Just the Facts, Jack (Edwards)
- Regular season game #5, home game #1
- Boston Bruins (3-1-0-0) vs. Washington Capitals (4-2-0-0)
- Bruins playing the back end of a home and home series against the Caps, taking the first game at the Verizon Center with a 3-1 tally on the scoresheet.
- Capitals enter the game 25 for 25 on the penalty kill on the season
John Blue Plate Special
It being opening night and all, there was no question we would hit the Fours before the game. Of course, we knew it'd be slammed with people, so Heather got there early to land a spot and headed upstairs. Within minutes we landed some quality bar space over by the Flutie jersey corner and even had space for Pete who was all decked out in his old school Caps sweater.
Here was the bill of fare for the three of us:
- Bobby Orr (Teriyaki) w/ cheese on a roll, onion rings (Me, Heather)
- Four's Wings (Pete)
The Couture Corner
With a packed house and the crowd at a fever pitch with unbridled optimism for the season, the Garden was ripe for some rare apparel sightings. And they did not disappoint.
Sure there were the usual Starter jackets and wrong era/player name faux-pas, but there were a couple of standouts. Let's go to the league office in Toronto for a call on these:
Dave Ellett and Andrei Nazarov
Who in their right minds buys these? Seriously?
Ellett was a journeyman defensemen who had a cup of coffee with the Bruins at the end of his career and Nazarov was a goon who never lived up to his potential.
What's worse, both of these sweaters bore the Koho logo on the sleeves which means they were purchased sometime after 2004, well after Ellett and Nazarov finished their time in Boston.
The Call?
NO GOOD
As for my attire, I went with the 2010 Milan Lucic alternate. New season, new hope and the Loochamotive is healthy again.
The Row 12 Rundown
Opening night (did I mention that already?) and nearly the whole crew was in the house: Paula, Patty, the Kasper Kontingent, the Barrys, the Hoyts, Charla, Kathi and the kids to name a few. Seat 11 was Pete's for the night. Cassie made a cameo and we even had a special guest appearance by Jim & Sharon.
Noticeably absent was Larry R.
Doosh of the Day
As with any overly anticipated event at the Garden, there was a sold-out crowd. Usually this tends to include more die-hards than pink hats and for the most part it was.
But, because it was opening night, there's additional pomp and circumstance to be had. And part of this included having Aerosmith's Steven Tyler sign the national anthem.
Look, I love Aerosmith. I own all of their CDs. I saw them play at Fenway this past summer. They are one of, if not the greatest rock band from the US of A.
That said, I'm sick of Steven Tyler. I'm tired of his repeated on again/off again rumors of leaving the band, his petulant dust-up with the woofa goofa, Peter Wolf, at the aforementioned concert, his new gig as an American Idol judge. I need a break.
It didn't help that his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner sounded like a cat wheezing. It wasn't quite Ozzy at Wrigley, but it definitely wasn't Whitney Houston at the Superbowl.
In addition, the Bruins have venerable institution of an anthem signer in Rene Rancourt. He's not the best singer in the world, but he is part and parcel of seeing a Bruins game in Boston and is one of the few remaining ties to the Bruins of old. Rene Rancourt should always be singing on opening night.
So, today's Doosh of the Day is whomever scheduled Steven Tyler to sing the anthem.
Special runner-up award goes to the one-time wonders behind us in row 13. Pete might be a Caps fan, but he's part of our crew regardless and he doesn't deserve crap from people who show up to one game a year. That and the fact that they had some sort of homoerotic fixation with Alex Ovechkin. Takes one to know one, fellas.
That's Entertainment
When the Bruins play as well as they did last night, that really is all the entertainment I need.
That said, the highlight of the night was when Marc Savard was announded at the end of the player introductions. Quite the ovation for the injured center.
The Clothes Line
Tonight's winner: Randy Burridge guy
Great player in the late 80s for the Bruins, traded to the Caps for homeboy Steve Leach. Last Bruin to wear #12 before Adam Oates was traded here in 1992.
The Home End
It's incredibly early in the season (a mere 5 games in), but this team looks like it could be in it for the long haul. Tim Thomas is playing like he did 2 years ago, the defense is strong and the offense is clicking with a host of new weapons, most noticably offseason pickup Nathan Horton.
Up next is an Original 6 matchup Saturday night versus the New York Rangers. Pregame starts at the Fours at 4:00 pm.
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