OK, I'm not brimming with confidence after a miserable 2-7 mark last Thursday. But, I have to do better this week ... right? A guy can dream, can't he? Here's tonight's card:
Boston Bruins at Atlanta Thrashers
I should have picked the Thrashers last week against the New York Rangers at MSG. I'm not going to make that mistake again. John Anderson's team can score. The Bruins are having trouble in that area. Give me Atlanta.
To read about the best game of the night, featuring the Flames and Blackhawks, who have a lot of bad blood between them, as well as why the Blues should break out of their slump, you must be an ESPN Insider.
E.J. Hradek
Senior Writer, ESPN The MagazineABOUT THIS BLOG
E.J. Hradek
E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.
In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.
Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.
