Obviously

Well, we're not dead, just deadbeats. I'd apologize but that would take away from the substance and grit of the topics that must be discussed. Ponder for a second, if you will, the gravity of this evening's match up. The Devils and the Flames. By name alone this meeting is a match made in the antithesis of heaven which complicates the pressing need for a surface made of frozen water. Bloggers, MSM, and pundits alike should rejoice in the metaphysical feast of information, assumptions, speculation and opinions available with this clash of the titans. It should surpass the recent news from MTL.

Clearly, not posting has been good for my wordsmithery, but before I blow the proverbial load let's get to the business of hockey, the Fames, and their current swing through the east.

Firstly, the last two events have been marred with results in the wrong column after the splashy debut of Ollie and J-Leo. Numerous things spring to mind: Flames don't play afternoon games well, McHeinously is a poor unlucky bastard, Leo forgot which team he was on, everyone is injured, blah blah blah. Envision in your mind a hand-drawn map depicting the current route taken on this road trip (of course this map is tolkien-esque in nature) then the last three games have been in the comforting embrace elvish creatures and things that are decidedly soothing. They should have resulted in wins even if the Flames were replaced by Tim Hortons Timbits. Yet we have lost. The next leg our hardy heroes face takes them through a land easily marked: here be dragons.

I know other top contenders are flopping but it would be nice to capitalize on the 'sand in the gills' the sharks are suffering, or the total economic collapse of Detroit and get a few points closer to these perennial overachievers.

This evening is a challenge for the Flames, one I expect them to win. It will be worth the $15 bucks I am going to shell out for PPV. I am sure they are going to win based on some cold hard math:

Mike Keenan has 665 wins. A win in NJ would put him at 666. Coincidentally, I think that number is important to Devils in general. If only they'd picked Satan up on waivers we'd have a trifecta.

That is all.