Day One

Today is the official start of the 2010 NHL playoffs.   As some of you may know, we are Washington Capitals fans.  This has been a record breaking season for the team and as we get ready to start the playoffs, there's only one thing left to accomplish...the Stanley Cup!  The Capitals clenched the Presidents' Trophy with a week remaining in the regular season.  This makes them the team with the best record in the entire league, and grants them home ice privileges throughout the playoffs.  The Capitals first round match-up is against the Montreal Canadiens.  The series will kick off tomorrow evening at 7:00PM at the Verizon Center in Washington.  Some of you may have heard of the playoff beard. There is a long running tradition that men, both fans and players, don't shave their beards during the playoffs as long as their team is still actively playing.  It's believed to bring good luck to your team.  The longer you don't shave = the longer your team keeps winning.  Well, my husband is not a beard guy.  No stache, no goatee, nothing!  As you might imagine, I was surprised when he decided to go with tradition and start the playoff beard.  Any takers on how long he holds out?  Just for those of you who are unfamiliar with hockey playoffs, each series can play a maximum of seven games.  First team to win four, wins the series and moves on.  So if a series goes to game seven, it will run over a week.  This means that if the Capitals make it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, they will have played three different teams before meeting the winner of the Western conference in the finals.  It could easily be over a month before the Stanley Cup is won.  Think he'll make it all the way?  This will be the ultimate test of his team devotion.  Time to Rock The Red!!  And the beard...