Our flight departed Buffalo on-time and we landed in Montreal with buses waiting to transport us to our downtown hotel, not far from the Bell Centre.
As is usually the case, Rob Ray and I will text one another and see what the plan is for dinner. Moments like these on the road where we have a meal together really set the foundation for what comes across on the air.
People often say to me, "Man, does Rayzor ever give it to you on the broadcast sometimes."
Well believe me, I am aware those jabs coming, and also know while some may seem like digs on the air, it's nothing more than good-natured ribbing. It is always received with a smile on my end, and every once in a while, I'll get a shot of my own in. Those comebacks are encouraged by Rob during our dinners and walks while we are on the road.
For dinner in Montreal, the norm on our "What To Eat Tour" is smoked meat. On this night however, Rayzor and I first opted for burgers at a nearby diner. We always talk about the team, where it's at and where it's going. We talk about family and how many lawns Rob has to cut in the offseason.
At the diner, I texted WGR's Paul "Bone" Hamilton to see if he was at the usual spot yet. "Just about to be on my way over there from the hotel," Paul replied. I held Razor back from dessert and reminded him how much dessert there was going to be at the smoked meat counter.
We arrived at stop number two, and Sabres.com's Jourdon LaBarber, our broadcast producer Joe Pinter and others were also already there. I grabbed a seat and in walks Bone, who saunters to the counter, grabs a seat, orders his smoked meat spaghetti, and it's on as usual! (And it is good by the way).
After Rob and I stuff our faces with dessert - apple cobbler for Rayzor and carrot cake for me - we walk back to the hotel. It's an early night for us. After all, we're supposed to call a hockey game tomorrow.
For me, the norm from here is to settle in and read a few articles about the opposition and watch their last two or three games - with at least in its entirety. I'll refamiliarize myself with names and numbers and line combinations.
But on this night, things would be very different.
The usual homework began, and then the first report started to make its rounds about an NBA player testing positive for coronavirus. From there, it led to word that a game was halted before it began and right then and there, I knew something was going to happen to hockey. It had to.
We share arenas, we share hotels, and we share flying pressurized tubes that come with very tiny bathrooms, and well, as much as anyone claims they clean a bathroom well, it's still a bathroom (or a closet) up there.
Then the NBA postponed its season, and reports of the NHL meeting about its future were now making their way onto our computer screens, televisions and mobile devices.
Until we heard otherwise, however, we prepared as if the Sabres and Canadiens were going to play. We got up the next morning, met in the lobby at 10 a.m. as agreed upon the night before to walk to the rink. We always go early if the team is meeting to gather our game night information by speaking with players, coaches, and team and TV production staff.
