Nibbles

• So, it's official: I'll be in California for a full week (this Wednesday to next Wednesday). Questions remain: how many games can I end up going to? What should I do when I'm not watching hockey?

Either way, there might be times when I don't have the chance to write for the blog. Thankfully, we've got some of the mini-blogs teeming with life. Cornelius put together a nice preview today for Boston-Montreal, Rudy's been following the Pittsburgh-Philly series closely, with Sha Sha from Vancity we now have a Blues and a Canucks perspective at the VAN-STL blog and Ashley wrote her debut post (as an official contributor) for the Canes-Devils blog.

Just a lot of great stuff going on and we might even have the venerable Chris Kontos returning (if he hasn't decided to live in Japan, that is) in the next week(s). So stay tuned.

• Interesting story from the consistently excellent hockey history site Greatest Hockey Legends: apparently you might win the Cup, but you don't always get to raise it.

• A Philly fan guest-posted at Bangin Panger, submitting a thought provoking post asking why hockey fans consider themselves part of a team when they win ("we kicked ass") but then suddenly distance themselves when the going gets tough ("they really sucked ass").

• Both Versis games look really exciting tonight, with the Capitals trying to get back into their series with the New York Rangers and then the Blackhawks taking on the Calgary Flames in what has been a competitive 2-0 series. These two games should be very interesting, especially after news leaked of Alex Ovechkin's bizarre behavior during a Rangers practice.

• Puck Daddy took an interesting look at the Columbus Blue Jackets: will the BJs follow the Atlanta Thrashers by falling apart after making its first token playoff appearance?