NHL playoffs start now. It's the most wonderful time of year

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Big time goal by Neil. Sens needed to win that game on so many levels. Now it's a series. That game was by far the dirtiest of any in the playoffs but that's Rangers hockey showcased on national TV. Ottawa showed they aren't gonna lay down and take a beating. The playoffs are true Reality Television!

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Blackhawks tie with 5.5 seconds left. Third OT game today. Wow!

[Adam West]

Same with the Blue Jackets out here. There are always tickets available for less than $30, parking is $10, kids meals (dog, soda, chips & cookies) are $5, coffee is $2, Timbits (donut holes) are $3. A family 4 pack including tickets & food starts at $100. Of course beer starts at $7, and burgers & other adult foods start around there, too - but you can stick to a budget if you want.

D.C. only cares about one sport which is football thus the Redskins. i currently live exactly the same distance from D.C and Baltimore, but grew up living closer to D.C. and favorite teams are all D.C. except baseball. Big Orioles fan and don't follow the Nats at all. I wouldn't be surprised to see an article on the front page of the Sports section regarding the Skins and the Caps win buried a few pages in.

[Duncan]

D.C. only cares about one sport which is football thus the Redskins.

Same thing out here. Ohio State football, and then everything else. What's cool about that is that the Blue Jacket players can have kind of normal lives, and therefore act like normal guys.

A couple friends & I play in the adult beer leagues. My buddy who plays goalie told me that one time, he was just playing drop-in (a pick-up game with whoever shows up) at the local rink. Suddenly, Jean Luc Grand Pierre walks into the locker room & throws on his gear. He said he just wanted a little ice time. How cool was it for my friend to play goalie behind an NHL defender?

You hear similar stories about some of the other players at the rink, or how Jody Shelly & another player pulled over their car once & jumped into a kids' street hockey game. It's hard not to like guys like that.

*edited: This reminded me that a few of the Jackets' wives used to play on a team in my league. Luke Richardson came to one of the games & did a little coaching. Way cool.

[MegoMark71]

What an amazing day of hockey on Saturday. I am now ready for today. I have 4 games and plan on watching every one. this Detroit/Nashville game has been pretty awesome. But it's the next one i'm pumped for. Penguins better be ready for Philly today.

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Looks more like the Flyers are ready for the Pens. Crosby is doing a lot of chirping and Malkin hasn't done anything. Fleury looks flustered and Ashams hit on Schenn was just wrong. Letang is gone for the game too. I don't like Philly at all but its hard to like the Penguins. I thought they would come out today and play a better game but they're back on their heels all 1st period. Still a lot of hockey left in this game but they better go into the locker room and regroup during the intermission. If they lose this game, they're gonna lose the series. Down 2-0 is doable, down 3-0 takes a miracle. On a side note, I wish someone would tell Eddie Olczyk to stop saying "juicy rebound" every time the puck bounces off a goalie. Seriously get that guy a thesaurus or something.

[Duncan]

Wow. Nasty, nasty game . 8 to 4, too - I wouldn't have guessed that. I really hope Neal isn't suspended. Maybe Jody Shelly can use some ice time? Sestito is still at least a week away (groin surgery), though I guess his hands still work...

Playoff hockey - aw, yeah!

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Hagelin just got three games for his elbow to the head of Alfredsson last night. Big loss for the Rangers. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Neal some games after his play today too.

[Duncan]

Just saw some highlights including the Asham cross check. Yikes!

Also, I just heard that Luongo won't start tonight. Not a surprise, but interesting. I wonder which goalie they keep this summer.

[toys2cool]

alright Panthers!! ah woo hoo!!

[MegoMark71]

For me i could not be more proud of the Flyers. Laviolette is the best coach in the game. I hated it when Carolina let him go, but it worked out well.
The Penguins showed everyone just what kind of team they were today. Cheap hit after cheap hit and it ended up with another little wussy pulling hair. Crosby loves to run his yap and take cheap hits, but when someone gets right in his face he backs down every time cause he is a dirty $@$%%$@ son of an itch. Coach lav kept the Flyers in check with discipline today and the entire world got to see the real Penguins.
I would love to say more but out of respect i won't.

[MegoMark71]

How bout those rats D. Really took me back seeing all that. Good to see your boys win that game tonight. And the fans were amazing. Now i'd love to see the Kings take care of another cheap team in Vancouver

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The Devils /Panthers game was a reverse of game one. Go up 3-0 and hold on for dear life at the end. The officiating in that game was maybe the worst in any of the playoff games so far though. They blew several calls both ways but the one that sticks out is the Ponikarovsky penalty that also got Clarkson sent to the box for nothing and gave Florida a 5 on 3 which turned out to be the difference in the game. Later Clarkson takes a high stick to the beak and nothing gets called. Very frustrating but it was like that all night.

[MegoMark71]

I agree with you on that one bud. The refs really sucked in that game. I wondered at times what the heck they were even watching.

[toys2cool]

How bout those rats D. Really took me back seeing all that. Good to see your boys win that game tonight. And the fans were amazing. Now i'd love to see the Kings take care of another cheap team in Vancouver

yea bro it's been a while here it was fun