Told you so

As promised, hockey fans should begin seeing NHL replica jerseys popping up in retail establishments. With the league's move to the RBK Edge uniform system, last year's styles are, shall we say, old-school relics.

Over the weekend, I added these jerseys to the collection:

~ New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur road adult replica (embroidered name and numbers): $75
~ New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur home child replica (embroidered name and numbers): $50
~ Colorado Avalanche home adult replica: $42.50
~ Montreal Canadiens home adult replica: $42.50

But rather than assign these jerseys to the darkest corners of a closet, why not add them to your autograph stock.

I have no doubt that Brodeur will sign his jersey(s). And with Colorado and Montreal visiting Tampa Bay this season, I'll use them, in highly selective fashion, to snag some top-shelf players, say Saku Koivu and, if I'm particularly lucky, Joey Sakic.

Sunday morning homily XXIII

To say that hockey players are superstitious is an understatement, like saying that Wayne Gretzky was a good player. Some will only eat the same dish for a pregame meal. Others have a certain way of putting on their equipment. And, during the playoffs, growing a beard, no matter how wispy or itchy, is mandatory.

I noticed another instance of superstition last night in the Ottawa-New Jersey game. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur was sporting new equipment, including a catching glove, its fresh colors replacing gear discolored by a season of frozen rubber, ice shavings and hard-earned perspiration. Now, to me, the playoffs would be the worst time to try out, or break in, not just a piece of equipment, but an entire set.

But, after giving up four glove-side goals in New Jersey's opening 5-2 loss to Ottawa, it's my guess that Brodeur realized -- right or wrong -- that the catcher had run out of saves. A switch was made and whatever his reason, it seemed to work. Brodeur's confidence gew with every nifty glove save, keeping the Devils in the game.

It wasn't until New Jersey's Jamie Langenbrunner scored in the second overtime did Brodeur's hunch pay off. Because the Devils won, this seemingly innocent change in equipment would have, for the most part, been unnoticed. It would have been easy to explain the decision, dancing around the role that superstitions may have played.

Had the Devils lost, though, Brodeur's new equipment would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Pundits, including myself, would have viewed the move as the on/off switch of panic. It may have been surmised that Brodeur was losing confidence, not only in his equipment, but in his world-class level of play as well.

Maybe, it's more intuition that superstition, but when it comes to the playoffs, smart teams go with a hot hand. In New Jersey's case, that hand is inside a new glove.

Going naked

Because I'm a 3XL kind of guy, I'm having the darnedest time finding an article of clothing that lets me show my loyalty to the Buffalo Sabres. Sure, I've found a couple of T-shirts at my local Sports Fan Attic, but the sizes down here in fit-and-buff Florida stop at 2XL.

If anyone knows where I can get my fat little fingers on a sizable T-shirt, please pass along that info. Until then, though, I'll happily settle for Colin wearing this Ryan Miller T-shirt he got Friday for his sixth birthday. And after hearing stories about the scarcity of said items in Western New York, I'm not alone.

Besides, should the Sabres' season end triumphantly in June, there's a chance I might find what I'm looking for at the local Wal-Mart. I doubt it, but one never knows.

Don't forget

It's hard to get attention when you're flying under the radar, but the American Hockey League playoffs are hitting high gear. Some teams, such as the Manchester Monarchs, Chicago Wolves and Iowa Stars, have already advanced to division finals. Still, though, there's plenty of playoff games remaining.

Today's marquee matchup is a Game 7 between the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Providence Bruins. Other teams with chances to advance today include the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Sadly, the Rochester Americans, the Sabres' farm team, have been eliminated. We'll have to wait until next year to win the Calder Cup.

Here we go, finally

As promised, and I do apologize for the delay, here is that player-model goalie glove set signed by New Jersey's Martin Brodeur. Though it's not the Team Canada mask, it still is a pretty cool piece.

Soon. I promise.

With all of my newfound time, I imagine I should should keep this promise. Check back later, please.

Sunday morning homily XXII

There are times in life, such as this morning, where one is forced into making a decision. Do we drive over to Tampa and continue adding to the hockey collection. Or do we stay closer to home and get Trot Nixon, Colin's favorite baseball player, to sign his Red Sox jersey.

As you can see, there was no dilemma. Either decision would have left us happy. Somehow, though, watching Colin's eyes light up when he saw Trot, someone he had seen only on TV, showed we made the right call. For the record, Nixon also signed in the sweet spot of a MLB baseball.

The day of decisions will also take us to Tropicana Field this afternoon, rather than the St. Pete Times Forum, where the Lightning hopes to stave off elimination by beating New Jersey. Again, we're happy with our decision.

Rather than spend $60 a ticket for the same seats that were $25 during the Lightning's regular season, we'll be 12 rows behind Nixon at the Trop. Our tickets, which include a hot dog, pop and a snack, are just $15 a seat. And, if Colin's one of the first 7,500 kids through the door, he gets a free Devil Rays hat.

It's not that I've abandoned hockey. Nor am I suffering from burnout, thanks to a long season that started in early September. Nope, my motivation was to have Colin meet one of his Boston baseball heroes, even if that hero now plays for the Cleveland Indians. This temporary diversion, I'd dare say, was well worth the time.

A true keeper

Should the Lightning lose today, it'll also bring an end to my hockey hounding season. Do you know who signed the final puck of the season? None other than New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, providing puck no. 1,275 of the collection.

Even if I'm not exactly thrilled with the quality of the autograph, I certainly won't quibble about the fact that it came from the game's top goalie. Would you?

M-t. No B. No dot.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm beginning to wonder whether New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and I are on a first-name basis. At first glance, this autograph looks like it says "Marty."

There's no "B." Even his infamous dot is missing. Of the four I've gotten this season, this is the weakest one. What do you think?

Gimme a few days

All I can say for now, and you’ll have to trust me on this one, is that New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur signed the blocker that pairs with this glove. Brodeur signed in the curve, so it didn’t scan well. In a few days, I’ll post a picture showing the pair. I promise.

Well, well, well

Just like I said yesterday, any team scoring three goals against New Jersey's Martin Brodeur really ought to win the game. What's surprising, though, is the Lightning came back to beat the Devils, 3-2, with Vinny Lecavalier getting the game-winner.

Tampa Bay's Johan Holmqvist shook off his Game 1 jitters to stymie New Jersey, especially the diminutive Brian Gionta as time ran out. Maybe this team does have a little fight left in it.

Now that the series is tied 1-1, and with the teams heading to Tampa for Games 3 and 4, I'm looking forward to a hounding trip on Monday. I'm hoping, too, that the Devils opt to stay outside of Tampa. If they do, my commute will be considerably shorter.

Drawing a parallel

After watching Tampa Bay claw its way back into the opening playoff game last night against New Jersey, riding the backs of stars Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, I really wasn't surprised that the Lightning, and goalie Johan Holmqvist, collapsed in the third period, giving the Devils a 1-0 led in the best-of-seven quarterfinals series.

One would think that three goals against a world-class Martin Brodeur would be enough to, at the least, force sudden-death overtime. Tampa Bay's collapse, however, proved otherwise.

To me, the game's third period mirrored the Lightning's fade down the stretch -- draw close but, ultimately, fail to deliver. And, in the process, it wasted solid performances by Lecavalier and St. Louis.

Maybe, the Lightning will put in a full 60-minute effort against the Devils on Saturday. If not, they'll head back to Tampa down 2-0.

Wound up

It didn't take me long to get ready for New Jersey. Thirty minutes, if that, to cobble together a nearly full team set of cards and pack a handful of pucks. Now, all I have to do is wait until next Monday.

I don't have that much left for the Devils, mostly players I haven't seen this season -- Scott Clemmensen, Scott Gomez, Patrik Elias, Paul Martin, Jay Pandolfo and Brian Rafalski. And, yes, I have that blocker for Martin Brodeur.

Given the chance, I'll get the Zach Parise cards signed, too. I've been using this setup -- photo corners on a spiral-bound 4x6 notecard book -- for years. Very discreet and you can present up to four cards at a time.

Excuse me, Mr. Brodeur?

Now that the Lightning has stumbled to seventh in the East, Tampa Bay opens the playoffs in New Jersey. Hopefully, the Bolts will be around long enough for me to complete this set this season.

Addicted to Hockey? Round VI

Here's another dozen ways to, indeed, tell if you're in need of snap shot to the melon:

~ Can't wait to have New Jersey's Martin Brodeur sign the blocker glove.

~ Wear a goal light, attached firmly to a sticker-covered hard hat, upon your head for use at the appropriate moments.

~ Spend every last dime, except those mingling in the dust and crumbs of your couch/sofa/davenport/recliner, for playoff tickets knowing full well that you're team will be one-and-done this year.

~ Have a goldfish named Rogie.

~ Maintain hope that Detroit's Todd Bertuzzi will someday play a full season. C'mon! Who am I kidding? I'll be surprised if he plays another 100 games in the NHL.

~ Willing to wade into hostile territory, such as Madison Square Garden or Joe Louis Arena, and root for the Islanders and Sharks, respectively.

~ Still believe that Pittsburgh Penguins management should've explored all options.

~ Willing to bask in the warmth of another gorgeous spring day in balmy Florida, shooting the breeze and snagging some autographs. Many times, I visualized that while weathering sub-freezing temperatures along windswept Avery Street near Boston's Downtown Crossing. It worked, too.

~ Look forward to your state's high school hockey championship game. In Florida.

~ Speaking of Florida (for the third time, no less), you try to get the Panthers' Martin Gelinas to sign four pucks -- Carolina, Edmonton, Quebec and Vancouver's old black-red-and-yellow flying skate logo.

~ Sign all of your bill-paying checks with a well-used silver Sharpie.

~ Routinely achieve the full moisture-wicking powers of the new RBK Edge uniform system.

And, just like the bagel shop a little way up the street, here's a baker's dozen of the countless ways that you can tell that you're addicted to hockey:

~ As a Sabres fan, you get an uneasy feeling every time you see Martin Biron in a Flyers uniform.

A glove save, and a beauty

Nearly two years ago, I stumbled across a pair of Martin Brodeur model goalie gloves (blocker and catcher) at a Play It Again Sports in Plaistow, N.H. This morning, I had one of the game's best goalies sign the catcher.

For the record, that silver scribble is what Brodeur is signing these days. A couple of seasons ago, it used to be a "MB."

Still, I won't complain. Of all the NHL stars, Brodeur is one of the most consistent signers. He'll sign anything put in front of him (cards, pictures, pucks, jerseys, mini-jerseys, masks, etc.), but he'll sign only one per person. Again, I won't complain.

And seeing that I only got four autographs, but three pucks, out of the Devils (the Westin Harbour Island hotel has pushed us away from the entrance and very few players honored our requests), this certainly was the highlight.

Hockey Word Association 1.7

With a trip to Tampa to hound the Devils less than eight hours away, this week's exercise, in the interest of time, will have a New Jersey flavor:

1.) Lou Lamoriello =
2.) Red, green and white =
3.) Kansas City Scouts =
4.) Martin Brodeur =
5.) Elizabethtown =

Review: Upper Deck Hockey Series II

In my world, there's very little that Upper Deck has done right. The Malkin boat docked too late. It's too slow to show teams and players in new uniforms. And, for the most part, Upper Deck, and its subsidiary titles, are the only show in town.

It's funny, though, how quickly perception can change. In this case, all it took was one box of Upper Deck Hockey Series II.

Cards of Anaheim players show the new uniforms. Same for the Sabres. The checklist also features cards of lesser-known players (think Atlanta's Greg de Vries, Colorado's Mark Rycroft and Minnesota's Kurtis Foster) that are useful in hounding. Each pack, too, contains an Upper Deck Victory update card, including rookie offerings of Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Radulov and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

What really sealed the deal -- this time and this time only -- was how I hit the jackpot, so to speak. Not only did I pull not one, but two, Malkin Young Gun cards (including a scarce High Gloss), but I also pulled a 1-of-1 Martin Brodeur press plate card (that's it, shown above). Pulling a Brad Boyes autograph card didn't hurt, either.

Granted, this may have been one of those so-called hot boxes, but just the chance to snag a Malkin Young Gun, this season's Holy Grail of Hockey Cardboard, makes this offering pretty hard to pass up.

Our favorite goalie mask

As promised a couple weeks ago, here's a picture of the work-in-progress Team Canada goalie mask that's in our hockey memorabilia collection.

Notable signers shown are Patrick Roy (red part of the Hockey Canada logo), Martin Brodeur (black part of the logo), Cam Ward (below Roy's signature) and Curtis Joseph (upper left of Roy's).

Other signers include Roberto Luongo and Martin Biron.

Timing is everything

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results of hounding the New Jersey Devils earlier today. Granted, I only received one puck (from Brian Gionta, shown at left) and 14 cards. But I was able to add Martin Brodeur to my Team Canada goalie mask.

Can't complain about that, can I? Looks real good, too, sitting close to Patrick Roy's autograph. Here's a picture of it.

What I can complain about, though, is of my own feeble time management. I was able to take a break from work later in the day to try to add to the collection. And even though I knew the game started at 8 p.m. tonight, rather than the normal 7:30 p.m., I went out to the team's hotel a little too early.

The only players I saw before I had to return to work were Jim Dowd and Eric Rasmussen. Unfortunately, I had nothing for either player. It's my guess, too, that the rest of the Devils, particularly the ones I wanted on pucks (Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Paul Martin), emerged from the hotel about the time it faded in my rear-view mirror.

Thankfully, the Devils come back later this year. Hopefully, my timing will be better.

The mother lode of masks

Maybe it’s become an obsession of mine, but I can’t get enough of looking at goalie masks. I’ll Google all kind of word combinations looking for new galleries to enjoy and share.

I believe I hit a gold mine last night, coming across Marlene Ross Design.

Some of her clients, get this, include Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Grant Fuhr and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Can you imagine painting not just one mask, but multiples, for these goalies? Unbelievable, I tell you, just simply flippin' unbelievable.

Over the past 17 years, Ross has created “Mask Art” for more than 50 NHL goalies. She also created the mask worn by Manon Rheaume, the first woman to play in the NHL.

Not only was her work seen during the Olympics and on game nights across the league, but she’s also painted masks for the Mighty Ducks and Sudden Death movies.

Blankety-blank, blank, blank

If you think you’re having a bad day, be thankful you’re not Florida goalie Alexander Auld. Despite stopping 39 shots and keeping Montreal off the scoreboard during regulation, Auld took the loss, via the shootout, against the Canadiens last night.

Auld, who notched his second career shutout, gave up shootout goals to Alex Kovalev and Saku Koivu. Oh yeah, Montreal’s Cristobal Huet was perfect, stopping 36 shots in regulation and two shootout attempts, in picking up the win and the game’s first star.

Also posting shutouts last night were San Jose’s Vesa Toskala and Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo.

Where’s your sense of humor?

You know, I thought I’d get at least one response to last week’s Thanksgiving Day/hockey joke. No such luck, though. Maybe it was because of abnormally high levels of L-tryptophan pulsing through your blood, rendering you incoherent before slipping off into a food-induced coma.

But now, after all of the leftovers (including Aunt Maggie's "Brussel Sprouts Surprise") are gone, here it is again. And, this time, I want some answers:

Q: Why did the turkey ice the puck?
A: Because it wanted . . .

A little trivia, too

Can you match the following teams to their respective professional leagues? I've included links, too, to the leagues, making it even easier.

1.) Elmira Jackals
2.) Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
3.) Pee Dee Cyclones
4.) Augusta Lynx

A.) UHL
B.) ECHL
C.) CHL
D.) SPHL

Congratulations to Tracy, or slegr_71, for her correct answers in last week’s trivia quiz.

Last week’s answers: 1-C; 2-B; 3-D; and 4-A.

The correct answers for this week's quiz will appear next week.