Smile Like You Mean It

As Tripp Tracy said during Friday night’s game, watching Skinner play is definitely worth the price of admission. Having been in NYC for the early chunk of the season, the first game I was able to go to was the Oct 30^th game against the Rangers at MSG. Prior to that, I’d been listening to Chuck K calling the games online, and only able to watch the season openers in Helsinki (insert my obligatory whining about not being able to go to Finland here). Though I had heard about the wonder that is our newbie, Jeff Skinner, seeing him skate was a whole different story. The guy is only 18, looks even younger, and always has a huge grin on his face. You can tell he’s totally enjoying the whole playing in the NHL thing. More than that, though, he’s good. He’s got a ton of energy, isn’t afraid to get into traffic, and seems to positively affect anyone who plays on his line.

                After the 5-3 win against the Panthers, Skinner’s point total has reached 31, 3 points ahead of all other rookies in the NHL. Calder Cup rumors abound. The difference he’s made for the Canes has been great to watch so far this season, and will hopefully continue to bring the Canes into the playoffs. He was on the “JET” line with Erik Cole and Tuomo Ruutu during the Rangers game, and after numerous line changes, he’s been back with Tuomo again, creating an unstoppable force against Florida. Though he works well wherever you put him, in my opinion, it seems Ruutu is really effective at center, especially with Skinner as his winger. With the constantly revolving lines though, there’s no telling what things will look like from one game to the next. All I know is that with 10 big hits against the Panthers, my favorite Finn is starting to hit again after playing a little tamer at the beginning of the season, and Skinner’s energy and skill is fun as hell to watch. Definitely proud to have them as Canes!

PATs:

·          The Gators won their first SEC bball matchup of the season tonight against Ole Miss 77-71. Of course, I wasn’t able to watch, but I’m hoping what the articles I’ve been reading online are saying is right, and that our tough out-of-conference schedule has set us up well for tougher conference play. Side note: Walker hit the milestone 1,000 point mark, ending up with 1,006 career points after tonight’s game.

·          The Magic beat the Mavs 117-107 for their ninth straight win. They’re now tied for the longest streak in franchise history. Revamping the roster seems to be working well so far… The Hornets are up next on Weds night.

·          Saving the best for last, NFL playoffs started Saturday night. The Seahawks beat the defending Super Bowl Champions, the New Orleans Saints, 41-36. Didn’t get to watch the game, but I did go back to watch the clip of Marshawn Lynch’s absolutely ridiculous run, and you should, too. 

The J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets! have come back on more than one occasion this season with less than a minute left to win games. Tonight was no exception. In a game that was close with the Colts pretty much the entire way, Vinatieri made his trademark clutch kick, 50+ yards out, dead center, leaving about :48 on the clock. Sanchez pulled off a drive in that small window of time that is becoming standard practice for the Jets. They made it down the field, well within Nick Folk’s range, and with 3 seconds left in the game, he made the winning field goal to send the Jets to the next round with a final score of 17-16. This should be a great set of playoff games.