NHL Playoffs 2010

This is my favorite time of the year. I love the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I love that teams play every other night, unlike the endless delays in the NBA playoffs. It does not take long for teams to develop a strong dislike for each other during a playoff round. Because the coaching and film study have advanced in recent years, each team knows the other's tendencies and can develop counters for them.

I love playoff overtime. The overtime games tend to end either very quickly or go on and on.... As long as I don't have to get up for work the next morning, I will stick it out to the bitter end.

Here are a few things that I will be watching for during the first round (I refuse to call them "the conference quarter finals"):

• Which of the goalies that are in the playoffs for the first time will shine? Jimmie Howard? Bryzgalov? Quick? Rask? Halak? Niemi? Wow. That's a lot of teams that are relying on untested goaltenders.
• Upsets. The first round always seems to give us an upset.
• San Jose. Can the Sharks make it out of the first round?
• Officiating. Which games will be decided by a crucial call or non-call?
• Who will step up and who will disappear? The playoffs usually give us an unlikely hero as well as some disappointing performances by "stars"?

Let's enjoy the next two months.