Ryan Getzlaf and the Ducks will be looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. (CP Images)
And now The Chase begins.
Over the past six months, and 2,460 games to get to this point, what, exactly, have we learned? In the grand scheme of things, not a whole heck of a lot except that Ovechkin kid is pretty good, the Leafs still suck and the Atlanta Thrashers have the ugliest uniforms in the NHL.
Outside of that, not all that much is fact.
Over 150,000 minutes of regular season hockey to separate the best 16 in the league and let 14 others know, yes, that they just wasted six months of their lives.
No one knows what is going to happen over the course of the next nine weeks or so, but two things are certain. There will be at least another 60 games, and perhaps as many as 105, played before Gary Bettman hands the hallowed Stanley Cup to one of 16 captains sometime in June.
Right now, it is nothing more than a guessing game.
The top seed in each conference - Montreal and Detroit - have combined to win 34 Stanley Cups. The other 14 playoff-bound teams have a total of 21 between them, or one and a half apiece. And no, we don't factor the Senators' pseudo-Cups from another lifetime into the equation. Those don't count for this little exercise.
Prior to our playoff picks, which we will unveil later this week, it is time to catch our breath from that six month marathon and get ready for the two-month sprint.
And there are plenty of questions.
Are the Canadiens for real? Can the Red Wings get out of the tough Western Conference? Are the Sharks ready to finally shake that playoff monkey off their back? Is Sid the Kid poised to lead the Penguins to their third Cup? Is there any chance the Senators can return to their early-season form and prove the critics wrong? Can OV and the Cinderella Capitals hold off midnight until June? Will anyone be left standing after what is sure to be a wild, hard-hitting opening round series between the Rangers and Devils? Ditto the defending champion Ducks and Stars?
Over the next week or two, we may begin to get some of those answers. Others won't come until June.
Either way, strap yourself in. It's going to be a wild ride.
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