Anybodyhome

2 days off before the New York Rags Tuesday night game. The standings: Harbingers- 3 Anybodyhome- 3 Panthers Fan 69- 2 WelshPanther- 2 MillionDollarCam- 1 BY9Franchise- 1

He's gonna get snubbed for LeTang, who had 5 assists in a single period earlier this week.

The Leafs have climbed another rung towards the top of my most disliked teams list. Refs swallowed whistles too many times again tonite. The hit on Fast was high- no call. Matthew's firing the puck after taking a penalty is a misconduct- no call. Leafs players begging for calls by throwing their arms up everytime something happened is a misconduct- no call.

Good 1st period. Leafs are gonna get their chances, just gotta D up.

That and playing against his former team.

I liked the top 2 lines the last 2 games, but the KK line has gone missing those 2 games. With last change I don't think RBA can afford to keep that line together.

Noesen.

I see Pyotr in net against Toronto, NY and Washington. Raanta will probably get the home game on the back side of the B2B against St. Louis. That is, unless Pyotr absolutely sh!ts the bed in any of those games. Then it's a crapshoot. Watched a replay of the game this afternoon and, my personal feelings aside, Drury got hosed a couple times last night. Not only was the goalie interference a bullshit call, it wasn't close to being right. Contact with the goalie didn't occur until after the puck was in the net and it was initiated by the goalie. Drury wasn't getting out of the way because his stick was being held up and the defensive player was holding him in the crease. The breakaway attempt, as I stated in an earlier post, was a penalty shot all day. He got a stick up on the hands from behind- the definition of a slashing penalty- and none was called. Both of those calls were egregiously bad and the officials were simply horrible. Here's Noesen's hit, for those of you wanting to see some physicality. https://x.com/Sportsnet/status/1740562475169546423?s=20

Heading into New Years weekend and the beginning of a tough 3-game road trip in Toronto, NY Rags and Washington with a back-to-back Friday/Saturday next week. Updated standings with a newcomer to the leaderboard- BY9Franchise Harbingers- 3 Anybodyhome- 3 Panthers Fan 69- 2 WelshPanther- 1 MillionDollarCam- 1 BY9Franchise- 1

Just got home.... Raanta is in his own head. I watched his body language during the TV timeouts, pre-game, intermission and I swear he's talking to himself. Noesen will probably catch a fine for laying out Caufield Drury should have gotten a penalty shot on his breakaway. He got slashed pretty clearly. Skjei got cross-checked while he was on one knee right in front of a ref at the bench. Refs were just awful. Chatty has lightning hands. He's gonna get paid. Love watching him play.

This just in...... Raanta still sucks.

I think he's on short notice tonight. If tonight's game gets out of hand and his goaltending is the reason, I don't think RBA will wait to pull him. After tonight, 3 on the road in Toronto, Rags and Washington. Canes needed last night's 2 points, another 2 tonight and at least 3 of the next 6 points available on the road, although 2 wins would be okay with me. Another back-to-back next Friday-Saturday (@ Washington, come home for St. Louis).

Svech scores the first against the "Habs and the Hab-Nots."

USA has 2 wins in their first 2 games against Norway on Tuesday (4-1) and today against Switzerland (11-3). Team USA has a 19-year old, right-handed center Jimmy Snuggerud, 6'2", 215lbs who notched a hattie in the first 13 minutes of the 1st period of today's game. Games can be seen on the NHL Network.

I'll be there tonight as well. I did see this last night and there are a couple different thoughts I have, mostly I think the Canes brand of hockey would suffer if they were to become a much more physical team. Teams try to slow the Canes down by making hits and getting physical, and there are rare occasions when that happens. But, for the most part, the Canes are better when they're getting up and down the ice, not laying hits in the defensive zone- it only slows down the opportunities for breaks and getting behind the D. That being said, Waddell did bring Orlov, TDA, Bunting and Lemieux in to be those guys that would provide some sandpaper to the roster. And the one who shows it better than any of those guys? Noesen.

During my teenage years growing up in Southern California, Jim Ladd was the FM DJ who gave meaning and understanding, taught and shared his love for rock & roll. I listened to his time slot on both KMET and KLOS between 1969 and into the early 70's until I moved away, joining the Navy. Those years, from the time I was 13 until 18, really formed my musical tastes and inspired me to do more than just listen to what I liked. He encouraged us all to explore and find the rare gems in the discount bins at Tower Records, to expand our musical horizons and gave us plenty of food for thought. He was the guy who encouraged me to go see Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Warren Zevon and Linda Ronstadt when she had a backing band who later went on to become the Eagles. Here I am, over 50 years later, and I will still get to 5-6 concerts a year. My vinyl collection continues to grow and we still do Turntable Tuesdays and Thursdays in our house (unless there's a Hurricanes game on). Jim Ladd was the original freeform radio DJ. Not bound by a playlist or advertising dollars in those days, he played what he wanted, calling each night a "thematic journey." He played music that reflected the politics of the day, honored those we lost in the music world and was always gracious, humble and knew how important his listeners were. He always had time for callers to his show and genuinely appreciated everyone around him. He moved to Sirius/XM in 2011 and I tuned in almost every night, and in his later years, it was a Monday night slot only. He passed in his sleep last weekend and the tributes have been pouring in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ladd

They've stopped shooting. SOG almost doubled by Nashville.

Aho breaks the cherry in Nashville.

Standings remain unchanged. As of tonight: Harbingers- 3 Anybodyhome- 2 Panthers Fan 69- 2 WelshPanther- 1 MillionDollarCam- 1

Interesting set of lines there.

Raanta is already listed as the probable goalie for Thursday's game v. Montreal. I'll be at that game, just like I was at the last one he played and gave up an early OT winner. And his Chicago numbers? .875 save percentage- one of the lowest in the AHL, and he only played 2 games while he was down. 6 GA in 48 shots.

A trajectory which, going on 9 years later, is still a long way from changing.

Gonna reach for a Quickie tonight. FAST!

I'm outta town for a few days and will be able to check the score occasionally. Need a win.

Say what you will with the Canes showing little consistency and unable to put a win streak together, but... At 38 points and currently 5th in the Metro, they're only 2 points behind Philly for 2nd and 7 behind the Rags. And, they have a couple games in hand and the 2nd half of their schedule has more home games after spending a lot of time on the road.