Now that the first round of the playoffs is over, we bid adieu to eight teams.  Caps and Bruins fans, your teams did their best and represented you well.  Hope to see you back in the playoffs next season.  Devils and Sens fans, let’s hope your teams get their problems solved so you’ll be back next year too. In the west, those pesky Preds and fighting Flames are too good not to be back next year. Good job, guys. The Ducks and the Wild need to do a little soul searching though, huh? 

Now Lisa has more room under her “blanket” too!  She is, after all, a blanket NHL fan, although we are trying to convert her to be a Pens fan.

So we now have four more great matchups to watch for the next couple of exciting weeks.  Of course, my main interest is in the one that will unfold in Mellon Arena and Madison Square Garden between the Rangers and the Pens.  Two great goalies, lots of prolific scorers, and two supreme pests – Ruutu and Avery!  This sounds like great fun to me!  Jagr will receive his unwarranted boos with every touch of the puck in Pittsburgh.  C’mon guys, he’s gone, it’s over, let it go.  And of course, the folks at the Garden will be on Crosby for everything he does or doesn’t do. 

I’ve been talking with loads of Pens fans and with one especially, Ashli, a “displaced” Pens fan living in Kansas.  She is enjoying the games with her husband, who is recently back from Iraq. (A big shout out to him and a big thank you to them both.) 
Ashli mentioned to me that we need just 12 more wins.  Hmmm, 12, I thought, a dozen.  Hmmm, a dozen, I thought, donuts – sorry, that’s how my mind works!  So we’ve decided to have a donut every morning after a win until we’ve eaten a dozen – we’ll diet after the season.  Pens fans, join in – doesn’t matter what kind – jelly, glazed, iced with sprinkles, just have a donut and know that the Pens are one step closer to their goal.  (Funny how I always find creative ways to indulge my vices.) Lisa, come out from under your blanket and have a donut with us!

Ashli wears her Pens Zamboni earrings for the games and I have a Let’s Go Pens rally towel draped on top of my TV.  We are the superstitious fans!  What about you?  Do you have rituals for every game?  Do you wear the same thing, eat the same thing, watch with the same people?  Email me at: texasjan@hotmail.com and tell me about your game day traditions and we’ll talk about them in another column.

In the other match ups, the Habs and Flyers will duke it out in what promises to be a duel of rabid fans!  The Sharks will be Dancing with the Stars and the always entertaining bout between the Red Wings and Avalanche will no doubt produce fireworks.  And lucky us – we get to watch it all! 

Round Two – Coming Right Up!

Recent Columns from Jan Snyder

Open Letter to Lisa

Badger Bob

Jan's Jottings

Recent Columns from Lisa Ovens

Public Service Announcement

A Game Six Weekend

Playoff Reprt: From Lisa's Sofa

2008 Swag OFF: Playoff Edition

Her Team Nashville

The Playoff Planet Spins

Becoming a Blanket NHL Fan

Happy Birthday to Me!

Green Hockey Players