Remember that old, cool roadie song by Jackson Brown?
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They're the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They'll set it up in another town
The RBC "roadies" will be hard at work today. NC State plays a basketball game at 2 in the afternoon and the Hurricanes play at 7 tonight. That's a lot of setting up and tearing down, even if it isn't in another town! Let's hope the Hurricanes work as hard as the road crew because the only thing that will get them out of the funk they are in, is hard work. One of the negative issues about having two major events like this almost simultaneously? The ice is going to be horrible. It just can't be helped. Watch the bouncing puck tonight!
Coach Laviolette took the "good cop" approach to team discipline yesterday and today. He wants everyone to lighten up a bit and enjoy the game again. He also made the pregame skate today optional and said that the coaching staff would not be at the Reczone at all. (The pregame skate is at the practice facility because of the basketball game). Hopefully his methods will work. He did have one very noteworthy quote in the paper this morning. "There's a great hockey team in there and there's great players in there." Nodding toward the locker room. "If I had to win one game tomorrow night, I'd pick that team right there, and it's important that they realize that." Strong words!
Tonight is military appreciation night, and is nearly a sell out already. I'm sure it will be by game time. Thank you to our brave brothers and sisters in the military! We truly appreciate what you do. I have a nephew in Iraq and our thoughts are with him every day. But before I turn this into a political blog, let's get back to the game. Stillman is still questionable for tonight. Of course, Hedican, Kaberle, and Gleason are all out and will be until after the All Star break. The good news is that Kevyn Adams is available and will be back on the ice. Let's hope he does better than he did before he had his injury taken care of. The Islanders have lost 5 in a row and are reeling even worse than we are. Regardless, I expect a wild and crazy game tonight played by two teams who have been scoring challenged recently. The players will be falling, the puck will be bouncing, and the scoreboard will lighting up like your put away Christmas lights! You have taken them down by now, haven't you? Oh, and while you sip your beer don't forget to make a silent toast to the road crew! They deserve it. Go Canes!!!!!
Jackson Brown