Tonight

Tonight.

Tonight we find out who it is.

Who has fought hard enough to make it to the second round.
Who battled through the Capitals, Devils, or Flyers for the chance to get on a plane to Boston and try to shut us all up.

Whoever it is, we'll be ready.

Is Lundqvist still mortal? Does he break more under taunts of "henrik" or "lundqvist"?
Is Cam Ward gunning for his second Conn Smythe?
Are we going to be blessed with the Crosby and Malkin show? And how do you get 17,000 folks to chant "Marc-Andre"? Whatever.

There are so many questions. At least one will be answered by the time the last set of first-round playoff handshakes tonight.

So get yourself in front of some Versus and get ready for some game seven playoff hockey.

The field is already set out west.

Red Wings vs. Ducks
Canucks vs. Blackhawks

Should be some good matchups.

STAY HUNGRY UPDATE: Got an update from Joe Haggerty of WEEI on the Stay Hungry stuff: Apparently the idea was all Marco Sturm and Julien didn't come up with any of it.

GO BRUINS!

STAY HUNGRY: Marco Sturm is Awesome, so are the guys at Ironhead

Some of you may have seen earlier the screencaps I put up of some Bruins wearing hats that said "Stay Hungry" on the side and a cartoon, flintstones-esque steak on the front.

I was immediately intrigued. Hoping I could get one for myself, I immediately tracked down the company that made them: Ironhead, Inc.

I got to talk to the CEO of Ironhead about the hats and the Bruins. He graciously took some time out of his trip to Germany for the world championships to talk with me about the Bruins and Ironhead.The story starts with Marco Sturm, who has been hanging around behind the scenes with the team, itching to get on the ice. "It tears his heart out," said Mike. "It's killing him to not be in the lineups" So Marco has been contributing in other ways to the team effort, traveling with the team through the playoffs and helping keep everyone motivated. Mike met Sturm "years ago in Germany when he was a kid," and the two are friends.

So back in January, when Sturm needed a boxing robe made for Shawn Thornton, he knew just who to call. Marco had on made up with just his nickname, "Sugar." The rest of the guys in the locker room loved it, and the team then had some made up for everyone, from the players to the trainers and coaches and all the way on up to Cam Neely and Johnny Bucyk. The Bruins went 8-3-2 in January.So when the Playoffs rolled around, Claude Julien talked to Marco and said that they had to do something special for the postseason, and suggested he work something out with Ironhead. "It was Marco's idea for Stay Hungry and our idea for the steak," Mike told me. "They don't want to take anything for granted. They had a fine season, but they want it one game at a time."

The hats are somewhat popular in the locker room, and Mike says "I know a lot of guys wear the shorts during warmups."

They even prompted an HFBoards thread that is calling for someone to throw a steak on the ice at the garden, a la Detroit's octopus or Florida's rat. While I don't want to get kicked out for that, if someone else does...go for it! I know you're all wondering, "When can I get one of those hats?" Believe me, I asked.

"That’s entirely up to the B's" Mike said, "the "Stay Hungry" theme is exclusively a Boston team concept. It is solely up to the discretion of the Bruins as to its future. For now it is dressing room only apparel. We just feel honored they would come to us for input and sport our gear. "
"Marco is a great guy, you're not going to find a better guy in hockey. He has always been kind to our company and shown us tremendous support. You have no idea how hard it is for him to be out of the line up. He is contributing in every way possible and hoping his injury heals soon. For now he and the Bruins are taking it one game at a time. Lets keep our fingers crossed, who knows what the future holds....?"

That would be pretty sweet. Thanks again to Danny and Mike Regan and all the folks at Ironhead who've made this story possible.

We miss you, Marco. Get well soon!
GO BRUINS!

STAY HUNGRY hat update

Ok, because I'm such a huge fan of those ridiculawesome "Stay Hungry" hats that the Bruins were wearing I've looked into it some more. The company that makes them is called Ironhead, and they're a Canadian company headquartered in Toronto and with a shop in Vancouver.

They have a website at, obviously, ironhead.com. They also have a blog that shows off when famous folks wear their hats. Marc Savard was featured back in august 08 and Ryder's on there from last month.

Their online shop doesn't have anything in it right now, but they say something's coming in Spring '09. I'm looking for some more info, so keep your radio dial locked and I'll let y'all know if there's more coming.