We are the fantasy hockey specialists!

No other sport flicks the playoff switch like hockey. It transforms the game drastically. Playoff hockey is the epitome of playing for the love of the game. The most a player can make in his run to Lord Stanley’s cup is about $150,000, and that’s if he wins. Break that down: players play an average of 6 games per series – that’s a total of 24 games for just over $6,000 per game – peanuts by today’s NHL standards. But that is the beauty of playoff hockey. Players are in this for one thing only - to win the Stanley Cup. If it was for the money, they would have stopped playing in January. The playoffs are for the love of the game (or…if you’re an owner, for the bulk of the gate receipts). For a fan, there is simply no better time of the year. And for the fantasy hockey GM, this is the time to shine.

This season, the games following the trading deadline have been like a movie trailer – giving us a glimpse of what is to come. The tight playoff races, particularly in the West, have made every game count down the stretch (sorry to use a cliché, but this is more than true this year - playing .750 hockey is not enough for the teams in the Western Conference playoff race - every game is must win). The games have tightened up, the physical play intensified and the effort displayed by the players is…well…superior to anything that you will see in an NHL regular season game in November. Just note the number of suspensions in the last few weeks!

As always – your tools to survive this "prime" time to be a hockey fan include bountiful liquid refreshments and snacks (we prefer sodas and Doritos until at least the second round, when we hit the beer and pizza). Pace is everything, and with an NHL post-season that lasts three months, well…weight gain from excess munchies and a lack of exercise is problematic. But is it not a beautiful thing when one thinks that for the first two rounds we are treated to a hockey game on every night of the week? The staff here are already getting the shivers just thinking about it!

So as the regular season games tick down, rest assured our anticipation, and yours too, will grow exponentially. It’s playoff time…and this IS the time to be a hockey fan – its playoff fever. And for us here at Puckjunkie that means Playoff Pool fever. So not only are we assembling a specialty playoff page, full of tips, articles and advice - but we have also put together a fully customizable cheat sheet, to help you win your playoff pool. At Puckjunkie, we put you behind the playoff bench, and strive to give you the playoff winning edge.