The loneliness that is an early playoff exit; the hypothetical questions abound as the playoffs have been trimmed down to just four; Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Dallas. Any question proposed can easily be lead to one defining theme- I wish my team was still playing.

Its that tough pill to swallow with a big glass of Conference Final hockey; fans often will align themselves with one of the remaining teams in an effort to stay intertwined in the emotional fabric of the playoffs, hoping to stay (in a masochistic sense of course) in that heightened paranoia-like state where every aspect of the previous game is scrutinized. Most of all, since they can’t do with their own teams (some who have long ago been dispatched), we want to be able to revel in what could be a glorious Stanley Cup victory.  Its the next best thing, right?

I’ve found  that there is a hangover following a series defeat (it gets bigger with every year of one and done); its hard to stay in touch with the goings on of the second season. The injuries, the storylines, etc. that come with the other series’; its just hard to care when the team you want to root for is now making 10 am tee times. Eventually you get over it, much like a broken heart, and you gain that thirst back for playoff hockey, because lets face it, its the Cup. You gotta watch it.

But it just ain’t the same when your team is done for the long, long, hot summer.