PLAYOFF BEARD DAY 2

by Neate Sager, Out Of Left Field

The second night of the playoffs ended up feeling like the second day of school or the day after Christmas -- a bit of a letdown.

The biggest story involves the fallout from an Ottawa columnist (can't say anything, he's a colleague) saying tongue-in-cheek that someone should take a swing at Sidney Crosby's bad ankle. It even made it to Around The Horn, and goodness knows, that ESPN show is so relevant.

Simmer down, everyone.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Sharks 2 Calgary 0 (series tied 1-1): This looks every bit like a seven-game series even though the Sharks have a lot more firepower. San Jose is just that hard to trust, even when they're outshooting a team 27-3 over the course of an entire period. (For hockey newbies, that basically never happens in the NHL.) The sad part, watching from Ottawa, is that when Torrey Mitchell scored for an Jose, the instant reaction was, "hey, a former Vermont Catamount!" (It's sad knowing that.)

Stars 4 Ducks 0 (Dallas leads 1-0): Someone in the office last night mistaked the Ducks, in their black and gold uniforms, for the Washington Capitals, whose old uniforms looked similar. Anaheim played like one of those Washington teams from a few years back, too. The defending Stanley Cup champions still get the benefit of the doubt.

Red Wings 3 Predators 1 (Detroit leads 1-0): The hockey gods have it in for Nashville, clearly. Detroit got the game-winner after a clearing attempt hit linesman Pierre Champoux (pronounced shampoo, more or less) and stayed in the offensive zone. The Preds may have lost their best faceoff man, Shea Nichol, to an injury, which could hurt in Game 2 tomorrow afternoon (2 p.m. on NBC; thankfully there's no horse racing afterward).

This never happens if they'd become the Hamilton Predators.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Canadiens 4 Bruins 1 (Montreal leads 1-0): Boston looked a little googley-eyed when the Habs pumped in two goals barely two minutes into the game. Montreal played only as hard as it needed to after that. The Bruins probably need to steal Game 2 to have any chance.

The intrepid Mirtle has a good take on Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who's taken a godforsaken team -- remember when it had Jaromir Jagr? -- and made it breathe again. How do Americans feel in general about getting on the bandwagon for a team in the nation's capital? There's an aversion to doing that up here in Canada.

Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.