Wednesday night I saw the Sharks take the West-leading LA Kings in a shootout.  Tonight they knocked off the league-leading Colorado Avalanche 3-1.  Fun times in the Shark Tank!

Powered by returning iron man goalee Evgeni Nabokov and past league MVP Joe Thornton, and with the addition of Dany Heatly (who has already scored nine goals this year) perhaps this is the year they will break through, after several unsatisfying playoff exits in recent years.  Nothing less than the Stanley Cup will make the team and fans in San Jose happy.

The Sharks have several great home games coming up:

Penguin fans, it’s only 286 miles from Pittsburgh to Detroit.  Four and a half hours.  A tank of gas.

What does that get you?  Stanley Cup Tickets.  Lots more choices, much lower prices!

In fact, it looks like you will probably be able to see the first two games in Detroit for the price of only one game in Pittsburgh.

Game 1 (Sat PM): Penguins @ Red Wings

+ 2200+ ticket listings from 12 providers starting at $135*

+ Behind Penguins 2x goal: starting at $407

Game 2 (Sun PM): Penguins @ Red Wings

+ 2900+ ticket listings from 13 providers starting at $137

+ Behind Penguins 2x goal: starting at $381

Game 3 (Tue PM): Red Wings @ Penguins

+ 450+ ticket listings from 5 providers starting at $273

+ Behind Penguins 2x goal: starting at $775

Game 4 (Thu PM): Red Wings @ Penguins

+ 550+ ticket listings from 5 providers starting at $375

+ Behind Penguins 2x goal: starting at $865

Are you the kind of fan that doesn’t mind representing in a sea of fans rooting for the other side?

Face Off!

Mike

* ticket price + commission per ticket; as of May 28, 11 PM

After two exciting game sevens, here we are - down to the four best hockey teams in the land.

The match ups are set:

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs #4 Chicago Blackhawks

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #6 Carolina Hurricanes

Once again, the field pretty much proves that the regular season and seedings mean nothing.

NHL playoff hockey.  The NHL Conference Finals.  Hard ticket to get, right?  Nope.

There are tons of choice ticket listings for pro hockey fans right now:

@ Detroit Red Wings tickets:  2800+ available, starting at $108

@ Chicago Blackhawks tickets:  2300+ available, starting at $75

@ Pittsburgh Penguins tickets:  600+ available, starting at $186

@ Carolina Hurricanes tickets:  300+ available, starting at $93

Check back often as the available tickets and prices will vary!

Lace those skates tighter.

All four NHL playoff series have been hard fought with all now set at 3-2, although the Redwings are the only higher seed with the upper hand:

#6 Carolina Hurricanes lead #1 Boston Bruins

#4 PIttsburgh Penguins lead #2 Washington Capitals

#2 Detroit Redwings lead #8 Anaheim Ducks

#4 Chicago Blackhawks lead #3 Vancouver Canucks

Game sixes are always huge as one team could be done - or show major heart and force a rocking game seven.  So here we have it - game sixes all around:

Capitals @ Penguins tickets for Mon, May 11, 7pm ET  (150 tickets from $109*)

Canucks @ Blackhawks tickets for Mon, May 11, 9pm ET  (1600 tickets from $70*)

Bruins @ Hurricanes tickets for Tue, May 12, 7pm ET  (250 tickets from $85*)

Red Wings @ Ducks tickets for Tue, May 12, 10pm ET  (1300 tickets from $50*)

The Hurricanes, Penguins, and Blackhawks could all close out at home, with the Stanley Cup one step closer.  It’s gut check time.

Mike

*  Ticket price + commission as of 7:30PM PT May 10.

The Stanley Cup playoff match-ups have been set, and it took every last game of the NHL regular season to determine the lineups. UPDATE: While the dates and times have not been finalized yet, A quick search on FanSnap finds that NHL playoff tickets are already available from many of the ticket providers. The first playoff games start on Wednesday Apr 15.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#8 Montreal Canadiens @ #1 Boston Bruins (first games 4/16 and 4/18)

#7 New York Rangers @ #2 Washington Capitals (4/15 and 4/18)

#6 Carolina Hurricanes @ #3 New Jersey Devils (4/15 and 4/17)

#5 Philadelphia Flyers @ #4 Pittsburgh Penguins (4/15 and 4/17)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#8 Anaheim Ducks @ #1 San Jose Sharks (4/16 and 4/19)

#7 Columbus Blue Jackets @ #2 Detroit Red Wings (4/16 and 4/18)

#6 St. Louis Blues @ #3 Vancouver Canucks (4/15 and 4/17)

#5 Calgary Flames @ #4 Chicago Blackhawks (4/16 and 4/18)

p.s. Go Sharks!

Mike