With Columbus Day right around the corner I've been racking my brain trying to think of what to ask Christopher Columbus for this year, and I think I got my answer last night.
I love him.
Not Christopher Columbus, that guy may have done some pretty harsh things and some European was bound to find this continent anyway. I'm talking about Ian Laperriere. His energy, his speed, his joie de vivre. He's constantly encouraging his teammates out there while playing take-no-prisoners hockey and even managed to contribute a goal out there last night.
I've never known a fourth line like this before.
Our fourth line is so good, mainly because of the combination of grit and skill each member of it possess, that I honestly look forward to seeing them out there stirring the pot every fourth shift. Can you imagine me writing that last year? With Riley Cote and Andreas Nodl on the ice? It was like playing Russian Roulette with a gun that had all 6 chambers loaded. You lost every time. With this line we have two of our four most defensively responsible forwards out there. And the penalty killing duo of Lappy and Betts. I'm constantly trying to catch a glimpse of Mike Richards sitting in a beach chair on the bench sipping pina coladas as the play flies by. Our fourth line is taking up ten good minutes of even strength time a night. It's really unbelievable to experience.
So although I'm generally not a jersey guy I think I need to let the world know how I feel. And I think that even though the Winter Classic jersey is cool, the chances that a crab fry smudge is going to end up somewhere on whatever I'm wearing are just too great. So I think it will be the orange jersey for me. Which also means I'm in uniform if I ever make it back to Philly for another Orange Crush match. You hear that, Chris?
I think we have a winner, and I think it's Ian Laperriere any way you slice it.