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Welcome to a weekly blog post of thoughts and observations from the past few days and/or decades of NHL hockey. The Three Stars of Comedy Recognizing the three moments or personalities from around the league that produced the most comedic fodder ...

The Senators and Penguins opened their second-round series Tuesday night, with Pittsburgh claiming an early series lead thanks to a 4-1 win on home ice. The no. 1-seeded Penguins are the consensus favorites over the 7-seed Senators, but nobody wou...

There's a secret that Toronto fans aren't supposed to talk about, but after what happened Monday night, I don't care about anything anymore, so here it is: Heading into Game 7 against the Boston Bruins, Leafs fans were OK with losing. Not "OK" as ...

The first round of the NHL playoffs isn't over quite yet, thanks to a pair of Game 7s tonight. But since one of those games involves the Toronto Maple Leafs, I'll be completely incapable of even basic human function all day long so we better just go ...

Playoff time in Toronto and Ottawa used to mean the Battle of Ontario. That was the creative nickname slapped onto the rivalry between the two teams who faced each other four years out of five from 2000 to 2004. Fans of either team don't need to be r...

This year's NHL playoffs have featured plenty of sights that fans aren't accustomed to. We have rare appearances by teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders, veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester's long-awaited postseason debut, and the...

Over the course of its history, the NHL has developed a long list of playoff traditions that hockey fans now hold dear: the playoff beard, the post-series handshake, the color-coordinated fans, and most important of all, booing Gary Bettman. Recen...

The NHL playoffs are here, and if you cheer for one of the 16 teams that made the cut, you know what you need to do: Put fresh batteries in the remote, kiss your loved ones good-bye, and get ready for the emotional roller coaster that you're about to...

[Eds. note: The Red Wings clinched a playoff spot after this post was published.] It's one of the most impressive streaks in recent NHL history: The Detroit Red Wings have gone to the playoffs in 21 straight seasons. In the 30-team era, it's a hug...

The NHL playoffs are less than a week away, and we're starting to get a clearer picture of exactly which teams will be involved. But while several are locked into a playoff spot, there's still plenty of uncertainty over what the actual first-round...

My name is Sean, and I'm a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. This will no doubt come as a shock to anyone who's been reading my stuff over the years. As a respectable sportswriter, I have carefully hidden any team allegiances I may have so as not to appear...

We're getting close to the end of the NHL regular season, and the postseason scenarios are rapidly taking shape. Teams are clinching spots, the death watches have begun, and fans of playoff-bound teams are already looking ahead to possible first-roun...

Now that the trade deadline has passed, it's time to look ahead to the final days of the NHL season. And that's literally all there is left — we're just 19 days away from the regular season wrapping up. In the coming weeks, there will be tim...

Anze Kopitar scored in overtime Wednesday to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, a series that most expect to be a close one. While there's no natural rivalry to build on, there are ...

Oh, hi there, Phoenix Coyotes fans. I hear you recently lost a Western Conference finals series to Los Angeles, and you're a little bit upset over a crucial overtime defeat that came seconds after the Kings' captain got away with an apparent penalty....

In addition to being the year of the upset, the year of the hot goaltender, and the year of complaining incessantly about suspension decisions, the 2012 NHL playoffs are quickly becoming the year of the "puck over the glass" penalty. The call has com...