Page 52 of The Trade Deadline
“You see their bench? They wanted to fuckingmurderyou, Nilsy!”
“They’re never gonna forget this game.”
“Never gonna live it down either.”
But it was Ryan’s quieter praise on the bus to the airport that had him grinning the whole flight back.
“That was probably the sexiest penalty shot I’ve ever seen,” he joked.
“It was just a shot. I didn’t even do anything fancy.”
“You were totally in his head,” Ryan said. “You didn’tneeda move.That’swhat makes it sexy.”
As much as he laughed it off and told himself it was a teammate complimenting another teammate, he could never unhear Ryan Russell calling him sexy.
Around the League: Thanksgiving Update
Abigail Cunningham, The Baltimore Sun
THEY SAY THAT THANKSGIVING Break marks when the NHL season starts for real. In the past thirty years, 80% of the teams who are in a playoff position in late November continue to remain in playoff positions through the course of the season. Let’s see how our Blue Crabs are doing so far.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic DivisionW-L-OT(Pts)
Boston Militia17-3-0(34)
Quebec Fleurs de lis11-5-5(27)
Toronto Terrors10-5-4(24)
Metro DivisionW-L-OT(Pts)
Ohio Otters16-4-0(32)
Orlando Pythons13-8-0(26)
New England Nor’easters10-6-4(24)
Wild CardW-L-OT(Pts)
Philadelphia Gliders10-7-4(24)
Ontario Ice Owls11-7-1(23)
Baltimore Blue Crabs10-7-3(23)
Pittsburgh Riveters10-8-2(22)
While the Blue Crabs are by no means at the head of the pack, they’ve had a much better start than they’ve seen in recent years. It’s easy to credit the change to Lars Nilsson’s surprising addition to the roster, but the team has also made significant changes elsewhere like the hiring of a new defensive coordinator Jean-Jacques Blanchard and retooling their special teams. Other line adjustments have been made to balance out Nilsson’s appearance, and the team seems to be finding not only chemistry, but success, running what’s effectively two top lines with Russell as the other top centers.
But it’s also worth noting that the team’s schedule so far has worked in their favor: the bulk of their games have been at home. We’ll really see how this team is doing in December: of the fifteen games scheduled, only four will be in Baltimore. And let’s keep in mind that Charlie Monroe, General Manager of the Blue Crabs, hasn’t been promising the playoffs this year.
“It’s a long-term goal, obviously,” Monroe said at the start of the season, “but this type of rebuild takes time. We’re improving each year, working with our young guys, and we’ve made some big changes in the off-season that’ll help us get closer. I’d love to see the guys get a chance to fight for the Cup this season, but if I have to wait another season to get that stronger core to make a real run of it, then so be it.”
How long, exactly, will Crabs fans have to wait, though?
“We’ve got a good group of guys,” Captain Jake Campbell said recently. “Lots of talent, lots of depth. We get our foot in the door, who knows?”
