the RBC Center yesterday. We DO need a hero. Will it be Eric Staal who played like a beast the other night? Will it be Cam Ward? I don’t know. But whoever he is I hope he shows up soon.
* The author acknowledges multiple references to head scratching. She assures you it is not do to something nasty like head lice or lack of hygiene. It’s hockey. Honest.
We will get you ready for the contest against the Blackhawks tomorrow here and our sister site Blackhawk Up will give you the view from the Hawk’s side of the coin. Thanks reading these deep, headachey thoughts. Follow Cardiac Cane news and stories on Facebook and Twitter: @CardiacCaneFS, @Esbee92, and @Caniac176.