Well, the Stanley Cup playoffs are once again upon us. For NHL fans - and to a certain extent ice hockey fans in general - it is one of our favorite things about springtime. Especially if your team is actually in the playoffs. This is what many fans refer to as the "real season" - the previous 82 games only served the purpose of determining who would actually be in the "big dance" in the end. This is where things ratchet up. The hits can get harder. The goals are sweeter. The goals-against are more painful. The wins are much more ecstatic. The losses are much more gut-wrenching. This is where heroes are made and scapegoats are villified.
In other words: IT'S ON.
As I do every year, I will present the entire playoffs to you - covering every game, every goal, every elation, every heartache - in a node, this time in 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. And as I usually do, I will not actually post the node until at least the first round has been played (or mostly played... sometimes I get impatient and post it when there's a few games left). Until that time you can look at the progress of the node in my 2009 playoffs scratch pad. As you can see right now it's more or less set, ready to plug and chug. Anyway, after the node is posted, continue to check back with it until its completion when one of the sixteen teams raise the Cup above their heads in June. I know that my node will be no competition for nhl.com for coverage but you still might find it convenient to check on it while you might already be logged into e2.
As many of you might know, I am a St. Louis Blues fan and I will enjoy doing thise node a lot more than I had in recent years because for the first time since 2004 they're in the playoffs, going from last place in the West on February 15th to Sixth Seed in the standings in the end, something I don't think anybody had expected, not to mention Blues fans themselves.
LET'S GO BLUES!