Number 8 Revisited
I follow number 8s. It’s my number, it’s my son’s number, it’s fun to look for the little snowmen in all their shapes and sizes in the wild. I have pictures of seat number 8 from the 1980 Olympic Rink, and a ticket for seat number 8 at that rink on February 22, 1980, and a collection of jerseys bearing the twin circles.
Vadim Sharifijanov. Igor Larionov. Sean Brown. And with Brown’s trade, number 8 on the Devils’ roster opened up for new blueliner Ken Klee.
Klee and Lukowich, the two defenseman acquired by the Devils at the trade deadline, will prove their worth down the stretch. They both have looked a bit out of place in the early going, but the Devils play a tough defensive system and they’re the new guys in Jersey. Give them both another week (there are four consecutive days of practices scheduled over the St. Patrick’s Day stretch), and they’ll be clicking while giving Rafalski, White and the other D-men some needed rest.
The Devils have 16 games in the next 32 days: Starting Sunday, they play effectively every other day until April 18th. Big guys with big sticks will matter.