Blue Notes

....where there's no sign of Scott Gomez, Brandon Dubinsky or Marc Staal, who were headed here straight from Atlanta's All-Star festivities.

Hmm. So I will take it upon myself to track them down tonght at Red, Hot & Blue and every other barbecue joint between here and Cary....Pass the Alka-Seltzer.

Big news from the Left Coast. Teemu Selanne back with the Ducks.
Not bad for the $600,000 or whatever they're paying him for 30-plus regular-season games
and the playoffs, where the Ducks will certainly be.

The Rangers ain't there yet, and this four-game trip is imposing. Carolina wasn't playing well before the break, the Rangers won two, but there's no mo(mentum) and the sharper team tomorrow should come away with a win.

Thanks to Newsdays' Anthony Rieber for posting the Malik Memo from the practice in Westchester. Presume I'll see the big d-man at the skate in the morning down the road here at the rink. But you have to figure that trade is in the cards at some point in the next four weeks...

But first things first, couple ribs, some chiIi, asking barkeeps and waitresses (who will probably be watching colege hoops) if they've seen three hockey players

And then tomorrow, before the skate, the hotel gym to work off those fixins'