So Freakin' Excited

The Penguins beat the Rangers 3-2 in OT today to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Their opponent? The orange and black of Philadelphia, who surprised many people by easily ousting the top seeded bleu, blanc, et rogue (Montreal) in 5 games, a series in which they exposed a young, inexperienced Montreal team who many people thought overachieved during the regular season to get the top seed in the East. Holy shit am I excited for this series. Pittsburgh and Philly is the best rivalry in the NHL right now, which has been created by the renaissance that transformed Pittsburgh from perrenial cellar-dwellers to a team you don't want to face, a couple of lop-sided wins for both teams against each other, and some incredibly physical play that has resulted in more than one fight, including at least one line brawl (the term for when multiple players on the ice start fighting instead of the normal one on one fight). Will there be fights in this series? Maybe...fighting does not happen much in the playoffs, but with the hostility that exists between these two teams, dont be surprised if the gloves are thrown in this series. Hockey isn't about the fights though...this series will have everything that makes hockey beautiful: graceful skating, pinpoint passes, highlight reel goals, earth-shaking hits, and breath taking saves. I can't wait.