Stanley Cup Playoffs

Read more about the NHL playoffs in the Playoff Blog and get analysis from Michael Farber, Allan Muir and Darren Eliot at SI.com/nhl.

Nearly two years after the last postseason puck was dropped, the playoffs returned with a renewed passion, a familiar intensity, power plays of all kinds--and, of course, people throwing stuff

Ask any true, tattooed, 10-toothed hockey fan and he'll tell you—the reason the NHL is sinking faster than a cement ducky is all the damn hockey fights.

He is Calgary's secret superstar, the sweetheart of the Stanley Cup finals and maybe the game's best player. But can Jarome Iginla rescue the NHL?

For more NHL playoff coverage, including breakdowns of every series, go to si.com/hockey/nhl/specials/playoffs/2004.