2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs...is anyone besides me watching it?

[Knight of Time]

Hi guys,

Unlike Brian and his annual MLB playoff stuff, I'm not really going to go into the deep details about this year's NHL playoffs, but I wanted to ask, what is everyone thinking of it so far? Anyone have a favourite team that's in the postseason (or was, in the case of teams that have been already eliminated)?

I'm personally going for the New York Rangers because of a certain player on the team right now from my home province (and also because of the reason that I went to school with his younger sister who of course is just a friend)...but other than that, how many of you guys saw the vicious hit on Marian Hossa? After seeing the suspension that came as a result to Raffi Torres (25 games), I have to say, Torres absolutely deserved what he got. Seeing that hockey can be such a violent sport, this hit was nothing short of brutal. I can only hope Hossa makes a complete recovery from this event.

So, being as I'm probably one of the biggest hockey fans on TPM (no offense to anyone here who prefers other sports over hockey, but this is the sport I was raised to like more than any other major league sport), I wish to hear what other hockey fans here think of the playoffs this year, please.

[Drago]

My opinion on the playoffs this year has had to be quiet and withdrawn, because like every other Canucks fan out there, spouting about how great we were during the season, I've watched my team shrivel to a 1-3 deficit in the first round, just barely staving off elimination in game 4. It shouldn't come entirely as a surprise; their power play was really struggling towards the end of the year, but I just assumed it was the result of a good team resting for the playoffs.

Three games in, I couldn't be more wrong. The most frustrating thing is watching Quick block shot after shot after shot, then see Lu let them whizz by on the other end. I'm entirely comfortable with Schneider in the net for the rest of the series, but this is a poor time for goalie controversy to arise. Having Daniel back for the last game proved a definite boon, but ultimately the Nucks are too dysfunctional to claim the title. Even if they somehow manage to come back and take this series, they likely won't clear round 2.

Of course, I would love to be wrong!

As for Torres, it's simply par for the course. He's a dirty player, and that's all there is to it. I will refrain from declaring divine justice on the Blackhawks for the cheap shot that shelved Sedin, thought I'm really tempted to.

[Pokemaster Ash]

What happened to Sedin may have been a cheap shot, I'll admit (although the Canucks are by far NOT innocent of getting shots of their own in), but what Torres did to Hossa was just plain wrong. I'm glad the bastard got nailed with a huge suspension, and hopefully the Blackhawks will come back and take the Coyotes out so that he's forced to sit out a whole quarter of next season.

I don't think it'll be too hard to guess I'm a Blackhawks fan (a recent vintage, I wasn't really paying any attention to hockey until the 2008-09 season), and I'm hoping they can get their hands on the Stanley Cup once more. I'm kinda glad to see the Red Wings have already bitten the dust, and I'm a bit surprised to see the current states of the Penguins (forcing Game 6 after a 0-3 deficit), Bruins (defending champs facing elimination), and Senators (on the verge of knocking out the Rangers).

Also, how crazy is it that the entire Blackhawks/Coyotes series (five games as of this post) so far has gone to OT? That actually ties an NHL record dating back to 1951!