Well for starters all the top conference teams got beat out by some of the lowest seeds and wild cards like the number-one team in the NHL, Tampa Bay, who got swept 0-4 by Columbus. Carolina somehow got past Washington (no one really knows how), Colorado beat Calgary, and the New York Islanders beat Pittsburgh? Well, it was interesting, to say the least, but that was only the first round. What's great is that we have some new faces chasing after the Stanley Cup and some great hockey to be played.

I guess having all the top teams out of the playoffs is a nice change. For once we don't have Pittsburgh or any top conference team for that matter who people would normally be betting on like Tampa this year, and look where that got them. This year is different. We have a bunch of teams who are basically underdogs in this pool and in turn have a chance to watch some great hockey. I mean, who didn't like watching St. Louis and Dallas in game seven and seeing the Sharks lead a historical comeback against Las Vegas and play another series to game seven against Colorado? Yeah, everyone's brackets are busted but who cares? This is hockey.

The crazy thing is that Boston and Carolina are the only teams left that have won the Stanley Cup before. Boston in 2010 and Carolina in 2006. Neither San Jose or St. Louis have ever one it before and since both are in the Western Conference Finals together, the series is expected to go the distance as both teams are yearning for a chance to win the Cup for the first time (personally... go Sharks because that's my team).

Whether or not you're team is still in the playoffs, definitely continue to watch. In playoff hockey, sometimes it only takes half a second for a team's history to take a new direction.