Credit: Andrew Weber, US PRESSWIRE

Hopefully those who celebrate are having a nice Easter Sunday, and you’re about to find out what day the Second Season begins in the Second City. You’ll be seeing a lot of posts around these parts in the coming week with a wide variety of things being covered as the playoffs begin.

For the Blackhawks, the quest for the Stanley Cup begins in Phoenix after Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win over Detroit.

Yes, Patrick Kane made a filthy move in the shootout. It had me taken aback, and his smiling face skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench gave me a nice giggle.

But did that meaningless shot simply mask the disappointment we should be feeling after the ‘Hawks blew a late lead for the second consecutive game? If Kane doesn’t make that move and the Blackhawks lose that shootout, aren’t we going around asking questions about how the ‘Hawks are going to survive in the playoffs, especially if Jonathan Toews isn’t quite ready?

Instead, we’re all “excited” to be playing the Pacific Division champion Phoenix Coyotes, who ended the season with 97 points, four fewer than the ‘Hawks. Avoiding Nashville sounds fun and all, but there’s still the fact the Blackhawks let a chance at home-ice advantage in the first round slip away over the past week.

Now the ‘Hawks get to face Mike Smith, who is pretty much the hottest goaltender in the world right now. Forget that he doesn’t have playoff experience. Some guy named Niemi didn’t have any either. The ‘Hawks were less than a minute away from avoiding him and a Phoenix team that has won five straight games barely breaking a sweat.

Just over a week ago, the ‘Hawks proved they can get to Pekka Rinne in a 5-4 win. That matchup went down the shitter with Pavel Datsyuk’s goal with Detroit’s goaltender pulled.

I’m not trying to run over the Easter Bunny with my thoughts here, but I’m rather trying to explain that a series beginning in the desert against a goaltender who could see a single pea if it was shot at him going 250 miles per hour right now isn’t exactly something to get excited about.

Am I looking too far ahead and not enjoying the fact I get to piss off my girlfriend by growing a disgusting playoff beard? Possibly. I should be enjoying these couple days off, I guess, rather than worrying already.

I guess that’s what happens when your team wins a Cup one year, goes down 0-3 the next, only to come back and tie the series before losing Game 7 in overtime and having your heart ripped out.

It probably won’t get any easier this postseason, either. Let’s just hope the Coyotes remember the franchise hasn’t won a playoff series since it was located in Winnipeg and Ronald Reagan was in office.

See you on the roller coaster of emotion this week, everyone.