Why the NHL playoffs are great

    The Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight. For the next few months you will inundated with words like compete, sacrifice, and fortitude. The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in sports to win. It takes sixteen victories to hoist Lord Stanley's cup. Blood, sweat and tears will be spilled to get to that elusive sixteenth victory. The sacrifice is what makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs so great. You have players playing through extreme amounts of pain to get to the holy grail of hockey.  This time of year it's all about who wants to hoist the cup more.

     Another factor that makes the Stanley Cup playoffs better than the other major sports playoffs is more chances for upsets. In the NBA more than likely a number one seed beats an eight seed. In the NHL an eight seed can conceivably win the Stanley Cup if they get hot at the right time. The 2012 Los Angles Kings won the Stanley Cup as an eight seed. Hockey is a weird game where compete level and a little bit of luck can take you a long way.

     The thing I admire the most about the Stanley Cup playoffs is the handshake at the end of each series. These guys have been beating the crap out of each other for a whole series and they probably even hate each other but they respect each other enough to shake hands at the end. I always find interesting when two guys you know hate each other shake hands. It's the epitome of what's sport competition should be.

     So tonight is the start of the journey to reach hockey's holy grail. Sit back and enjoy the journey. You will see dudes stepping willingly in front of one hindered mile per hour slap shots. It's all about who wants that glory more. Enjoy!