There is a considerable amount of angst among CBJ fans at present. The team is on the brink of squandering a second season with a now annual December swoon. There are those that think because of the difficulty of the challenge ahead of the CBJ, that these upcoming games are a meaningless exercise on the way to another non-playoff season. However, being only 5 points out in the ultra competitive West, writing this team off may be premature. Certainly, no matter the outcome of the season, it would be preferable for the team to go down swinging. On a personal basis, recent evidence suggest that they may have the ability to do this. Pragmatically, they have used up all the buffers and safety factors their hot start gave them, so now they must win. Period. But, this does not render these last 33 games meaningless. That is something we may have to wait for retrospect to truly judge. So to put this in perspective, it seems fitting to review the CBJ's Most Meaningless Game Ever.To set the stage, we need an opponent. Who else but the gosh darn Detroit Redwings? The scene is Joe Louis Arena, and we are being treated to the indelible scene of Matt the Mask taunting the Redwings fans, being tossed by an imperious Redwings usher, and in a final gesture of contempt, throwing his mask onto the ice. That night the CBJ laid an 8-2 beating on the Redwings like they have never experienced from the CBJ. The Captain, Rick Nash, duplicated a feat that had not been seen since the days of Rocket Richard, an unassisted hat trick. And, like a Greek tragedy, sowed the seeds of CBJ doom by handing Mike Babcock a motivational whip that he has used with great effectiveness for almost two years.
