#to tide us over while we have no hockey tomorrow

[imperatorrrrr]

T!! in honour!! of Nico Natural Hatty!!! tell us your top 3 pieces of Nico lore 🥹🥹🥹 (someone hand this man the whole world he deserves it 💗💗💗💗💗💗)

this is late, but do I ever answer an ask on time? (no, no I don't)

T's Top Three Favorite Nico Hischier Lore Drops:

Nico Hischier did not have his New Jersey driver's license his first couple of seasons playing on the New Jersey Devils. - Nico got his Nova Scotia driver's permit while living with a billet family in Halifax when he played for the Mooseheads from 2016-2017, and got his license in Switzerland in the summer of 2017, but he didn't have his New Jersey driver's license his rookie season. You know who else didn't have their license? Jesper Bratt. So Nico and Jesp used to go to the rink every day with Pavel Zacha (Pav) and Blake Coleman (Pickles). They would drive these two to and from the rink every day. Nico and Jesp were relegated to the back seat which they would refer to as "the couch". This carpooling also gave us some of my favorite Nico videos of him playing Swiss rap in the car and annoying the shit out of his teammates. Nico did not get his New Jersey license until early 2019 if anyone is wondering.

Nico Hischier is always late. - so I don't know if this is still true, but one of Nico's biggest things that his teammates would chirp him about during his early seasons was how often he was late. If they're going somewhere or meeting up, he's always the last one to show up. Its nothing egregious, just five minutes late here and there. This has a lot to do with the fact that he is not a morning person whatsoever, so when he'd be meeting up with someone to go to practice or something he's usually late because it takes him a bit to get up in the morning. There's a story from his rookie season where some of the guys started doing special fines for Nico when he was late and he'd have to hand whoever he left waiting like five bucks each. I don't know if this still holds true. I bet his Captainly instincts have kicked in by now.

If Nico Hischier didn't follow through with his hockey career, he would have finished school and continued onto university. - In an interview with his brother early on in his career when he was asked what he would have done if he didn't have hockey, Nico said he would have finished his schooling and gone to university. His favorite/best subjects in school were the languages. And if he wasn't a hockey player he said he would maybe be a teacher. When Nico was out for about a month last season due to his injury, he got into the Roman Empire and history documentaries/history in general due to the "How often do men think about the Roman Empire" meme. He also has a soft spot for history related shows with Peaky Blinders and Vikings Valhalla being some of his television choices. I just love the idea of nerd adjacent Nico. He's talked a lot about wanting to always be learning and I haven't been able to get post-hockey Nico returning to school. And now that we've learned that he likes to talk philosophy with his mother!

Honorable Mention: Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes and their pre-game three hour naps when they were road roomies Jack's rookie year.

[thatsdemko]

Waves-S.Knight

Requested: yes|no

Ntdp masterlist

A/N: Spencer’s new insta post got me inspired! And also this is similar to Cali boy... and I wrote this really fast 😳

Song

Let me know your thoughts if you have any!

You watched the kids run up to the water embracing the cold water, the kids playing in the sand building castles, the adults enjoying a refreshment tanning, and the many girls and boys your age just trying to get any kind of sun on their skin before school started. You laid beside your friend watching the waves hit against the slime enjoying the sounds, “lets go for a walk.” Your friend suggested and you nodded your head and you both got up grabbing your phones and the travel tervis cups that may or may not have been full with alcohol that your mother let you both sneak down.

You walked the shoreline together taking pictures of each other, pointing out the sea shells and talking about the latest things going on Snapchat, your small friend circle, and such, it felt nice for you both to be away from the drama going on.

You were down taking pictures of each other about to look through them when a guy came up to you both, “this is a weird question, but can you take a picture of me and my friends?” You agreed taking his phone and the group of, hot, shirtless boys piled around each other on the shoreline and you started taking pictures of them all, “the lighting isn’t that good do you want to move?” You yelled over the waves crashing against the shore and they all agreed and you started taking pictures of them all again.

“Thanks, we were wondering if you both wanted to hang out with us? We get it if you say no.” The one grabbed his phone and just as you were about to decline your friend smiled, “yeah we would love to.”

—

“Knighter! You missed pictures!” One of the boys shouted and you looked over your shoulder seeing the boy they were all talking to, and you felt breathless just looking at him. His blonde curls were everything to pull you in, not only that his body had you almost off your feet.

“Shoot your shot,” your friend whispered in your ear and you laughed turning your attention to her, you hadn’t dated anybody in such a long time, you almost wanted to push yourself to do this, but you wanted to wait for college, you didn’t want to fall in love with someone you would never see again.

“I won’t.”

“Who are these lovely ladies?” He asked in front of you both and you lost all words just looking at him this close in front of you. You almost forgot how to speak which caused your friend to shove your tervis into your chest, if you couldn’t speak sober the only thing that could get you to do it was what was in your cup.

“I’m y/f/n, and this is y/n.” She introduced you and you took a long swig of what was in your drink and he smiled at you, he felt it too, he didn’t know how to act in front of you as well, “cool I’m Spencer.” his smile could barely be wiped off his face walking away towards his friends now, “thank you for bringing them.” Spencer could hardly make it over to his friends saying that and they looked at you both talking together sitting on one of the boys towels.

“You want her? Shoot your shot.” He nudged his head in your direction and he could barely even look over at you knowing if he looked over at you he wouldn’t want to take his eyes off of you.

Spencer laughed, “yeah like she’d like me.”

—

Some more of the boys went to get more to drink from their beach house while you stayed back and your friend volunteered to go with so now it was you, a few of the boys, some girls, and Spencer.

“Just go talk to her, she’s alone around strangers be a man.” His friend shoved him across the beach practically and Spencer made his way over to you, you were looking out at the water bored out of your mind waiting for your friend to get back since none of the girls here were really your type of girls to hang with.

“Hey,” He said sitting down next to you and you smiled, “hi,” you looked over at him and butterflies were in your stomach now just by looking at him.

“You live in Massachusetts?” He asked and you nodded your head, “I can tell you don’t.” You laughed, he didn’t have a noticeable Massachusetts accent like you didn’t, but you knew he was from up the coast.

“No, no I’m from Connecticut.”

“Lacrosse player?”

“Surprisingly no.” He replied and you nodded your head, “then what are you, Connecticut boy?” You smirked running your hand through your hair, “hockey player, well goalie to be specific.”

“You like it?” You asked and he nodded his head smiling looking out at the water, “I played national development for the past two years with some of my best friends.” He sighed and you could see the sadness in his eyes thinking about those memories, “you’re not ready to let go are you?” You asked and now he looked at you, “how do you know?”

“It’s in your eyes, why are you sad to let it go?” You asked leaning back and he could barely find words as to why he wasn’t ready. He would be far away from all his friends again, some close by and some with him, but not all of them would join him.

“They were my best friends, and I never imagined two years with them would go by so fast.”

“Friends are forever, Spencer, they are just like the waves always in consent, yeah you’ll lose some, but some will stay with you, and that’s what’s important. People fade like the tide but they will come back. what’s important is the memories and lessons they’ve taught you.”

“I think that’s the most valuable thing someone has ever told me.” He replied getting up off the towel, “you want to come walk with me?”

“Yeah I’d love too.”

—

It was night time and you were invited to hang out with the boys after dinner at their place and now you were making your way from your beach house to theirs, it was only a couple blocks down which wouldn’t be a bad walk, except you both decided to drive around and get ice cream before heading over to their beach house. You were pulling up to their house with music blasting out your Jeep windows and all the boys playing basketball in the front stopped playing once you put your car in park.

“I think they know we are here.” Your friend laughed getting out of your car and you hopped out locking the car seeing them all go back to playing, “play your music any louder?” Spencer asked deciding to take a break from playing and your friend went over to the group of girls, she got along with them a lot more than you did.

“It’s called having a good time.” You said and he pulled something out of your hair, “yeah you’re going to have to take a shower again you have bugs in your hair, that’s what wind will do to you.” He smirked and now all the boys stopped playing basketball, “boys! It’s fishing time!” One of them clapped their hands and they all went inside, “are we allowed in?” You asked mainly to your friend, you weren’t sure if you were comfortable going inside some random guys beach house that you didn’t know, but you didn’t want to be the only ones not going in.

“You coming?!” One of the guys called out and you both walked inside seeing there were no parents at the house. not a single adult in sight which freaked you out even more, “if we die—“

“We won’t.” Your friend cut you off and you followed the boys getting their fishing poles and you all went back down to the beach seeing their set up was still there from earlier and you sat on Spencer’s towel, “hey,” he fake frowned and you shrugged blushing a little bit, “you can sit there—unless you want to fish with me?” He asked and you looked at your friend who nodded you along, “sure,” you stood up handing her your phone and you followed him out to the shoreline.

“You ever done fishing by the shore?” He asked starting to get his things around and you tied your hair back, “no.” You replied ane he smiling up at you, “today’s your lucky day.” He handed you the pole putting everything together and you looked over at your friend sitting there, she gave you a thumbs up and you turned back to Spencer.

“Alright, ready?” He asked and you nodded your head and he grabbed a hold of the pole from behind you throwing the line out, “there you go.”

“You’re just going to let me do it?” You asked nervously turning to him and he laughed nodding his head, “come on, Massachusetts girl, show me what you got.”

You laughed feeling the line tug and you reeled it in quickly to see you caught a big one, “nice catch,” Spencer went to the fish pulling it off the line, “I don’t know if I should say thank you or you’re welcome?”

“I mean thank you because you caught it and you’re welcome because you caught it for me.”

—

You watched Spencer with the girls for hours fish, it was boring because you decided you didn’t want to fish anymore, but Spencer every now and then would show you the fish he caught.

“Aye, Knight! You catch a big one next you got to ask the girl out!” One of his friends called out and he looked down the shoreline seeing the devilish smirk on his face, “deal!” He called back feeling the line tug pretty hard and Spencer reeled it in seeing it was no other than quite a large fish. It was like God was on his side or something giving him a sign.

He heard cheers from his buddies and that’s when he realized he had to ask you out, there was nothing bad about it, he just was afraid of rejection.

“Ask her out, man!” The same friend called out and Spencer let the fish go now heading over to you with his pole, you were sitting there by yourself since all the girls had gone back to get sweatshirts getting ready for sunset pictures.

“Do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow?”

“Sure, say seven o’clock?”

“I’ll see you then.”

They were like the waves, connected in a way the ocean told him something he never thought he could imagine. Always in consent. Some summers were just better than others and Spencer could agree with that.

[tiawritesgood]

Becoming Owen: Chapter 1

January 2007

A heavy hand clapped Owen on the back. “Hey, man, how was hicksville?” Owen punched his roommate, Trevor. “I’m from Kentucky. It’s hardly the deep south.” “Tell that to your accent.” Owen didn’t even notice the supposed twang in his voice. He did notice the long o’s of Trevor’s Massachusetts accent, though. It always got stronger after break. After three semesters of living together, Owen knew to expect a dense New England accent for a few weeks at the beginning of each term. Apparently, the start of their last semester of senior year was no different. “You’re an asshole. You know that, right?” “Whatever, man. I’m going to get some coffee.” For the sake of being the obviously better person, Owen didn’t comment on the way Trevor said ‘cawfee.’ “I’ll come with. When did your flight get in?” “Hour ago. Yours?” “Two. Why did we decide to fly in the day classes started? I have my animal behavior lab at noon. I’ll be dead.” Trevor shrugged. “You’re the one who saved some of your worst shit for the last semester. Who takes two labs at the end of senior year? And an internship? You’ll be in the library 24/7.” Owen pulled on his jacket and held open their apartment door. He and Trevor were both scholarship students, and to keep the money flowing they had to live on campus. Luckily, Indiana University offered apartment-style housing for upperclassmen. Even luckier, Owen and Trevor each had their own room in their two bedroom apartment. They shared a smaller, single-bedroom apartment junior year and nearly killed each other. Yet, they still decided to room together as seniors. Some friendships just worked. It was a hike to get from their apartment in Bicknell to Wells, the library and the only place on campus to get decent coffee. Owen hated the taste of bean juice, but he quickly learned that if he was going to survive college, he’d have to tolerate it. Otherwise, he’d be stuck with energy drinks, and that shit screwed with his body too much. He hit the gym five days a week, but the only way to keep his muscle mass was to avoid all that sugar and other junk they hid in the cans of caffeine. Campus was alive and well for a Monday morning. It was the first day of classes for the semester, which meant most students were on their best behavior. After a few weeks, people would realize their eight am lecture didn’t actually matter that much, and campus would go back to being a Monday morning ghost town. “Yo! Grady! Collins!” Owen and Trevor turned to find their friend Jackson jogging toward them. He had nothing but the clothes on his back and a pencil behind his ear, the same uniform he would wear the entire semester, yet Jackson managed to kick ass in all his classes. Owen would suspect him of cheating, but they watched a few episodes of Jeopardy together, as they aired, and Jackson knew most of the answers. The dude was just crazy smart. He could probably teach every class. “It’s a beautiful day, boys.” Jackson sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?” “Anxiety and cilantro?” Jackson punched Owen’s arm, though the cilantro thing was true. For some reason this one pathway on campus always smelled like the herb. “Smells like freedom. And we’re just a few months away from tasting it.” “You’re mixing metaphors or some shit. Why not just say we’re seniors.” “We’re seniors!” Jackson screamed. He earned himself a few dirty looks from passersby. Jackson shrugged it off with his come-what-may attitude and through his arms over Owen and Trevor’s shoulders. “This is it boys. We’ve been working up to this for four fucking years. Celebrate!” Owen shrugged out of his friend’s grip. “I’ll celebrate when I have my diploma in hand.” “You know you don’t get that til like a few weeks after graduation, right?” He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. I need to get through this semester before I can get excited.” Trevor had been right earlier. Owen hadn’t spaced his classes out right, so he wound up with two labs, an internship, and two other difficult classes to finish up his major. While all the other seniors he knew would be coasting through bullshit geneds, Owen would be sweating his ass off in the lab twice a week, then going to the dog training center for his internship. So much for a fun senior year. They finally reached the coffee shop and found empty seats in the back. A few girls, and guys, watched as Jackson, Trevor, and Owen walked by. Owen could look, but he would never touch. He had Samantha, a pretty redheaded psych major, to think about. She only had classes on Tuesday and Thursday, so she wasn’t expected back on campus until Monday night. Owen planned on welcoming her back all night long. Jackson and Trevor were unattached, so they did more than look. Two girls at the next table made eyes at the guys, and they made eyes right back. “Care to join us?” Jackson said, leaning towards the shy blond. “Plenty of room. I’ll even buy you a coffee.” The girl giggled. “I wish, but I’ll be late to class.” “Be late.” She looked genuinely appalled. “On the first day? No way.” Owen kicked Jackson under the table. When their eyes met, Owen mouthed, “Freshman.” Jackson nodded solemnly. Only a freshman would freak over the thought of missing class on the first day. If it wasn’t a mandatory lab, Owen would probably skip his first class without hesitation. That was the difference between freshman and seniors. The two girls left just as Owen, Jackson, and Trevor were called by the barista. They gathered their drinks and breakfasts, having ordered egg sandwiches to tide them over until it was actually lunch time, and went back to their table. The library cafe was emptying out as the next class period approached. They only had an hour before they had to make their way to their classes. They’d been smart in creating their schedules, ensuring that none of them had classes before noon any day of the week. Especially not on Monday. Owen chugged down his medium coffee in a few gulps. Fast was the only way to drink the thick, bitter liquid. Jackson cringed. “Shit’s hot, man. You probably have no tissue left in your throat.” Owen opened his mouth wide for his friend to check. “Is it just bones in there? That would be sick.” Trevor rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. “You guys are stupid. Why do I hang out with you?” “Because we’re the only people who will hang out with you.” “Guess I’m stuck with you.” They talked about break for an hour, finishing their food and coffees well before the stories were done. Twelve drew closer, and the guys said their goodbyes. “See you later?” Jackson asked. “Air hockey rematch?” Owen grinned. “I’ll be with Samantha. Tomorrow night?” “Works for me.” Jackson and Trevor had classes in the psych building, but Owen’s class was across campus. He walked alone, saying hi to the other people he knew, promising to catch up. When he got to the animal behavior lab, a few students had already taken their seats. Owen took one near the middle of the room, not wanting to block anyone by sitting his over-six-foot frame in the front, but not wanting to be so far away that he couldn’t hear. The professor showed up right on time and after a five minute intro to the lab, he assigned reading and went over their first lab assignment. The semester was going to suck like hell if Owen had work on the first day, but it would all be worth it when he could officially call himself a behaviorist. Until then, he had to stay big man on campus, and avoid drowning in homework. Seemed easy enough in theory. Practice, though, was a different story.

[plms-hockey]

Bruins @ Leafs - Game 18 - Nov.10.17

KEY NARRATIVES

Toronto Maple Leafs (10-7-0) vs Boston Bruins (6-5-3)

On Friday night the Leafs face the Bruins at home in the first half of a back to back. Tomorrow they'll face the Bruins again in Boston. It should be an exciting pair of games considering the bitter rivalry between the two teams.

While there's often some bad blood between two Original Six teams, this particular rivalry was reinvigorated only four years ago, in the Leafs only playoff showing in the decade predating the arrival of Auston Matthews. It was a strange year, shortened by a lockout that had teams only playing 48 games that season - and the Leafs were winning games. Deep down everyone knew that the team shouldn't have been good. They had the lowest CF% in the entire league and yet... somehow they managed to secure a spot at ninth overall in the league.

They faced off against the Bruins in round one. Even then the Leafs didn't seem horribly outmatched if you looked at the scoresheets. The teams traded wins and losses until the series reached game seven. By the end of the second period, the score was 2-1 in favor of Toronto.

They followed it up with another two before minute six of the third period, bringing the score to 4-1 Toronto with only fourteen minutes and seventy-one seconds left in the game.

The Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in overtime, five to four.

For the city, it was the worst kind of heartbreak. It's one thing to be bad, play bad, and know you're bad. It's the hope that really hurts (a lesson we can take into this year as we nitpick even the Leafs' victories).

Long story short, while Boston was clearly the better team that year, going onto the Stanley Cup Final before being taken out by the Blackhawks, the 2013 Leafs-Bruins series added fuel an old rivalry, urging it into the blazing flame that it is today.

Unfortunately, some of the fun will be robbed from this unlikely rivalry driven back-to-back by the news that once again Auston Matthews will sit out of a game. While my heart hopes he comes back in a fiery blaze of vengeance tomorrow in Boston, it seems most likely that missing this game implies missing tomorrow as well. My brain says this isn't the worst thing. Missing the game against the Wild on Wednesday, plus the two against the Bruins will give Matthews a full nine days to recover before they play New Jersey next Thursday at home. The schedule affording the team this much time while missing so few games is a luxury, and one they seem to be taking advantage of to make sure Matthews is ready to go for the long haul.

Brad Marchand, the pesky star winger of the Bruins, has also missed games and was listed today as a game-time decision. However, he was seen in Toronto today carrying all his gear which implies there's a real possibility he's in the lineup tonight.

Other key players on the Bruins include tallest-player-in-the-league / scariest human / aging Captain, Zdeno Chara. Their top line center is Patrice Bergeron, a year over year top Selke candidate (defensive forward award). They also just signed a deal over the summer with thir new young star, David Pastrnak, who is the final piece of one of the single scariest lines in the NHL (Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak). While age and depth are both concerns of this Bruins team, this year they still look like they could be a true cup contender, if the injury bug leaves them alone for the rest of the season.

Key Numbers

37 - Patrice Bergeron - Center 33 - Zdeno Chara - Defenseman - Captain 63 - Brad Marchand - Left Wing 88 - David Pastrnak - Right Wing 73 - Charlie McAvoy - Defenseman

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE POST GAME

Score: W 3-2 OT

Brad Marchand did join the Bruins on the ice in Toronto. Unfortunately for Boston, it was enough to turn the tide on a close game. This victory brings the Leafs to a three-game win streak, two of which have been played without Auston Matthews. I'd call that holding down the fort.

Barring the line illustrated in our Key Numbers section, the Bruins forwards were basically unrecognizable. If you'd quizzed me "Hockey player or not?" on the names on that list I don't think I could have gone 50/50. They do have a couple mid-level injuries, but not to the point that this doesn't expose a more chronic depth issue, one which the Leafs exploited throughout this matchup. Still, the teams ended up with an even split on 5v5 CF%, largely due to the Kadri line getting steamrolled by the Marchand/Bergeron/Pasternak Demogorgon—I mean line.

Unsurprisingly, that was the only productive group of Bruins forwards, each of them collecting one of the three points given on the night (the defensemen did a little better). The first Bruins goal, and the only even-strength tally on the board, came from Marchand to Bergeron 15 minutes into the second period.

Luckily, the score was evened just 15 seconds before the end of the period on a powerplay goal banged in by James van Riemsdyk.

The third period followed a hilariously similar pattern. Pastrnak scores on the power play at 14:30 into the period. The minutes tick down and Babcock pulls Freddie (who finished the night with a sterling .943 sv% himself) to ice an extra attacker. Mitch Marner, a day late to throwback Thursday, saucers a beautiful pass onto JvR's stick for an uncontested tip in.

Sorry Boston. The Leafs have some shit to prove.

Before touching on overtime and the continuation of Return of the Mighty Mouse, I want to look at James van Riemsdyk, who comes away with two goals on the evening. Drafted second overall by the Flyers in 2007, JvR was traded to the Leafs in 2012. While his defensive limitations are... well known, in seasons where he's been healthy, he's a solid almost 30 goal, 50+ point player. Recently, the Bozak like, which was so effective last year, seemed to fall apart. What's fascinating is the ways in which blame was assigned for this failing. Arguably it fell primarily to Bozak (a vet in a funk) and Marner (a star rookie slipping up a step). This was seen in the moving of Marner onto the fourth line, then Bozak as well. Why wasn't JvR spending time in the metaphorical doghouse? There’s an argument to be made that, unlike the other two, it wouldn’t have helped van Riemsdyk.

Ok, friends. Get ready for a metaphor where I call James van Riemsdyk a tool and try to make that sound ok.

When I look at JvR I think of the following saying, “A tool is only as good as the person using it.” It's been shown time and time again that, when used correctly, van Riemsdyk can score some damn goals. But he's most effective at the net, parked in front, using his big body and solid hands to receive passes and tip pucks into the net. It was clear last year that Marner was the driving force behind that Bozak line. His creativity and playmaking ability turned him into a craftsman who could use JvR to his fullest potential. While this metaphor also exists to highlight JvR's limitations (he's never going to drive a line or really hold his own with slumping linemates) it aims to show why I think it made sense to leave JvR higher in the lineup while shifting Marner and Bozak around until they got their groove back.

And lucky us, it seems like they're ready to start making art again.

Anyway, overtime: Mitch Marner stops Pastrnak from shooting on Freddie. Mitch Marner strips Pastrnak of the puck and creates a 3-on-2 rush up the ice. Mitch Marner drops his shoulder to fake a shot and pull both defenders towards the center of the ice. Mitch Marner then passes to Bozak, who slides it to Marleau for the game winner. Now watch it 100 more times to absorb its greatness.

Statistics and overviews courtesy of hockeyviz.com, corsica.hockey, hockeystats.ca, and hockey-reference.com.

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 27 - TOR

2-1 OT Loss

This was 95% of a perfect Buffalo Sports holiday weekend. We got the big, National TV Josh Allen coming out party against Dallas on Thanksgiving followed by a win over the Maple Leafs in Buffalo and an OT loss up in Toronto the following night. Barring Eichel ripping home the OT winner this was almost the best we could’ve asked for. Walking out of the Calgary game in the pouring rain Wednesday I just felt lost with this team. Sure, the last five or so games have looked better than the prior ten in several metrics, but the actual W’s were still few and far between. Friday afternoon in Buffalo we got the win. Saturday evening in Toronto we got damn close to another. Three out of four points in this home-and-home series is awfully nice. I’ve been very forward saying there cannot be anymore moral victories with this team: not in year five of Eichel and year two of Dahlin. This club has underachieved for too long. But in instances like this you got to acknowledge the significance of how a two-game series can make a difference. It’s not just the eye test effects; take a look at the heat maps getting thrown around after these two game and you can see shots coming from the right places. The expected goals, the advanced stat I proclaimed was the harbinger of doom as the hot start faded, its picking up again. Corsi, yeah it’s picking up too! The thing you can take from each game from this one back to the Florida Panthers game, other than five points, is that the Sabres maybe bouncing back from an absolutely ghastly stretch. They maybe bouncing back like they never managed to last season after resurrecting the love of hockey in this City like Easter morning during the ten-game winning streak. If they can’t be consistently good right now, the next best thing is the ability to bounce back. What’s that motivational buzzword: perseverance?

Master motivator Ralph Krueger better be yelling that one in the locker room if we’re getting our bang for the buck out of him. We can ride him all we want about roster optimization but that’s what fans do good or bad and frankly; I don’t think he’s going to mess up the deployment WHEN his boss makes the trade we’ve been waiting for. They’re two points out of second in the Atlantic Division. If you want to get a GM’s attention for the necessity of a single trade, show them how it can make a difference in the standings right now. A top six forward makes a difference in the standings right now. Something about playing the Leafs makes me very long-winded on the prefaces. This game proved what a boon another top six winger would be for this club. Three players scored this game: William Nylander, Rasmus Ristolainen, and John Tavares. You might notice only one of those guys is a Sabre. The next thing you may notice is that Sabre is a guy most would consider not a part of the future of this team anymore. We can point at all the opportunities in this game that didn’t come to fruition while on the other hand also saying, yeah: another real goal scorer in the top six would be nice. Hate them or hate them (those are your only two options) the Leafs know who their guys are. They’ve committed tens of millions of dollars to four or five guys who are therefore paid to score goals or in Andersen’s case prevent them. When they don’t score or block enough the team is screwed. However you may feel about that model it’s gotten them three straight playoff appearances and that’s more than we can say about Buffalo. I’d sell an internal organ for a first-round sweep at this point. They could lose each game by six goals and most of South Buffalo would still be dangerously hammered climbing light poles. Make a trade, Jason. We get it, you find this defensive depth intoxicating but if you listen to what you Head Coach is telling you he certainly isn’t. He wants to optimize the roster and he certainly doesn’t want to get called Housley 2.0. The Bills don’t play for a week, buddy; do you think YOUR boss doesn’t have the time to notice something like that? Get the smart-ass bloggers like me off your back before that pesky fracking baron who pays you realizes how friggin close we are and forces you into another Ryan O’Reilly trade! Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah, another goal scorer taking pot shots at Fredrik Andersen and maybe you seal up the full four points out of this weekend against the Leafs. The Jack Eichel Sabres will respond to that kind of morale bump. Marcus Johansson got called for slashing Cody Ceci and before you know it William Nylander is deking an Auston Matthews assisted shot over Carter Hutton’s shoulder like he was doing a magic trick. We could have a whole separate talk about how special teams is a crapshoot on this team but I’m kinda proud of myself for getting through two Leafs games without putting on the EXPLCIT tag and I don’t want to mess it up now. About seven minutes into the third period Rasmus Ristolainen took a puck in from the boards slowly but surely and this putrid Leafs defense let him all the way to Andersen where he deked in the equalizer. We got the absolute sexiest version of Rasmus Ristolainen this game and not anyone else really. Not even two minutes into the overtime period John Tavares and his unit were just buzzing around with the puck in the Sabres zone. He was covered by Victor Olofsson when we ripped a shot that appeared to not even be on target. However, the hockey gods get the most LOLs out of things going wrong for the Sabres, so Carter Hutton reached his glove out and the puck deflected in off of that. 2-1 OT loss done deal. Okay, to be fair a lot more happened in this game than the score will tell you. Ilya Mikheyev showed us how it’s done in Mother Russia and speared Sam Reinhart right in the nuts without getting called. Jeff Skinner got pissed. Conor Sheary scored a goal that didn’t count because when it crossed the line it was in Andersen’s glove and remember those heat maps I mentioned earlier? Well the Sabres let precisely zero shots from what one might consider the “net front” area while taking a high number of shots from those spots in their own right. Say what you will about the Leafs this season, the Sabres played good offensively and pretty good defensively to get this result.

So you probably don’t want Carter Hutton letting in that OT goal. I don’t see why he wouldn’t put out his glove there though. It probably looked like it could’ve gone in from his angle. Nonetheless it’s an excuse for me to proclaim that the tide has turned: Linus Ullmark is now the starter and Hutton is the backup. We were predicting this would happen last season but here we are with King Ullmark just in time for Christmas. Each time Hutton gets called new Lehner my Ullmark jersey gets a little bit prettier. Enough piling on, I think we can all agree this home-and-home series would’ve been bulletproof had it been four points. Since its three, also more than we probably expected, we probably need a dominating performance tomorrow night against a struggling Devils team to really make it seem like we’re back on track. The very vocal pessimist party on Sabres twitter will probably second guess it until there is an x next to the team in the standings but the resurgence is on. Go beat up the Devils Monday night and fly to Western Canada with the confidence it takes to win in this league. If you have trouble finding that confidence just ask Jimmy Vesey: he went from zero to hero in one week. Confidence is one hell of a drug. Like, comment and reply to this blog to help out. Happy Holidays.

But wait, I’d be a coward to not talk about it. The scandals unfolding right now that originated with Bill Peters and Akim Alui are not a witch hunt. Don’t be a dumbass. Hockey as a sport is not growing. The way the league points to it growing is farcical at best. The sport is shrinking because it’s a rich white kid sport with an ugly culture to match. As North America gets more diverse hockey is not keeping up. Not only is it not keeping up its proving at every turn that it prefers the racist failings of a generation of boomer coaches who get recycled over and over again to any real movement toward inclusivity. Bill Peters thought it was okay to yell the N word about one of his non-white player’s music in a packed locker room. The Ontario Hockey League, twenty something clubs across the most populace province in Canada, thought it was okay to blacklist a kid in his NHL Draft Year as a troublemaker because he got in a fight AFTER one of the most notorious instigators in this sport called him a racial slur. Alui was essentially booed out of Windsor for standing up for himself. Top to bottom this sport is not for everyone and if we have any hopes of saving it for coming generations we have to listen to guys like Akim Alui without feeling like the whole sport is under attack. It’s called learning and growing. It’s something this sport has trouble with far less important issues. The Steve Dangle Podcast is one of my go-to’s on a regular basis. You should listen to it. It’s a lot of Leafs talk but the way they discussed this reckoning here was brilliant. It’s not about what kinda guy Peters or Babcock are. Peters turns out to be a real bad guy. It’s about the fact that hockey allows the culture for people to feel comfortable talking like that. This state of affairs isn’t okay and frankly painting it in your quasi-political culture wars colors is not helpful. That’s harmful. Those last two sentences were me. I felt the need to say this after what’s been going around this week. Please, don’t be a dumbass. I’m looser with the mute button on twitter these days. Don’t be a dumbass, listen. Please just listen. It’s what we need more of these days. That’s it for me. I’m just some blogger. Go listen to someone’s story who’s actually effected by it. Let’s be better people to each other. Let’s Go Buffalo.

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. I feel like close second in Greatest Game Against the Leafs in Sabres history is Punch Imlach’s return to Toronto in 1970. The newspaper clippings are great. Not only did the expansion Sabres beat their Coach’s former team, there was a Sabres fan who gave Imlach a sabre which he had with him for postgame. That’s how you fire the first shot in a rivalry.

[judefan852-blog]

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[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Updates on Hart, Lehner, Larkin, and Tatar; Robert Thomas; Jake Guentzel; More – March 12

  Tomas Tatar was skating with the Canadiens at practice on Monday after missing their last game with an illness. Normally this isn’t worth reporting but given that we saw Mike Green shut down for the year with a virus, it seems we’re at the point where we need to share when a player returns from an illness.

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Robin Lehner skated by himself before the Islanders hit the ice for gameday skate on Monday. It’s good to see him back on the ice but seeing as he’s returning from a head injury, it’s the first of many steps before returning from game action. Fantasy owners should be prepared for another option for at least this week. It should be Thomas Greiss continuing in net in the near-term. Greiss, by the by, shutout the Blue Jackets on Monday night, saving all 31 shots against. 

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On the topic of goaltenders, Carter Hart was the backup for Brian Elliott on Monday night. Hart will get in a game later this week, just not yet.

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It looks like Dylan Larkin will be out for another week. 

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Viktor Arvidsson missed practice with the Predators and had Wayne Simmonds take his spot. A little later I’ll get into coaches lying a bit later in these Ramblings but Filip Forsberg had a maintenance day a few days ago and then missed Saturday night’s game. I won’t believe anything coming from the coaching staff until we see Arvidsson back on the ice.

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With Vladimir Tarasenko out until at least the middle of next week, fantasy owners are scrambling for options. At Monday’s practice, the Blues had Robert Thomas skating with Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly. Given that he’ll be on the top line for the time being and will earn at least secondary PP minutes, Thomas is a player worth consideration for the playoff push. St. Louis has four games this week and three of them are good-to-great matchups with Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo on the docket.

In that same practice, Pat Maroon went down hard and had to be helped off with what looked like an injury to his right leg. David Perron filled in for him on the second line with Jaden Schwartz and Tyler Bozak. They’re saying he’s fine but we’ll know for sure tomorrow.

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I don’t normally mention the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week because there’s not much value in doing so but it’s worth noting that Anaheim rookie Troy Terry won Third Star from the NHL last week for his two goals and five assists.

I had a lot of hope at the outset of the season for many of the Anaheim rookies, namely Sam Steel. Terry has loads of skill but I was concerned about him being stuck behind Corey Perry, Jakob Silfverberg, and Ondrej Kase whereas I saw Steel as the potential 3C. Needless to say, that hasn’t exactly worked out.

Terry’s fantasy upside is a fair debate because he’s not a guy who has shot much in the AHL (92 shots in 41 games) or the NHL (20 shots in 23 games). As a rookie, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but there aren’t a lot of guys who can have significant fantasy relevance while averaging under two shots per game; from what I can tell, there is one skater in the top-100 players in standard Yahoo! leagues averaging under two shots per game, and that’s Brandon Tanev, and he’s exactly the 100th player, and he has 232 hits, a total which Terry may not amass in his entire NHL career.

Again, there is time and room for growth here, but he has played well since Randy Carlyle was replaced (as the team has been better). Lots to be encouraged about here for 2019-20.

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Over the weekend, the Seattle Hockey Analytics Conference took place in, well, Seattle. This is a gathering of mostly amateur data scientists, bloggers, game trackers, and every other intersection of hockey stats. I don’t use the word amateur as a disparagement, just not that many people in attendance are officially working in hockey front offices. You can watch the presentations on YouTube (starting here) and they include a wide array of topics from the value of different faceoffs, evaluating prospects, goaltending, and more. There are several hours to get through and some can get very heavy on math so it’s maybe something to bookmark for the offseason.

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With Jack Eichel suspended, the Buffalo Sabres have a very different look in practice:

  Sabres’ lines:

Skinner-Mittelstadt-Pominville Sheary-Rodrigues-Nylander Thompson-Sobotka-Reinhart Wilson-Larsson-Okposo

— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) March 11, 2019

  This is, by the way, a great opportunity for Casey Mittelstadt to showcase whether or not he can play a feature role. He’ll never supersede Jack Eichel in the pecking order, but it’ll give fantasy owners a glimpse into whether or not he can be relied upon to be the second line centre, which would be a boost for him next year. Two games, of course, won’t give us a final determination one way or another, it’s just something to watch.

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Something I noticed looking at player performance so far this season: there haven’t been huge surprises in elite fantasy performances. If you look at the top-20 skaters in standard Yahoo! leagues this year, only six had ADPs outside of the top-50: Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, and Elias Lindholm. The only top-20 skater with an ADP outside the top-100 was Lindholm.

Not that this is a huge surprise. The season prior to this saw the Vegas guys have great years out of nowhere, Dustin Brown had one last hurrah, and so on. Other than that, it’s mostly names we’d expect. It does hammer home the point that when it comes to fantasy hockey, nailing your early picks is important. It might not seem that way because so many people will inevitably hit their early picks, but if someone misses on their first two picks of a draft, in all likelihood most of the rest of that person’s league has hit on theirs, and the hope of finding a diamond in the rough on the waiver wire is minimal. Yes, of course getting guys like Lindholm will help put you over the top, but missing early picks is a quick way to the bottom of the standings.

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Can I just say that, in general, I’m disappointed with the Dallas Stars? We saw quotes from coach Jim Montgomery before the season that he wanted to play a faster game than they did under Ken Hitchcock, stressing things like zone entries and maintaining possession. Well, as we stood on Monday, the Stars are 25th in adjusted shots for at five-on-five, just ahead of the Islanders and Oilers, and 23rd in adjusted shot share, just ahead of the Oilers and Kings. Yes, they’re in a playoff position, but I would credit that to the team’s goaltending leading the league in five-on-five save percentage more than the team playing well.

Maybe I’m the sucker here. I’ve gotten used to ignoring almost anything any coach (or GM) says because they’re often lying, or at least obfuscating the truth because there is no incentive to be honest. The offseason quotes from Montgomery got me excited not only because of the big guns on the team, but guys like Miro Heiksanen, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell, and Julius Honka could certainly benefit from a faster, more offensive-oriented system. While those guys have had varying levels of fantasy relevance from some (Heiskanen) to none (Honka), I thought a rising tide would float all boats. Instead, it’s as if Hitchcock never left.

Just another mark in the Don’t Pay Attention To Coaches side of the ledger.

*

Tampa Bay skated out of Toronto with an easy 6-2 win on Monday night. It was 4-0 just five minutes into the second period and it was cruise control from there. Tyler Johnson had a pair of goals from the Lightning, his 23rd and 24th of the year. He’s now five off his career high of 29 in 2014-15.

With a pair of helpers, Ryan McDonagh now sits at 36 points, needing four to crack the 40-point mark for the third time in his career. He also had three shots, three hits, and a blocked shot for good measure.

*

Ryan Pulock scored in the first period for the Islanders, his ninth goal and 33rd point of the year. That surpasses his 32 points from last year. The first-round pick from 2013 took some years but he’s finally living up to that billing. In leagues that count peripheral stats, he’s going to be a beast for years to come.

*

More updates in the morning.

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As we stand on Monday afternoon, Jake Guentzel sits with 34 goals and 65 points on the season. Those 34 goals tie him for 11th in the NHL with Steven Stamkos, one behind Nathan MacKinnon and one ahead of Nikita Kucherov. Before the season, I wasn’t overly concerned with Guentzel’s ADP picking up steam if only because he can provide a healthy amount of hits which meant that even if he didn’t have a great offensive year, he could contribute elsewhere.

Well, he does have a healthy amount of hits.

It’s easy to point to his 18.2 percent shooting and say that he’s simply the result of a lot of good luck. The thing is, over the first 159 games of his career before this season (including playoffs), he shot 18.1 percent. Simply pointing to a high shooting percentage doesn’t really do him justice.

Playing with Sidney Crosby, of course, helps immensely. But is there anything that has changed with Guentzel’s game that has helped pushed him to the season he’s currently enjoying?

Two things are worth pointing out here: at five-on-five, Guentzel is enjoying a career-high in shots per 60 minutes and minutes per game. League-wide, Guentzel’s 15:22 per contest is top-20 among forwards (minimum of 600 minutes), in the same range as names like Aleksander Barkov, Sean Couturier, and Ryan Getzlaf. Garnering that level of ice time (about 90 seconds more per game than last year) will be a big help to anyone’s fantasy profile.

As far as the shots are concerned, he’s added about one every 60 minutes compared to last year. That’s moved him from the 60th percentile to the 80th, and by the end of the year, will add about 20 shots in total. With his conversion rate, that’s an additional four goals so far this year through an increased shot rate alone.

When looking ahead, it’s worth mentioning that Guentzel has done all this while not earning much power play time (a little over two minutes per game). He’s largely been kept off the top PP unit, only filling in for Patric Hornqvist when injury struck, or when the coaching staff mixed around the PP units when it has been scuffling. He has just eight power-play points, so he’s far from reaching his fantasy ceiling.

Again, it’s worth pointing out he’s played about 90 percent of his five-on-five ice time with Crosby compared to roughly 58 percent last year. That is certainly a big help. But there are other factors helping Guentzel, and generally speaking they are of his own making; he’s shooting more and he’s earned the extra ice time. We’ve now seen his ceiling without a prominent PP role. Imagine what he can do if he does get one?

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-updates-on-hart-lehner-and-tatar-robert-thomas-jake-guentzel-more-march-12/

[plmstest2-blog]

Bruins @ Leafs - Game 18 - Nov.10.17

KEY NARRATIVES

Toronto Maple Leafs (10-7-0) vs Boston Bruins (6-5-3)

On Friday night the Leafs face the Bruins at home in the first half of a back to back. Tomorrow they'll face the Bruins again in Boston. It should be an exciting pair of games considering the bitter rivalry between the two teams.

While there's often some bad blood between two Original Six teams, this particular rivalry was reinvigorated only four years ago, in the Leafs only playoff showing in the decade predating the arrival of Auston Matthews. It was a strange year, shortened by a lockout that had teams only playing 48 games that season - and the Leafs were winning games. Deep down everyone knew that the team shouldn't have been good. They had the lowest CF% in the entire league and yet... somehow they managed to secure a spot at ninth overall in the league.

They faced off against the Bruins in round one. Even then the Leafs didn't seem horribly outmatched if you looked at the scoresheets. The teams traded wins and losses until the series reached game seven. By the end of the second period, the score was 2-1 in favor of Toronto.

They followed it up with another two before minute six of the third period, bringing the score to 4-1 Toronto with only fourteen minutes and seventy-one seconds left in the game.

The Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in overtime, five to four.

For the city, it was the worst kind of heartbreak. It's one thing to be bad, play bad, and know you're bad. It's the hope that really hurts (a lesson we can take into this year as we nitpick even the Leafs' victories).

Long story short, while Boston was clearly the better team that year, going onto the Stanley Cup Final before being taken out by the Blackhawks, the 2013 Leafs-Bruins series added fuel an old rivalry, urging it into the blazing flame that it is today.

Unfortunately, some of the fun will be robbed from this unlikely rivalry driven back-to-back by the news that once again Auston Matthews will sit out of a game. While my heart hopes he comes back in a fiery blaze of vengeance tomorrow in Boston, it seems most likely that missing this game implies missing tomorrow as well. My brain says this isn't the worst thing. Missing the game against the Wild on Wednesday, plus the two against the Bruins will give Matthews a full nine days to recover before they play New Jersey next Thursday at home. The schedule affording the team this much time while missing so few games is a luxury, and one they seem to be taking advantage of to make sure Matthews is ready to go for the long haul.

Brad Marchand, the pesky star winger of the Bruins, has also missed games and was listed today as a game-time decision. However, he was seen in Toronto today carrying all his gear which implies there's a real possibility he's in the lineup tonight.

Other key players on the Bruins include tallest-player-in-the-league / scariest human / aging Captain, Zdeno Chara. Their top line center is Patrice Bergeron, a year over year top Selke candidate (defensive forward award). They also just signed a deal over the summer with thir new young star, David Pastrnak, who is the final piece of one of the single scariest lines in the NHL (Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak). While age and depth are both concerns of this Bruins team, this year they still look like they could be a true cup contender, if the injury bug leaves them alone for the rest of the season.

Key Numbers

37 - Patrice Bergeron - Center 33 - Zdeno Chara - Defenseman - Captain 63 - Brad Marchand - Left Wing 88 - David Pastrnak - Right Wing 73 - Charlie McAvoy - Defenseman

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE POST GAME

Score: W 3-2 OT

Brad Marchand did join the Bruins on the ice in Toronto. Unfortunately for Boston, it was enough to turn the tide on a close game. This victory brings the Leafs to a three-game win streak, two of which have been played without Auston Matthews. I'd call that holding down the fort.

Barring the line illustrated in our Key Numbers section, the Bruins forwards were basically unrecognizable. If you'd quizzed me "Hockey player or not?" on the names on that list I don't think I could have gone 50/50. They do have a couple mid-level injuries, but not to the point that this doesn't expose a more chronic depth issue, one which the Leafs exploited throughout this matchup. Still, the teams ended up with an even split on 5v5 CF%, largely due to the Kadri line getting steamrolled by the Marchand/Bergeron/Pasternak Demogorgon—I mean line.

Unsurprisingly, that was the only productive group of Bruins forwards, each of them collecting one of the three points given on the night (the defensemen did a little better). The first Bruins goal, and the only even-strength tally on the board, came from Marchand to Bergeron 15 minutes into the second period.

Luckily, the score was evened just 15 seconds before the end of the period on a powerplay goal banged in by James van Riemsdyk.

The third period followed a hilariously similar pattern. Pastrnak scores on the power play at 14:30 into the period. The minutes tick down and Babcock pulls Freddie (who finished the night with a sterling .943 sv% himself) to ice an extra attacker. Mitch Marner, a day late to throwback Thursday, saucers a beautiful pass onto JvR's stick for an uncontested tip in.

Sorry Boston. The Leafs have some shit to prove.

Before touching on overtime and the continuation of Return of the Mighty Mouse, I want to look at James van Riemsdyk, who comes away with two goals on the evening. Drafted second overall by the Flyers in 2007, JvR was traded to the Leafs in 2012. While his defensive limitations are... well known, in seasons where he's been healthy, he's a solid almost 30 goal, 50+ point player. Recently, the Bozak like, which was so effective last year, seemed to fall apart. What's fascinating is the ways in which blame was assigned for this failing. Arguably it fell primarily to Bozak (a vet in a funk) and Marner (a star rookie slipping up a step). This was seen in the moving of Marner onto the fourth line, then Bozak as well. Why wasn't JvR spending time in the metaphorical doghouse? There’s an argument to be made that, unlike the other two, it wouldn’t have helped van Riemsdyk.

Ok, friends. Get ready for a metaphor where I call James van Riemsdyk a tool and try to make that sound ok.

When I look at JvR I think of the following saying, “A tool is only as good as the person using it.” It's been shown time and time again that, when used correctly, van Riemsdyk can score some damn goals. But he's most effective at the net, parked in front, using his big body and solid hands to receive passes and tip pucks into the net. It was clear last year that Marner was the driving force behind that Bozak line. His creativity and playmaking ability turned him into a craftsman who could use JvR to his fullest potential. While this metaphor also exists to highlight JvR's limitations (he's never going to drive a line or really hold his own with slumping linemates) it aims to show why I think it made sense to leave JvR higher in the lineup while shifting Marner and Bozak around until they got their groove back.

And lucky us, it seems like they're ready to start making art again.

Anyway, overtime: Mitch Marner stops Pastrnak from shooting on Freddie. Mitch Marner strips Pastrnak of the puck and creates a 3-on-2 rush up the ice. Mitch Marner drops his shoulder to fake a shot and pull both defenders towards the center of the ice. Mitch Marner then passes to Bozak, who slides it to Marleau for the game winner. Now watch it 100 more times to absorb its greatness.

Statistics and overviews courtesy of hockeyviz.com, corsica.hockey, hockeystats.ca, and hockey-reference.com.

[thebigcitynightsband]

Bus King/Busking/Night Moves

That’s a photo of me and my ex-gf. I just found it last week in my bag that Jamie brought to me from Burlington, thanks Jamie bro. Happier times, man. We’re still friends but we don’t see each other much. That’s a repeating pattern with me. Me and a gal will break up, declare an intention to stay friends, and then I be their friend while they work hard at vanishing from my life and into the arms of some dude who hates me cuz I’m still her friend. Happened with Jessica, happened with Courtney. Next time I’ll just do the sudden severance. Seems to work for other people.

Well, fuck. I’ve been struggling a little bit lately. Still sober, still pissing in a cup every day. My hours got cut at work for a few weeks but they’re back up to full-time next week, where they’ll remain until mid-December. I’m trying to save my apartment, need to find a roommate to take over the lease, which requires first and last, which I don’t have but I’m trying to acquire somehow.

A few days ago I went busking for the first time in about a year. Queen and University is my corner, northwest side. I like it there because you get a lot of 905ers coming out of Osgoode Station to go explore Queen West, people who don’t ordinarily see buskers, so they’re generous. I can only play for about three hours on an acoustic before my fingers start to hurt too much to play chords, and you average about six bucks an hour. I write a lot of songs that way. “Make It Mine” off the new album was written while busking last year and I came up with a few new ones the other day. It was a good day, actually. I woke up broke and without food and ended the day with a full belly and a pack of cigarettes and an Arizona Iced Tea. I felt content. So I’m gonna go back out there tomorrow. And probably the next day too.

My laptop died and I almost lost the record, but I was able to extract the files after a few days of feeling numb and worried. I really like our upcoming album, the songs have kept me good company over the past year, and the thought of losing the whole damn thing, save for “Fighting Ways” which is finished, and a handful of others, was a little scary. It’s not gone though. Sweet relief. BCN songs are like cockroaches. They find a way. Cue “Long Distance King” in your head as you read that last line...”we’ll find a waaaaay, we’ll fiiind a waaaaay.” Glory days. Before everything went to shit.

Hey, know what’s a great record? Break Up Break Down by Reigning Sound. Listen to the quavering, breathless delivery from Greg Cartwright on this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fWcZKZR3jg

Another great one off that record is called “Want You,” a really sad, pretty ballad. I’d like to make an album of Memphis ballads some day, in the vein of Break Up Break Down. We’ll call it Fuck Up Fuck Off or something.

I set up my keyboard tonight with a mind to do some overdubs tomorrow. I’ve been avoiding doing keyboard overdubs on the album forever because I’m a terrible keyboard player and it takes a really long time to get a single coherent take and I don’t have the patience that I used to. I finished “Night Needles” from A Steamroller Named Desire in a single evening, and that song has probably the most piano of any BCN song. I doubt I could do the same thing now. I’m older now and runnin against the wind, as Bob Seger would sing. Has sung, whatever. Running Against the Wind. I love that song. “Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then” is a great line eh? Legend has it Seger wanted to cut that line but the producer told him how great it was, which it is. Oftentimes artists can’t recognize their own greatness. Years ago, when I was sixteen or so, I was trying to put together a set of acoustic covers in my bedroom. I remember doing “Leave It Alone” by Moist, which is pretty embarrassing now, but also “Against the Wind” and an acoustic version of the Smashing Pumpkin’s “Ava Adore,” which I was surprised to find has a very similar chord progression as “Against the Wind.” I mean, those two songs sound nothing alike, yet they’re very alike, chord-wise.

ANYWAY I’m rambling. Just finished an assignment for a client (I do people’s homework for them as a side hustle. Forty bucks here, sixty bucks there, it all goes into the giant hole I dug for myself the past few years.) I owe money to one guy who actually chased me this past January, up near Dovercourt and Hallam. I had to jump a couple fences but I got away. He’ll get paid soon enough. They all do.

I’m working on it man. Pushing against the tide. Runnin against the wind.

One last thing about that Bob Seger song: I’ve always thought that part where he yells “let the cowboys ride!” at the end of the song was stupid. Why couldn’t he have taken that part out? It’s so obvious that he was out of ideas and just mustered up the best open field imagery he could in the moment. Let the cowboys ride? Given the greatness that comes before that line, I can’t dismiss the song, even if it’s not as good as the immortal “Night Moves.”

A quick word about “Night Moves” before I go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mRFWQoXq4c I honestly think it’s one of the greatest all-time vocal performances. There are three distinct parts in the song that always give me shivers. The first is that irresistible “summertime summertime” part @ 2:19. The second comes in that great breakdown, when the title changes from a sexual innuendo to a somber, forlorn musing on the passage of time and how time can move slower when you’re bored, faster when you’re absorbed and excited. Ain’t it funny how the night moves...when you just don’t seem to haaaaaaaave as much to lo-o-se. It’s that “have” that always gets me...just the way Seger gives it the perfect amount of witsfulness and gravelly gravity. Fuckin killer. Singing is always a fine balance between technical proficiency and emotional delivery, but on that line Seger’s 99% heart, 1% technique, and it still sounds incredible. To me, at least.

The last part is in the final minor descending refrain @ 5:04, even though it’s just Bob doing a bunch of “ooooohooohoohhhs.” It wouldn’t be as good if that vocal came over the main riff, but it doesn’t. It comes over the same chord progression as the chorus, that sad lilting minor key descent. Every time, man. Every time.

I’ve been trying to cover “Night Moves” since 2007. I don’t think I’ve ever got past the first chorus. I just can’t sell it. Those aren’t my memories, they’re Bob Seger’s. I never existed in the 1950s America he’s singing about in the song, the America of taking your sweetheart to the drive-in, cruising the strip, going to diners and pushing coins into jukeboxes. That wasn’t my adolescence. So it’s a tough one to sing. You have to know when you’re beaten. That’s part of growing up.

I don’t talk to my Dad anymore. He hates my guts and so does his girlfriend. It doesn’t bother me except for when I hear certain songs...songs like “Night Moves” or “Walking On The Moon” by The Police...first time I ever heard my father sing on the way to Owen Sound for a hockey tournament I was playing...it was the chorus, that “no way, chasing your cares away” part, and we had sunflower seeds and that was the night I fell in love with highways and movement and travel and all that Kerouac stuff I’d get obsessed with later, all those fuckin notebooks I filled with eager scrawling about road trips I hadn’t yet taken. I lost all those notebooks somehow, can’t remember maybe I tossed them all on purpose, kind of a year zero event. Too much in those notebooks was lines from existing songs. I remember one time going through an old notebook and seeing “the sea is foaming like a bottle of beer” and thinking I’d written it...nope...it was a Weezer song. I’d just scrawled out that one line hammered one night, drunk at 17, back when it was actually exciting to get drunk and not a sad chore like it later became.

I’m going busking tomorrow. I might not be able to do “Night Moves” but I can bust out “Against the Wind.” I ain’t licked yet. It ain’t over. I’m older now and still runnin against the wind. Let the cowboys ride or whatever.

Edit, PS: That was a really dramatic fuckin post. I’m sorry. For some much-needed levity, here’s a picture of me from last week. Some friends visited while I was in bed, and I came out to say hello still holding my book.  PPS: Hey, know another great Bob Seger song? “Still the Same,” especially those ghostly backing vocals in the second verse. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjDpKeiYxOU PPPS: Hey, know another song that has cool ghostly additional instrumental in the second verse? Bruce Springsteen’s “Downbound Train.” It’s not his greatest song and I don’t like Bruce’s overdone “blue collar accent,” the dumb slurring he likes to do in order to sound more like a mechanic making $20 000 a year, but that beautiful synth organ that comes in on the second verse is just heartwrenching, listen for it @ 0:49: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_mv46NwT4 The organ has a pretty sweet solo for one-bar starting at 1:21. If I could get that organ tone, I wouldn’t put off doing keyboard overdubs, lemme tell ya son, I tell ya what.