Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Sports

The NHL playoffs are in full swing, and you probably aren't watching. Hopefully I can give you a few reasons, though, to at least tune into one game.

April is an extremely busy month for sports. Some, including myself, would argue that it is a better month for sports than March. Of course April starts up with Opening Day in Major League Baseball. Then there is also the start of the NBA playoffs. But oftentimes, lost in all that is the NHL playoffs.

I think one of the reasons the NHL playoffs are forgotten about is because of the channel they are on. Versus has done a better job of televising the NHL, and it is kind of nice because it is like the NHL has its own station. But no matter what they do, it is not ESPN. I am guilty of it myself, in that I often forget to turn on Versus, but yet I always check ESPN no matter what.

Regardless of all that, I have been able to watch a lot of very good hockey games so far this playoff season. Just Tuesday night the Carolina Hurricanes tied the series with the New Jersey Devils 2-2 when they scored with .2 seconds left in the game to win.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing the Philadelphia Flyers, which is one of the biggest rivalries of all time in the NHL. It is safe to say these two teams hate each other, and so far in the series, it has showed.

Those are just some of the reasons you should be watching the NHL playoffs. Here are some of the best reasons, that you should watch at least one game:

1. Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. These are some of the youngest, most talented stars in hockey. Every time they touch the puck they seem to do something exciting. Crosby and Malkin are teammates on the Penguins and form a 1-2 punch that is reminiscent of the old 1-2 punch the Penguins used to have - Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. Ovechkin is bound to do something great every time he hits

the ice. 2. The goaltending. I am extremely biased on this one because I used to play goalie. But goaltending in the playoffs is almost something of magic. There are, of course, the veterans: Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Chris Osgood, Evgeni Nabokov, Nikolai Khabibulin, Martin Biron and Miikka Kiprusoff.

But then there are the young guys that can steal the show. Marc-Andre Fleury, Carey Price and Cam Ward. Then there are the true rookies that are seeing their first playoff action ever. Steve Mason is a star in the making for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jonas Hiller has replaced former playoff hero Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the Anaheim Ducks. Simeon Varlamov has taken over for the struggling veteran Jose Theodore for the Washington Capitals.

A hot goalie can carry a team on his back all the way through the playoffs. It has happened many times before, and I find it hard to believe that it would not happen again this year.

3. The upsets. Unlike the NBA, where home-court pretty much determines the winner every time, it is not like that in hockey. The road teams have won several games already these playoffs. The No. 1 team entering the playoffs, the San Jose Sharks, are down 2-1 in the series against the Ducks right now. And if a goalie catches fire, watch out for a huge upset along the way.

I know the playoffs are underway, but I still think I need to make some predictions. I made a prediction before the playoffs, so I will give you that. Even though the Sharks are down and struggling right now in their series, I will stick with them. I picked the Sharks over the Penguins in six games. This is a long shot, but there have already been a lot of exciting situations, so don't miss the action.

Josh Metz is a junior print journalism major and chief copy editor for the Spectator.

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