By gallagher
For a game that started in such a great way (with Jamal Mayers and Matt Barnaby fighting right off the drop of the puck), this thing ended horribly for the Note. Tkachuk out for 4-6? A 5-1 loss to the Hawks, including a even strength goal with under 2 seconds left? Crap.
The only real positive out of this nightmare is that the two teams are starting to really hate each other again. I'm really pulling for a good old fashioned hatred, bad-blood rivalry between these two teams. Remember how fun those games were at the Arena? I still believe that the new scheduling is going to help the rivalries get nasty again. We'll always hate the Wings, but renewed rivalry with the Hawks would be great and there is a rivalry with nashville brewing that could be fun, too. The potential is there to get heated with Columbus, but it just has been slow to develop.
This new ownership group that has come into play is a little worrisome. I don't think they'd overtly damage the franchise the ay the Lauries have done lately, but they definitely look like a pump-and-dump outfit to me. As long as they actually help the on-ice product and the game day atmosphere, then I'll help them increase the value of the team by going to games and buying gear and beer. I just hope that it helps give the local groups a couple years to get the plan together for when the Blues go up for sale again in a few years. Check out my editor's article in the issue tonight for more detailed info.