I gotta say it was really weird to have two full nights off this week. Not a single hockey game. I'm sure it has to do with building availabilities and getting the right series on the right night, but it was a bit surreal.

However, if that's the price we have to pay for what I think is the second-best part of the playoffs? I'm happy to pay it. The Conference Finals rule because it's just one game a night every night for a couple weeks. Not quite as good as the absolute rush of the first round, but it's better than the second round, where there are some nights with one game, some nights with two, and one of them always starts too late. That "we're at 8 p.m. for the next 10 or 15 days" thing is very reliable and good.

As long as it doesn't take four overtimes. That's too many overtimes.

Let’s g