Bump In The Night
We got bumped last night. More specifically, our youth Devils hockey game was bumped 30 minutes later by the NHL Devils, who wanted a sheet of ice this morning. Such is life when you share your home rink with a professional team; they get dibs, next up, quarter on the machine, and any other euphemism for cutting in line. I’d like to brag that Lou Lamoriello called me to relay the schedule change, but life is much more mundane: The big Devils called the rink, the rink called our club, the club called me, and I called our team and our opponents.
The Devils played last night, beating Ottawa in the second 3-2 game of the week, and then departed for Toronto. Why-o-why with YYZ in the plans did they need ice this morning? Rehab time. Numbers 23 and 24, Gomez and Matvichuk, doing skating and shooting drills to work the parts of their bodies recently repaired or re-injured. Gomer was smiling more than wincing, which I take to be a good sign for his recovery. With only a one-year deal in his pocket, it’s critical for Gomez to get healthy, play healthy, and make a contribution or his market (and trade) value drop quickly.
And “Want to see my groin injury?” is a terrible conversation starter.