The spirit of giving

It’s the holiday season (the holiday season)….

And we’ll gaze with childlike wonder at a power play that’s operating at 29.1 percent efficiency and has a nearly six-percent lead over everybody else in the league.

We’ll gasp at how this team can go from nothing to moving in a blink. (Good Capuano quote in the morning loosely along those lines.)

We’ll talk about how Erik Ersberg stopped everything he could see, and how his defense cleared everything he stopped.

We’ll do all those things, and maybe we won’t wonder how you don’t call that hook, the same way we maybe don’t wonder a night earlier about how you call that no-goal.

And then we’ll do what’s necessary, ’cause even a miracle needs a hand.

Oops. I mean, we’ll go down to the village, with a broomstick…

Darn. This is a good time for a three-day break.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Tambellini (A)-Nielsen-Kinasewich
Regier-Walter-Bootland
Haskins-Colliton-Johnson
Brennan/Haley
D: Fata-Spiller (A)
Kohn-Ford
Wotton (C)-Rullier

MANCHESTER
F: Moulson-Lewis-Purcell
Gauthier (A)-Boyle-Meckler
(Murray-scratch)-Cliche-Ryan (A)
Crosty-Tukonen-Westgarth
D: Petiot-Klemm (C)
Bagnall-Harrold
Likens-Milam

Bridgeport shuffled dramatically after going down 2-0. Jeremy Colliton played with Tambellini and Nielsen for a shift or two, then it became Regier in that spot. They all went back to basics for the third, then shuffled again. Depending on what feels better tomorrow night in the notes, that might be the topic for Wednesday’s advance. Tukonen usually played with Cliche and Ryan.

The boys in 105, the ones who always cheer as if they’ve won? One of ’em actually won chuck-a-puck tonight. Dave didn’t believe them. I don’t know if anybody did. I believed them a little more when they didn’t cheer for second place.

An assist for Brandon Nolan in his NHL debut.

Patrick Williams has the lowdown on what turns out not to be a Potulny-brothers fight.

Jonathan goes off on VH1 for its greatest hits of the ’90s. Good stuff.

A weird milestone: The New York Times no longer puts dates in their datelines.

The AHL goes on a three-day break for Christmas, and so will we. On behalf of the Western Conference correspondent (to whom I’m rushing home, if you couldn’t tell), have a good break, Merry Christmas if it’s your deal (and if not, well, Merry Christmas, anyway, because it’s not like I want you to have a bad Tuesday), and see you Wednesday.

Michael Fornabaio