It’s not Christmas, but it sure feels like it to me. Every April, as the weather gets warmer and the days begin to get longer, I get as excited as that boy in the YouTube video that just found out he got an N64 for Christmas.
Hockey detractors can say what they want; the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the single most exciting sporting event in U.S. It’s a shame that the sport isn’t more popular outside it’s markets, and has do real major TV deal (Does the majority of America know what the VS. network is?); when it comes to the end of the regular season, it kicks the crap out of the NBA, NFL and MLB.
All bets are off during the NHL playoffs. Of course, there are clear favorites and underdogs, but the top teams don’t dominate the post-season the way they do during the regular season – or in the way they do in other sports’ post-seasons, for that matter.
The unexpected truly can happen in the NHL playoffs. Through the first games of the opening rounds in the Eastern Conference, only one of the top seeded teams managed to win the first game of its playoff series. The Washington Capitals, considered to be the favorite to win it all, dropped their opening game to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in overtime.
Teams won’t be afraid to fight, either. Hockey is an extremely physical game, and the best way to get in your opponents head during the playoffs is the beat the crap out of them. Anytime the whistle blows when the puck in at the front of the net, you can expect a scrum and a few hard elbows thrown in for good measure.
And every game, you’ll be able to find me, beer in hand, crouched on a barstool in one of my favorite bars, or on my couch, feet up, beer in hand, cheering on the Buffalo Sabres and watching any other game that’s on.
Feel free to come join me. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
