Tonight is an interesting intersection in hockey fandom for my family. Well, more accurately, my wife.
When we started dating in 1996 in college (please don't tell me how old you were then), I liked to play video games. A lot. Still do, but I had more time for it. And sometimes she would hangout while we played. Every so often she would semi pay attention. She's from the hockey wasteland that is the western side of Missouri, so she learned about the game from me. It's now her favorite sport. So give her some credit before I repeat this story I told about her a few years ago.
So in playing video game hockey, we'd use all sorts of teams. I liked the Ducks for awhile. Also the Kings with Gretzky. Buffalo was fun. I tried lots of teams. Never Detroit. I liked the Ducks with Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. For some reason whenever I mentioned his name, I used his full name. To her unknowing hockey ears, she thought I was saying Tee Muselanne. Or however one would spell the letter T and the guy's last name putting all the syllables together. One day I apparently said Teemu and this confused her. Why'd I say his name that way? Laughs ensued.
Another afternoon I was playing with the Kings. Jari Kurri scored a tiebreaking goal. I celebrated. She looked up at the screen and said, "Did you just score with Jerry Curl?" From henceforth, I tried to score a goal with Tee or Jerry every time she was around.
Well the stars have aligned. Heading into tonight's game with the Blues, Selanne has 1,398 career points. That puts him 19th on the all-time scoring list. Well, it ties him. With a certain former King and Oiler named Jari Kurri.
I don't know how this is significant for a Blues-Ducks game, but I figured it was as interesting as anything else I'd put in this spot.
Jaroslav Halak has retired the Starting Goaltender Wheel of Uncertainty as he has assumed No. 1 goaltender status.
This is your game day thread. Comment like the Blues are in first place in the Western Conference. Because they totally are.