I Can't Resist...

... this: "Last Minute NHL Playoffs for Dummies." A couple of bon mots from the article:

No. 4. Like upsets? Look to where the Zamboni machines roam. Seven times, a No. 8 seed has dumped a No. 1 seed in the NHL first round. That is virtually unheard of in the NBA.

[...]

No. 7. Speaking of Columbus, the Blue Jackets are making their first playoff appearance in history, against defending champion Detroit.

It is a moment so big in Columbus, the public might even be momentarily distracted from the tailback battle at Ohio State's spring practice.

No. 8. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers are meeting in the first round. Perhaps you've noticed that there is fighting in hockey once in a great while. Be advised, these two teams get along about as well as North and South Korea.

No. 9. The Boston Bruins have not survived the first round of the playoffs in 10 years. Three times, they have been evicted by the Montreal Canadiens. Guess who they're meeting again in the first round? Imagine the Red Sox and the Yankees ... with sticks.

[...]

No. 13. Whatever time you spend with hockey, try to keep an eye on the Detroit Red Wings.

One, because they're trying to repeat, and that is harder to do than finding a short bathroom line between periods. No champion has done it in a decade, and the past four Stanley Cup finals have involved eight different teams.

Two, with the playoffs underway, the octopuses will be flying out of the stands in Joe Louis Arena.

Close games, upsets, animosity, twins and sea creatures plopping into the ice. How can you resist?

Indeed... How CAN you resist? About an hour and a half (or so) until the puck drops at The Joe... Yowza!!