My belated (as usual) thoughts on the start of the NHL Playoffs

• So many divisional series (San Jose-Anaheim, Boston-Montreal, Detroit-Columbus, Philly-Pittsburgh) which, I bet, will generate more heat that the cross-continent mash-ups (St. Louis-Vancouver, Chicago-Calgary). May we now re-align and go back to playing your way out of your division, please?
  
• Nice to see Chicago and St. Louis back in the playoffs, but I do miss the Leafs.
• BTW, speaking of the Blues, I would like finally to publicly apologize to my sorority formal date (c. 1984) for being a jerk when I watched the Wings go 3- or 4OT v. the Blues across the river at the Joe, instead of being a proper, attentive date at her event which she paid for. In the current vernacular, I was a tool, and I'm sorry.
  
• Why are the Ontario teams the black hole of the Canadian teams' playoff contingent?
• Of course, if you're the Sens, you have some nice shoulders to cry on, but don't wear those awful new third jerseys [above], or they'll run away screaming.
  
• When the NHL were only able to go to picked Versus, were they clear that Vs. would only be taking feeds from TSN and plugging in their own commercials? If they're going so cheap, why should the rest of America be denied the full Canuckian hockey experience, with Dave Hodge at the intermissions, and Canadian Tire, Future Shop and the Brick spots? Upside: welcome back to Detroit airwaves, Chris Cuthbert!
• Pure Bettman: Celine Dion might own an NHL franchise before the founder of Blackberry, who's had a five year head start.
  
• Welcome to the playoffs, Blue Jackets. Good to see that you got the memo that you had to lose the highlighter-yellow insect(?!) Civil War veteran mascot before you would be let into the playoffs.
• The only thing good about Columbus: being the closest outpost for Oprah's fave ice cream.
• Playoff beards are great. I tried to grow grew one during law school finals with the other guys. So, I do like the Wing's annual playoff theme, "The Beard is Back." I just hope no one is twisted or immature enough to mention that "beard," not unlike "teabagging," does have alternate pop culture meaning. Somewhere, this man is hoping to score tickets to a Wings-Rangers final.