DE-TROIT-SUCKS!

[bzarcher]

Thanks to the indispensable flaggerx, I found myself in one of the highly swanky suites at Nationwide tonight for the game against the Red Wings.

(Bonus: I can now say that I've seen a game from every level of the arena!)

Damn, those suites are nice and swanky. Good view of the ice, leather seats, and they just kept bringing us beer, food, and other niceties!

However, that's not the key to why tonight was awesome.

Watching that game was awesome. Even when Detroit pulled themselves even, the Jackets did NOT fold. They gritted their teeth and fought back like all hell. The difference between this team and the one I saw Wednesday was palpable, and if I was Scott Howson, I'd be calling Michael Peca's agent this weekend and scheduling an appointment. It's clear that when he is in the game, be it from the ice or on the bench, this team raises its' game. That's far too valuable to let him slip away as a UFA this summer. A 2-3 year extension solves that problem nicely.

Seeing us dominate the shootout was also pretty darn cool, and the largest crowd since opening night certainly didn't hurt. The arena entertainment crew also seemed to bring their A game, and the crowd was engaged and cheering pretty regularly for the team. :> We even managed to rock a "Let's go Red Wings!" chant back on it's heels with a sonic backlash of "LET'S GO JACKETS!", which is pretty impressive considering how well Detroit travels to Columbus.

Pictures are up in my Flickr to be annotated as much as I can remember later.

Currently tied for 2nd (or 4th, depending how you look at it) in the West, and 2nd in the Central. A very encouraging rebound. With any luck, we can keep this up for the road trip to Alberta next week and into a big homestand in December (10 of the 12 games will be at home, balanced by the team being on the road for much of January).

Also watched BSG: Razor. I admit to being a very casual BSG fan, but I got into it easily and had a pretty good ride. Hopefully the good storytelling flows into season 3 as well.

Comments

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

I was amused to see that your Zherdev actually did something useful during that game. ;)

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

I'm telling you, completely serious, this is NOT the same Nikolai Zherdev who has been playing here the last few years. It's like they sat down with him in Ottawa and replaced him with a version that's 5 years more mature.

The changes in his game and his attitude are amazing and manifest.

[flaggerx.livejournal.com]

and the pregame skits were good too. Glad you had a great time, I sure did.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

True! Much better than Wednesday in general for the "arena entertainment".

Very glad you enjoyed it. :>