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You have to believe the New Jersey Devils will be pumped for their reunion tonight with Sean Avery and the New York Rangers. The Devils were eliminated in the first round by the Rangers last year with palpable tension over the tactics of the rogue Avery. With the Devils playing strong hockey they should be motivated to do some damage to their neighbours…watching the Montreal Canadien - Buffalo Sabre match Saturday night I was impressed by both the depth and quality of the Hab roster. But there is just that special intangible missing. There is an absence of a leader who can grab the team by the scruff of the neck and move them forward. Bob Gainey is conservative as a General Manager but I think he’ll have to look long and hard at making the much rumoured Vinnie Lecavalier acquisition. By the looks of it, he’s going to have a long summer to ponder his options…the Carolina Hurricanes have won nine straight at home and are on the verge of completing the most successful March in franchise history. The arrival of Eric Cole at the trade deadline has moved Sergei Samsonov to the second line and the Russian is thriving while sidestepping the opponents checking line. I think the Hurricanes are for real and believe Cam Ward deserves accolades for playing superb hockey while backstopping the Canes through twenty two straight games…Leaf goaltending prospect Justin Pogge has a 4.36 GAA and a .844 save percentage in seven starts for the big club. I look at those stats and think, damn, John Tavares could have been a Bud. I would have rode Pogge all season…Gil Brandt, of NFL.com has suggested Michael Vick’s best chance of returning to the NFL is as a running back…PETA has responded to reports that Vick is writing a book by suggesting it be called, “One Lucky Dog”…Jimmy Johnson deserves full credit for a masterful win over Denny Hamlin at Martinsville yesterday. Hamlin appeared to have a great car but could not hold off the savvy manoeuvres of the inspired Johnson… live horse racing in the Big Smoke resumes Saturday…bit of a bombshell on Jennifer Morrison’s website with the announcement that well known California trainer Vladimir Cerin is setting up a stable at Woodbine. Cerin is a handicapper’s dream, an intelligent and committed trainer whose charges tend to roll through traceable patterns. His addition to the Woodbine roster is great news…I thought Desert Party has a very useful Kentucky Derby tune-up in Saturday’s UAE Derby. The colt was second to stablemate Regal Ransom but appeared to be running against both a speed and inside bias. With three preps under his belt the colt could be poised to deliver Godolphin their first Kentucky Derby on May 2nd…Dunkirk ran, according to Steve Haskin, a sizzling 34.3 three furlong internal fraction from the five eights pole to the head of the lane while ending second to the brilliant Quality Road in Saturdays Florida Derby. No one is going to run away from that pair of young stars and Dunkirk, in particular, could relish the additional furlong offered in Kentucky. This is a very deep and solid three year old crop with Friesian Fire, I Want Revenge, PioneeroftheNile and the Pamplemousse all appearing to have solid credentials. The Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby are both being contested this weekend…I used Justin TV to watch a rollicking card of boxing from Tijuana Saturday night. The headliner was a corker with Julio Caesar Chavez Jr digging deep to gut out a close win over unknown, albeit also unbeaten, Argentian Luciano Cuello. A proposed Chavez match with Irishman John Duddy is a mouth-watering prospect…while flicking channels last night ( the Simpsons have become unwatchable) I stumbled across The Godfather Part Two. Could not turn it off. What a masterpiece, highlighted by the splendour of Al Pacino at his absolute best…be honest, The Watchmen sucks, right? And the graphic comic sucked too. The sainted Allan Moore leaves me cold; I’ve never been able to grasp his appeal…highly recommend The Sound of Music, currently playing at the Princess of Wales theatre. And, hey, as a bonus you get to use the best looking washrooms in the city…loved Fleetwood Mac, Britney Spears not so much. Britney is mailing it in, a depressing approach from one so young…I watched the Spears show from an aisle seat in the ACC restaurant. While passing on the 29 dollar cheeseburger, I did enthusiastically hoist a few of the 12 dollar pints…