The Story of the Lucky Puck

I apologize for not having updated the blog in a while… I’ve been quite busy and just haven’t had the time. But after last night, I gotta post.

It’s all about the lucky puck. Yep. Not Sutton saving the day. Not our awesome PK last night. No, it was all about the puck. I’ve been down to a million warmups and, well, never was lucky enough to get a puck. I did manage to get one when we went to Florida only because one of the players noticed me wearing my Mullet Wig. But this time I wasn’t handed a puck. I was down behind the glass to the right of the benches. A puck came flying over, and I saw a ton of people leap and jump for it, but somehow it bounced over and to the left of me. To my left there was no one. Somehow it bounced up and over and landed in the isle to my left. No one else was able to reach over, so I ran over and picked it up. This was the first time I’ve ever gotten a puck that randomly flew over the glass. Last time, like I said, I was given the puck, so as cool as it was to get one from a player, it’s not quite the same feeling as when you get one out of the blue. So now I have two. But the moment I got it I had a feeling. A good feeling… a feel that this puck was different. It was a lucky puck. After all, it was the first one I’ve ever gotten by chance.

I called it The Lucky Puck.

And that, my friends, is exactly what it was.

I was holding on to the thing for dear life last night. I kissed it every time we scored, holding it up to the roof of Blueland. I held it in my hands the entire game. Of course it was another tight, close nail bighting game… but I knew something good was going to happen when Ben, the Web Guy, wrote that he felt a win coming. I felt it too. Call me crazy, but I just knew. I was rubbing it like genie in a lamp for good luck. If Toronto ever came close to scoring, and many times they did, I gripped it tighter. But the point is it worked. We won in OT as you know. So now I’m thinking I need to bring it with me the rest of the season and into the playoffs. After all, it is a lucky puck. Ok, so in reality the outcome of the game had nothing to do with me getting a puck or it being lucky. But to me it made a difference. I was lucky enough to get one and we were lucky enough to win.

I mean it HAD to have been a lucky puck. Sutton was GOOD last night. He saved the game, perhaps maybe even our season. It HAD to have been lucky because we pulled off the victory. It HAD to have been lucky because we needed the W and the 2 points last night more than a zombie needs blood. We were in the drivers seat, but last night put us a few car lengths ahead. The finish line is almost there. We just gotta cross it.

We gotta take care of business in Boston. Thankfully it’s not a do or die situation, but I think now that Boston is out, they have nothing to do but play the role of spoiler. But I’m thinking after last night we have some momentum. I hope last night was the start of something special. A very long hot streak. From now and deeeeeeeeep into the playoffs.

There’s a million things going on in Atlanta this weekend – the Braves are in town for the last two spring training games vs. the White Sox… of course there’s the NCAA Final Four and downtown is insane… there’s the GT Car Show going on… but I don’t want to be anywhere near downtown. As exciting as the Final Four may be, in all honesty, I don’t care that much about it. As much as it pains me, and as much as I hate Florida, I did pick them to win the entire thing… so I will be very softly and quietly “rooting” for Florida. I’d like an SEC team to win, that would be cool. Anyway, after the game last night, I noticed that there were several temporary shops setup to sell NCCA gear. Not just the giant tents outside Philips… but inside buildings… they had flashing lights. Everyone is trying to make a buck off the event. I went in to luck around for a few minutes last night before going to my car just to see what they had. Everything was so incredibly overpriced it’s not even funny. I told the guy working the store that I haven’t even been paying too much attention to the tournament… not with the race for the Division and the tight race going on in the SE Division. In fact, I almost forgot the NCAA was even in town!! Wait, no, the fact there were no parking spots that morning and the fact that parking prices were jacked so high that you’d have to take out a loan just to park downtown this weekend!

Last night was awesome. It felt good. Damn good. A win usually does, but this has a lot more meaning now. And with that meaning comes a much better feeling with a victory.

I loved the “Unleash The Fury” artwork on the steps around the arena. I can’t WAIT until next Wednesday to get my picture with the Cup. And I can’t wait for the last regular season game. I hope by then, somehow, someway we already have the Division won by that game. I don’t want that game to have any consequences for the Thrashers. I’d like to have it where the Thrashers are locked into the playoffs, won the Division, and if the Thrashers beat Tampa, that kicks them out of the playoffs. We can have it all AND play spoiler too. Now THAT would be incredible. But mostly I just don’t want that game to matter. I want to go, enjoy the last regular season game, have fun, and for once not have to worry about having to win. Of course I want them to win no matter what, but I want that last game to not matter. Hell, they should be able to rest most of our guys and play some guys who don’t get a lot of ice time.

So tonight it’s Tampa vs. Carolina. I wish there was someway they could both lose. I won’t be watching the game tonight, but I do hope I get the good news when I get home. If Tampa loses tonight, I have the feeling we are money. And Carolina just got whopped by the lowly Flyers during their last game (we aren’t the only ones to fall victim to the bottom feeders!) so hopefully they are looking to rebound against Tampon Bay.

This thing is ours now. It’s ours to lose. We are in the driver’s seat, and as Ricky Bobby once said, it’s time to shake and bake! SHAKE! AND! BAKE!!!

LETS GO THRASHERS!!!!!!!!!