Whether you've been a lifelong hockey fan throughout the years or a more recent fan in the post-lockout league, you've no doubt heard eternal references to players taking on the position of "warriors" on the ice.  Guys like Gary Roberts refused a stretcher when he suffered a broken leg back in December, opting to hobble off with the help of teammates rather than that of the medical staff.  

Antoine Volchenkov opted for a cage after taking a Malkin slapshot to the face in Round One.  Braydon Coburn took a solid shot from Hal Gill to the face and received 50 stitches over the eye for his efforts.  And while I don't really like to give a guy like Sean Avery credit, the guy did play through an entire game with a bruised spleen (which is both brave and stupid at the same time).  

So when I saw this making headlines today I couldn't help but laugh.  Yes, I understand it's a broken nail on his throwing hand, and yes - I understand that makes control an issue; but for the headline to read "15 Day DL for Broken Nail", you really get a better definition of what a warrior is and, well, what a baseball player isn't.

It's almost as good as when Kerry Wood was a starter for the Chicago Cubs and missed a spot in the rotation because he cut his index finger on a can of soda.  That was easily 8-10 years ago if my memory serves me correctly, but just another way of separating hockey players from any other athletes out there.

In series news, the majority has spoken: it was a goal.  Not that it really matters all that much, but it's nice to see I'm not the only one who feels the Pens were shorted one on Sunday.

Now for an update on the playoff stats:

Updated Stats