At 12:34 this morning the hardlyworking staff was standing in front of the kitchen TV and watching the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues skate into the third overtime of their Western Conference first-round faceoff.
Twenty-six seconds later, this happened:
Blues forward Alex Steen beat Hawks goaltender Corey Crawford stick side, as the announcers excitedly noted.
Okay then. And that was just Game 1 of what promises to be a thoroughly smashmouth series.
Fourteen minutes later the hardlyworking etc. was watching the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche in their overtime Western Conference tussle when this happened:
That Paul Stastny goal is a carbon copy of Steen’s pot for St. Louis, yeah?
Let the wild (and Wild) rumpus begin!
(Bruins begin tonight, if you’re keeping score at home.)
Campaign Outsider 
You sound like a candidate to buy my extra seats to Sunday’s game.
Hey – I’m just a humble college professor. I can’t afford Stanley Cup tickets.