Takin' a T/O With BT: The Second Round of the 2008 Playoffs—Thanks For What?

Don't get me wrong, the NHL Playoffs are one of the most exciting times of the year because the players seem to find that fifth gear, the goalies reach that next level, and whether the rivalries between teams are non-existent and timid or blood curdling and fiery, there are always some great matchups come April and May.

But, for me at least, it's sometimes easy—almost too easy—to turn away from the second round of the NHL Playoffs, and watch a little more baseball, maybe catch a movie, or even play some slightly inebriated mini-golf (or putt-putt as the Woz refers to it).

Side note: I'm sorry to ruin the surprise, but we actually only had one beer before going mini-golfing. The only reason we joke about it being so much more is because the Woz (as some of you know, this is my buddy Dan, but I figured now is as good a time as any to reaffirm that) was about 13 strokes over par, and for the first time in my life I was under par in a game of mini golf (-1).

I'm currently listening to offers for scholarships to only the finest American schools.

Needless to say, if I'm on a date with a gal and she's winning, it isn't because I'm letting her—I actually stink that much.

I sat for a while and pondered my momentary departure from the NHL playoffs. I mean, I love hockey as much as the next guy, but I found the second round just didn't intrigue me like the first round and the previous years' conference finals and Stanley Cup finals had.

Then I came up with two theories as to why I found my attention waning:

Theory A: The "What exactly are we playing for?" Mindset

Alright, so in the Stanley Cup finals, if you don't know what the two teams are playing for, then you should probably buy yourself a train ticket (yes that's right, I still take the train) and head on over to Toronto and the Hockey Hall of Fame. There you'll find one of the most respected trophies in the history of sport. 

Stare at it for a little while and tell me if anything clicks.

If it doesn't, then I hear Gary Bettman has a position open for you. 

In the third round (or Conference Final round), although the teams are playing for the Prince of Wales Trophy (Eastern Conference champs) and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Western Conference champs), they're both playing for the right to represent their conference in the Stanley Cup final.

In the battle to be "that team," some of the most epic battles in the sport occur out of pure passion, desire, and willingness to win.

In the first round, it's the home of upsets, surprises, and (for the most part) fresh legs. Sure, the only real reward is to move on to the next round, but this is where the "Once upon a time" is written on the first page of that story book, where anything can happen, and only God knows if it will.

But the second round is the ugly duckling of the Playoffs sisters.

The really surprising upsets happen in the first round, whereas if an eight seed knocks off the second seed they're "riding the previous round's momentum" and won't really get notoriety until the conference finals; if the second seed wins, it's "knocking the lesser opponent back to Earth."

You're kind of at a standstill as well. The idea of moving on from the first round is an enticing proposition, whereas moving on to the Stanley Cup finals in the third round, or winning the cup in the finals is the ultimate goal of some players.

Kids dream of upsetting the former champions in the first round, or scoring the goal that clinches the birth in the finals or even the cup itself. I never suited up for a game of road hockey to pretend I was scoring the winning goal in the second game of the second round, but that's just me.

Theory B: That's not my team so I'm just along for the ride

I've had this conversation a few times, and it always ends on these words: "Unless it's your team in the playoffs, scratching out every win, toughing out every loss, then it's never going to consume you entirely." 

I'll admit, seeing that the Leafs are out of the playoffs (the first time I mentioned this the entire Playoff season—somewhere my therapist is smiling and nodding), I can get up for any of the other incentive-laden rounds to see who comes out on top, but the second round is where I start dragging my feet.

By law, I can't hope that "Montreal stages a comeback and Carey Price fills the shoes of St. Patrick" because, not only am I cheering for a rival team (cardinal sin in Leafs land), but we have to play these guys six times next year and a legendary Carey Price isn't exactly great news for Leafs Nation—same goes for the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings (well, except for the six games versus the Red Wings).

To be honest, no one can truly "get behind" another team if they're true fans to someone else, because that's not what being a true fan is.

If your team isn't in the Playoffs, you can't just say "I'm riding the Penguins to the Cup" and then go out and buy all the championship merchandise if it happens. If you do that, you just proved that you're the biggest bandwagon jumper of all.

In my eyes there's a different between saying "Yea, here's hoping the [insert team name] do well and win the Cup" and "Wow, I love these guys! We're going to the Cup!"

Take last year for instance. Canadians everywhere tossed their loyalties out the window saying that "Ottawa was the only Canadian team left, as a Canadian citizen it's our duty to cheer for them."

Wrong. As a Canadian citizen, you can hope that the Cup comes back to Canada, but as a hockey fan you're still required to stand by your team—and for Leafs fans like me who didn't decide to jump to the red, black, and gold ship, we sat back and raised our glasses out of respect to the Anaheim Ducks.

No ticker-tape parade up and down the streets in our hometowns, no purchasing of ludicrous paraphernalia emblazoned with the Ducks logo, and no "Cory Perry is God" signs were to be found (although I'm sure somewhere around London there were a few).

Just a simple toast to the Cup champions, from an appreciative fan base. 

Theories, biases, and bitterness aside, I still love the NHL playoffs—I just find it harder to get psyched up for the second round.

That's not to say that this past year's second round wasn't exciting, as some magical memories were created for some fans like:

1. The San Jose Sharks became the annual "this hasn't been done in thirty-three years but they're just the team to do it" story, as they tried to storm back from a 3-0 deficit to Dallas to take their second round series. If not for Marty Turco matching Evgeni Nabokov save-for-save in that four-overtime game, we may be talking about how the Sharks' momentum might be too much to handle for Detroit, rather than where we think Brian Campbell and Patrick Marleau may end up.

2. The Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche rehashing an age-old matchup, which looked like it may have the animosity brewing once again. Although after game one all of that kind of took a back seat as Johan Franzen decided that scoring goals was pretty fun, Chris Osgood decided that he wants a chance for a third Stanley Cup with the Winged Wheel, and Jose Theodore and Joel Quenneville became the newest additions to the Brady Clark Hall of Fame—Jose because he got pulled three times in four games, and Joel because he stuck with Theodore (sickness and all) and never once decided to start either of his healthy goalies.

3. Guy Carbonneau deciding to create his own goalie controversy with Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak when really, no one else felt this way. Yes, Price was pulled, and he was looking shaky in Game Three, but by undercutting Price like that and giving game four to Halak, it created extra speculation around a team that, when down 2-1 in a series to the Flyers, you don't really need.

And then there's the whole "going back to Carey in Game Five" issue. Maybe they'll bring Dominik Hasek over in the offseason and he can run both of them out of town.

Now wouldn't that be a treat? 

4. Did anything memorable in the Pittsburgh-New York series actually happen aside from a missed high stick, Jaromir Jagr opening his big mouth, and Marian Hossa actually displayed effort in a pivotal moment (does everyone remember when he dove for that puck? Did anyone else drop a boiling hot bowl of soup in their lap out of disbelief? Good to know I'm the only one that did that)? 

So am I looking forward to the third round, with an eye on the Stanley Cup final? You better believe I am—I'm just not riding my team there this year (or next year, and probably not the year after...I hear 2048 is just around the corner though).

But as for who I'm looking for to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, well, you'll just have to wait until Thursday.