Smoke Dances With Sunlight on the Bar

I'm enjoying a rare gift of spare time, alone with my keyboard, a chance to savor a good meal I've prepared, consumed and now stored in my culinary journal.

The lingering smoke from the frying of corn tortillas is suspended across the bar, hanging on the weakening winter light from the kitchen window. It's been a good day, spent cooking, cleaning and reading about hockey. It's winter, and it takes a steady current of coffee and hockey to get me from the October chill to the April arrival of optimism, the glimpse of a woman proudly parading a colorful new dress and the sound of children discovering free time in the park, no rules, no agenda, no coaches.

A cold winter makes you reflect, keeps you humble and challenges you to make your own sunshine amid the conditions and the relative negativity of others.

The Winter Classic and the World Junior Championship tournament have passed. Next is the Olympics and the National Hockey League's trade deadline, all signs that we are approaching the spring, when champions begin to reveal themselves with bold, confident steps forward.

Until then, I savor the memories of games well played and anticipate those to come. The winter sun is making its last call in the Lounge. The song is an old favorite; you have never looked better. And I have never felt warmer.

THE SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
N.Y. Rangers 3, at Boston 1
Colorado 4, at Buffalo 3 SO
Pittsburgh 4, at Toronto 1
New Jersey 2, at Montreal 1 OT
Florida 3, at Ottawa 0
At Philadelphia 4, Tampa Bay 1
Washington 8, at Atlanta 1
Anaheim 3, at Nashville 2
At Minnesota 6, Chicago 5 SO
N.Y. Islanders 5, at Phoenix 4 SO
Calgary 3, at Vancouver 2 SO
St. Louis 4, at Los Angeles 3
Detroit 4, at San Jose 1
The standings are here.
Recap by Sportsnet.
Three stars by Puck Daddy.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Lake Erie 3, at Rochester 1
At Abbotsford 4, Texas 2
Portland 2, at Adirondack 1
At Albany 3, Hartford 1
At Bridgeport 3, Springfield 2 OT
At Hamilton 5, Grand Rapids 2
Lowell 3, at Binghamton 2
Manchester 3, at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1
At Worcester 4, Providence 3
Syracuse 2, at Norfolk 1
At Chicago 3, Peoria 1
At San Antonio 2, Rockford 1
Hershey 3, at Manitoba 2
At Milwaukee 3, at Toronto 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Toledo 3, Trenton 1
At Gwinnett 6, South Carolina 5 OT
Cincinnati 4, at Reading 1
At Kalamazoo 7, Charlotte 4
At Elmira 5, Florida 4 SO
At Wheeling 3, Johnstown 0
At Las Vegas 5, Ontario 1
Idaho 8, at Victoria 2
Utah 5, at Alaska 1
The standings are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Prince Edward Island 3, at Shawinigan 2 OT
Cape Breton 2, at Halifax 0
At Moncton 6, Acadie-Bathurst 2
At Saint John 4, Montreal 2
Rouyn-Noranda 3, at Val-d'Or 2
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Ottawa 5, Kingston 2
At London 8, Erie 7 SO
At Belleville 7, Sudbury 0
At Plymouth 3, Kitchener 2
At Saginaw 5, Owen Sound 2
At Barrie 3, Mississauga 2 OT
Guelph 6, at Sault Ste. Marie 3
Windsor 5, at Sarnia 4
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Prince Albert 8, Moose Jaw 7 OT
At Regina 6, Medicine Hat 5 SO
Lethbridge 3, at Saskatoon 1
At Calgary 5, Vancouver 2
Swift Current 2, at Edmonton 1 SO
At Kootenay 2, Red Deer 1
Kamloops 4, at Kelowna 1
At Portland 3, Chilliwack 1
At Spokane 2, Tri-City 1
At Seattle 4, Prince George 1
The standings are here.
The roundup is here.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE
At Indiana 7, Sioux City 2
Fargo 3, at Youngstown 2
At Des Moines 5, Omaha 4
At Green Bay 6, Team USA 1
Cedar Rapids 3, at Lincoln 2
Tri-City 4, at Sioux Falls 3
At Waterloo 8, Chicago 3
The standings are here.
The recap is here.