Shrapnel - 1/3/12

Welcome back to "real life", as they call it.

Yesterday, the eyes of the hockey world were on Philadelphia, and we were not disappointed. It doesn't matter which storybook moment captured your attention, this game was riveting from beginning to end, and the general consensus is that it was, again, one of the best games of the season.

Plus, hey, funny commercials.

On the Jackets side of things, everyone expects another shoe to drop soon. Gallos argues that the strategy is more important than the timing, though.

Believe it or not, they actually played a few other games yesterday, and Daniel Carcillo managed the impressive feat of throwing a dirty hit and hurting himself at the same time.

DBJ also collected a few more glass bangers while waiting for the WC to get rolling yesterday.

You may have somehow missed it in the 2,500 times it was mentioned yesterday, but January 2nd was the last gasp for Versus, which now has been recast as the NBC Sports Network. Fittingly, Puck Daddy had a eulogy for it.

Raffi Torres got a 2 game suspension for another questionable hit, but still hasn't sat out as many games this season as James Wisniewski.

Rumors are starting to swirl that Teemu could be traded. Fans in Winnipeg are likely howling outside Kevin Cheveldayoff's office RIGHT NOW.

Even in victory we expect awesome quotes from John Tortorella, and he did not disappoint. Anyone else psyched for the 24/7 finale on Thursday night?

Finally, a personal note. I mentioned I'm starting a new job today. My next step after I write this is to go get ready and hit the road.

We pride ourselves on giving you the best coverage possible of the Jackets, and I've really enjoyed making these daily Shrapnels a big part of that. Because I also pride myself on doing the best possible job in my "day job", I can't say for sure that Shrapnel will continue to be as big or as regular until I find a new routine, but I can tell you that Mike, Dan, Andy, and Lou are some of the best guys out there, and that we'll all work hard to find a way to bring you our best, one way or another.

It's been a hard season, and it's likely to be a dark winter for this club, but we'll try our hardest to keep holding up a light.

Go Jackets!