Last night was not Dubie’s fault.  Ted said it, and so did everyone else.  I’ve watched this sort of thing in my daughter’s softball games.  It’s unexplainable.  One player makes an error and it becomes a domino effect.  They all fall one after the other, as if not to let any ONE player look bad.  This way, they are all in the same boat, sinking toward a miserable loss.

I watched from the privacy of my own living room couch as Ted bit his lip and rocked against the glass behind him.   You could see behind his eyes many smoldering questions.  What would he say to Sutton, who took a team leading 3 penalties?    What would he say to Mike Comrie who seemed to have just blown a gasket in the third period?  You could tell how the wheels were turning in his head as he waited for the players to leave the ice before him after each period.  It’s like disappointing your father.  He doesn’t actually have to SAY anything.  You know what you did, and you feel terrible.

Bergie was one of the few who was responding and was rewarded with a whopping 8:47 of ice time.  Whoopppeee… Ok.  But it is a giant step up from his average of less than 3 minutes a game.  He did try to make every shift count and had a few good chances.  Sadly, none of them converted into anything that would break Lehtonen’s shutout.

I’m certain this snowy Sunday morning, there is an Islander team licking their wounds and promising themselves they will never let their teammates down that way again.  They should make a pact to never leave Dubie out to dry that way.  He’s too good a guy, and they let him down.  They let Ted down.  They let the over 15,000 patrons down by not being in the game for the full 60 minutes.  I’m certain Monday will be different.  It has to be.

Now, attention Attendance Police:  I’d like to bring up a little fact for you.  Last night my personal seats were empty although they counted toward the NHL attendance number of 15,355.  This happens.  Even though you have tickets that are bought and paid for, sometimes you just don’t make it out to the coliseum.  Many factors are to blame.  For me personally last night it was fatigue on the family’s part.  Although sometimes I think the Big Angry Man has a sixth sense about these things as he turned to me once it was painfully evident they were going to be shut out, “Aren’t you glad we didn’t go now?”  I didn’t answer him because in all honesty, I couldn’t.  I hate wasting the money when the tickets are paid for.  I hate not being there because I enjoy it.  But I understand his point at this time of the year when free time is at a premium.   So, if this happened to me, I’m sure it happens to others just like me.  Tickets paid for count towards totals.  I may not have been there, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t watching and contributed financially.

Drive carefully today wherever you go.