Thrilling, Exciting, Amazing, Captivating: The Stanley Cup Playoffs

It's been a rough couple of months for me in sports. The Yankees won the World Series, and to add to it, Alex Rodriguez finally produced in October (hey, it had to happen eventually). Then I had to witness the atrocity that was the season of the formerly-defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost to the likes of Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland in midst of a 5-game losing streak. At least the Super Bowl was good right? I mean I have nothing against the Colts or the Saints, so the NFL season wasn't totally awful. Then March 5 came along, when Ben Roethlisberger had a biiiiiit too much to drink, yada, yada, yada, countless weeks of hearing about it later, he's missing the first 4-6 games of this season. Football happiness = shot. So March Madness comes along, and I feel really good with my bracket. Two hours into the first day and already one of my Final Four teams loses. And in the end freaking Duke wins the championship.

Could it get much worse?

When the New York Rangers were eliminated on the last day of the regular season in a shootout, I thought it could. After all, I had no real reason to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs. But au contraire my friends! I may have no reason to watch the NHL postseason, but it sure is a good thing I am, because what is happening is only reaffirming my belief that the absolute best postseason in sports far and away belongs to the National Hockey League. If you are ignoring what's happening on the ice right now, well I say shame on you.

Think of the absolutely best playoffs you can remember in the MLB or NBA. In a best-of-7 series, did every series except one go at least 6 games? Were both #1 seeds in danger of losing to 8-seeds? Were there 12 overtime games in the 1st round alone? How about 21 games decided by one goal? Because that is what has happened so far. And that does not include the 2 game 7s not played as of 7 pm Tuesday night (Detroit-Phoenix and Washington-Montreal). And this happens pretty much every single year.

Look at any series and you will see pure insanity. Start with the Capitals and Canadiens. Washington was the runaway winner of the Presidents' Trophy. They have the most prolific goal scorer in the league in Alexander Ovechkin, while Niklas Backstrom is one of the best hockey players you probably don't know about (because you know sooooo many hockey players already. I know. Don't lie.). So you would think it would be a fairly easy 4, maybe 5, game series against the Canadiens. 6 games later, the Caps are on the brink of elimination, and all of the pressure is on them. In Game 6 they outshot the Habs 54-24, yet lost 4-1, because they could not get the puck past Jaroslav Halak. It would be an enormous upset if Montreal wins Game 7.

In Boston, the Bruins finished off the Buffalo Sabres in six games. The highlight of that series was the double OT thriller in Game 4, by far the best hockey game of the season. The Sabres, 31-0 in the regular season when leading after 2 periods, blew a two-goal lead in the third as the B's forced the extra session. Boston youngster Tuukka Rask, who ousted Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas during the season, and Olympic hero Ryan Miller played insanely sick in goal, each saving the game multiple times for their teams. The last 40 minutes of the game (last 11 of the 3rd period, all 20 minutes of the first OT, then the 9 minutes in the second OT before Boston scored) were like a track meet. The speed the game was played at was unbelievable. It seemed a little upsetting that Boston's Miroslav Satan, a longtime Sabre mind you, scored on an easy backhand to win the game.

In the San Jose-Colorado series each of the first 4 games were decided by a goal, and Games 2, 3, and 4 went into overtime. And that was another 1 vs. 8 matchup. In the end the Sharks, the biggest playoff disappointment over the last half decade, finally got over the hump and won the series in six games.

I won't even bother going into detail with the other 4 series, which include the Blackhawks getting over their early scoring woes to beat Nashville, the seemingly struggling Flyers kicking the crap out of Marty Brodeur and the Devils (although Brodeur did do this. Disgusting), and the red hot Red Wings being cooled off by the back-from-the-grave Coyotes. You get the point. But did I mention that this all happened in the first round? Just imagine the possible scenarios in Round 2:

If Montreal shocks Washington, 6th seeded Boston will have home ice advantage versus the Flyers. Seeds 1-3 in the East will have been kicked to the curb after Round 1.

If Phoenix beats Detroit, that means 3 of the 4 teams remaining in the West have never raised Lord Stanley's Cup, and the 4th (Chicago) hasn't won it since 1961. The East isn't much better. The Penguins are the defending champions, but other than that, there has been no success. The Bruins haven't won a title since 1972, the Flyers since 1975, the Canadiens since 1993, and the Caps have never won one. To say these organizations are hungry for a Cup is as big an understatement as saying the Broncos were ill-informed to draft Tim Tebow in the first round.

It may seem that I'm a bit all over the place with this post, but there's just so much happening -- mainly lunacy and excitement -- that my mind is spinning in circles. The level of competition is incomprehensible. Compare that to the NBA playoffs. Yes, I am conceding the Los Angeles-Oklahoma City series. All of the intriguing storylines are there: Kobe-Durant, 1 vs. 8, Phil Jackson vs. the referees/league office, etc. And with the NBA's best young team going toe-to-toe with the defending champs, it has been a captivating series. But look at what else has been offered thus far. Every NBA analyst on ESPN said the Orlando-Charlotte series was the one to watch. The Magic swept the series with ease. The Bulls' Joakim Noah talks a big game, but his team is in a 3-1 hole against the Cavaliers, where LeBron James can put up a 40-12-10 with little to no effort. The Celtics are manhandling Dwayne Wade (I would put "the Heat" here, but it seems futile. When the other 4 guys in your lineup are journeyman Carlos Arroyo, former Clipper and Knick, I repeat, Clipper and Knick, Quentin Richardson, stoner ... er... I mean bust... er... I mean former #2 pick Michael Beasley, and 31-year-old Jermaine O'Neal, calling them a team is incorrect. Oh, and I'm a Heat fan by the way). The Spurs, the most boring team in a league that depends on flash and excitement, are beating the Mavs. Yawn. Give me the crappiest NHL playoff game over the best NBA playoff game everytime. With no hesitation.

Now that the NFL Draft is over and the anticipation of Major League Baseball's Opening Day is a month behind us, it's time for you to start paying attention to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Why? Because there is nothing more exciting in sports, that's why. I've been watching already. I challenge you to start, too.