Bruins and Blackhawks

What I had hoped would be a nice relaxing long weekend vanished at 3:17am on Sunday. The phone rang and thus started a chain reaction which ended my vacation. Being on call 24/7 isn’t a lot a fun, but it’s become the norm for me. Add in the fact that allergies were already making life miserable, and you have the makings of why I like to see the temperature drop. I wait for a good frost every year to alleviate the effects of ragweed and to turn water into ice. I got back home around noon Sunday and tried to relax. The day before we were down at the local rink for skate and shoot as I had looked forward to all week. That was nice, but there were things to take care of back home before fall kicks in. I started thinking about which NHL teams would be the most fun to watch this season. I like to see the teams that need to work the hardest, and see if they can improve, or not. Chicago and Boston top my list this year for teams that have a lot of work to do. Yes I’ll watch to see if the Rangers have a spectacular year with their new acquisitions, but wouldn’t it be nice to see the Bruins and Blackhawks stun the league by having a great season. The talent is there on both teams, and both teams have pretty good coaches Claude Julien and Dennis Savard will have their work cut out for them behind the benches and at practice. Both teams could use some work on defense, and both main goaltenders Khabibulin and Fernandez are solid in the net. Hopefully Fernandez’s knee problems don’t kick in. Both teams have decent backup net tenders too. Lalime is a great goalie in his own right. Both teams will have to work extremely hard this season, that is what will be worth watching. There will be lessons to learn from both these teams that can apply to our young players. That is if both teams successfully improve this year. I think it’s more fun to have a big challenge in front of you, than to start out on top and have everything to lose. At the bottom you must go up. You must improve and learn from your mistakes. Each great game adds to the success of the team and builds momentum that hopefully you can use to your advantage. Since I focus a lot on defense, it will be interesting to watch and see how these teams do in their own zone. You still have to score one more goal than your opponent, but if you’re stuck in your own end most of the game your chances dwindle each minute. A strong defense that can play great offensively is a powerful tool if you know how to use it and not waste it. Five on five hockey is more effective than three on five, if you follow what I’m saying. It’s a mistake some youth teams make right from the get go. Everybody must contribute. Use all your players to the best of their ability. What is more effective, a couple of stars or a strong team? Well, you all know my answer.