Plus/Minus can't even cover the entire first round

Summary of the first round of the 2012 playoffs: There was no shortage of high-scoring games, penalties, suspensions, or overtime. Sidney Crosby lost. The Bruins lost. The Kings played a lot better than expected. I ate a lot of cake. It was a pretty good round.

PLUS

+ Jonathan Toews took no time at all to return to scoring form after missing 22 (twenty-two!) games with a concussion. I was just happy to have him back. To see him score a goal is like icing on the cake. (The very serious, lovable cake.)
+ Congratulations to Jean Béliveau, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Gord Renwick for being named to the Order of Hockey Canada, even though I'm still not completely clear on what that is.
+ Max Pacioretty's Masterton Trophy nomination is like the cherry on top of this year: He recovered from his injury, worked hard, came back better than ever, and brought Habs fans to their feet. Add to that his off-ice work, and you've got the kind of player that any sports franchise would be lucky to have.
+ Sean Couturier hat trick!
+ Jack Jablonski was discharged from hospital and by all accounts seems to be doing great.
+ The #NHLHungerGames hashtag on Twitter has been so much fun. I know, I know. I seem to like any hashtag that combines hockey and pop culture. As if that's surprising.
+ Major props to the Canadiens website for continuing to provide new videos and content for fans to read.
+ Sure, the 30 Rock live show was just another publicity stunt, but it was also an excellent excuse to have all of the show's friends in the same episode and be a super-meta love fest! (I mean that in the best way possible. I absolutely loved all of the cameo appearances in this episode.)

MINUS

- I love cheering for a hockey team that has produced so many legendary players, but I hate saying goodbye to them when the time comes. Rest in peace, Butch Bouchard.
- The Mike Cammalleri jersey saga: makes me happy that The Hockey Sweater exists, so people have something else to associate with the words "Habs jersey debacle."
- Shea Weber's attack on Henrik Zetterberg's head was absolutely ridiculous. There is no excuse for it. I don't even care about how amazing Weber's beard is when he does things like this. Oh, and a fine? The NHL fined him? That's his punishment? What, they couldn't suspend him because he technically didn't do it during a game?
- 25 I lost count of how many ruthless, unwatchable ways players hurt each other during this round of the playoffs. (Twenty-five for the number of games Raffi Torres was suspended, thanks to the "female viewers" apparently. You're welcome. rest of the NHL.)
- Hey, Don Cherry, I don't know who "Corey" Price is, but CAREY Price is a good Canadian boy who plays for a Canadian team, ya know? And he cares about the soldiers and he's an All-Star and you probably saw his dad play hockey.
- Okay, world, I get it. Some of you hate the Canucks, and the rest of you just hate their fans, but somehow I can't really blame Canucks fans for thinking everyone hates them when everyone really does hate them. I mean, seriously, can some of you maybe give it a rest?

- The saddest sports story I've heard in the last few weeks has got to be that of Italian soccer player Piermario Morosini, who died at the age of 25 of cardiac arrest after collapsing on the field. He had already lost both his parents and his brother, and is survived only by his handicapped sister.

Congratulations to the teams who've made it to the second round of the playoffs. Please make good TV and don't put each other in the hospital.

A long overdue Plus/Minus

You know your first-round Plus/Minus is really late when two of the second-round series are already over. Uh, blame it on the grief?
I'm guessing that a simple "I'm sorry" won't suffice, so I'll try to make up for it by posting really cool links when I find them. Like, say, pictures of goalies drinking water.

PLUS

It's mine, all mine!

+ Very few players were more exciting in Round 1 of the playoffs than PK Subban. And that's saying something.
+ Carey Price. What else is there to say?
+ Really nice to see so many hockey players joining Twitter in an attempt to connect with fans before and during the playoffs: Yannick Weber, Mathieu Darche, Brian Gionta, and Ryan O'Byrne (I still sort of miss him, okay?).
+ Ryan White is great in the playoffs, both as a Hab and a Bulldog.
+ Paul Mara's beard. And Shea Weber's beard.

We didn't make this, but we wish we did

+ Congratulations to Guy Boucher and his Tampa Bay Lightning for sweeping the Capitals. I loved watching that series. I think it was also the first time in all these (few) seasons of watching hockey that I wasn't a little disappointed to see Washington eliminated from the playoffs.
+ A Plus for Jonathan Toews, Alex Burrows and all the players who made Game 7 between the Blackhawks and Canucks so damn exciting.
+ I guess Carey Price gets an extra Plus for his cowboy hat and his Rolling Stones shirt.

MINUS

If people could be arrested for stupidity, I would.

- Uh, Glenn Healy? What was with that "A Danish is something you get at a coffee shop" comment? It was ignorant and unfunny, and I can't believe I saw you in person two days after you made it and didn't find the closest overpriced Bell Centre beer to pour over your head.
- Nathan Horton's face.
- I was proud of Milan Lucic for most of the first round, I really was, until like a typical Bruin he ruined things. I was all ready to congratulate him on not killing any Habs defencemen, and then he went and hurt Spacek.
- It's 2011 and yet there are boorish Bruins fans out there who had the most disgusting things to say against both PK Subban and the city of Montreal. I'm not going to repeat them, or even link to them, because I can't bear to read them again.
- On a more serious note, as much as I dislike the Bruins, I can't help but wish Patrice Bergeron a full recovery from this concussion.

Best tweets of the first round

(Plus/Minus for the first round is forthcoming.)
Since it's my role on the radio to talk about the Internet, I tried to keep track of as many crazy reactions to the playoffs as I could. So here are a few of my favourites, because I want to celebrate just how much fun hockey fans had during the first round:

bailsebeth Bailey 

The next person to tell me the odds are against the #Habs, I will promptly break out into Phil Collins' 1984 smash hit, 'Against All Odds'.

packerswinSBXLV Brad 

@ 

@BrentSopel Did Mara give everyone pointers on how to grow facial hair? #thebeard

A bit of Phoenix love, because we might as well: 

BizNasty2point0 Paul Bissonnette 

Actually 1 last tweet. Thanks to all the yotes fans out there cheering us on. Going to be a tough series. love the support tweets.#DoWork

PensNation_Meg Meghan Herlihy 

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of Stanley Cups dancing in their heads.

SamJags Sammy Mayers 

If there is anything better than overtime playoff hockey, please tell me.

(Yeah. It's when your team wins the overtime.) 

habsromance stephanie 

remember when pricey won his first series as a rookie? :')

theactivestick Laura 

Lump in throat.Heart pounding. Butterflies in stomach. Must be gameday. GO HABS GO

Cas514 Cas 

Getting to work early so I can leave at a regular time because it's game day. #thedrivefor25isalive

EP31 Eternal Pessimist 

@ 

I haven't understood the word 'calm' since April 2008......

(Neither have I!)

HockeyLoveHurts Darby 

I think 'Haters Gonna Hate' is my Playoff phrase for 2011.

imisssaku Denis 

Kaberle looks lost in the playoffs, wonder why?

boring_as_heck fake ass canada pig 

reason why hockey is cool # 42655 - jaroslav spacek's face

maxtheguru Max Harris 

Carey Price just went inside the mind of a Greg Jennings: ''I put the team on my back!'' #Habs

kristi_lala kristi lawrence. 

"Boston Police start investigation into robbery of first game of 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. The game was believed to have been stolen by Carey Price. Accessory to the crime was believed to be one Brian Gionta. Stay tuned for updates."

lawyergirl77 lawyergirl77 

Guys, Gomez is new Kovalev. We'll love him in playoffs and wonder where the heck THAT guy was during regular season. #Habs#Illtakeitanyway

DaveZeile09 David Zeile 

I just jaywalked through downtown Philly traffic in order to high five a guy in a Caps jersey on the other side of the street. Solidarity.

IKyleCliffordFC K Clifford Fan Club 

Charlie Sheen has tiger blood... Kyle Clifford has a tiger in his backyard that he swings around by the tail when he's bored

touteparpillee Lyse 

Les stats ne sont que des références historiques. Ce qu'a pu accomplir une équipe dans le passé n'a aucune incidence sur le futur.

AndrewBHDL Andrew Bernier 

Duncs is going Inigo Montoya on Torres tonight. Guaranteed. "Hello! My name is Duncan Keith! You injured my partner! Prepare to die!"

wraparoundcurl Wrap Around Curl 

I love Vancouver/Chicago games. It's like watching a couple loudly break up in public.

MARKOV_HABFAN79 Stephanie Rossi 

T-minus 42 (long) minutes for Habs n Bos Game 6 nail bitting,colored words,drinking,shot nerves,heartattacks n launching stuff at TV. #habs

canadagraphs Canadagraphs 

Tums, check. Pepcid AC, check. Gravol, check. Suicide prevention hotline #, check. Ok, ready for the #Canucks game.

Dingwell Robin Dingwell 

It's official, when Ryan White has skates on, "giving a fuck" is not in his dictionary ... #habs #nhl #bruins

DownGoesBrown Down Goes Brown 

I would marry a man made out of the first round of the 2011 NHL playoffs.

I don't mean to name favourites but I really, really liked these:

ekoreen Eric Koreen 

OH MY GOD SPORTS CALM DOWN.

SuicidePass Ace 

actually thought to myself: "if Ignatieff doesn't win next Tuesday, Harper's going to have all the momentum going into Game 7."#playoffs

thekidcanada Kid Canada 

HOW DARE PEOPLE ON TWITTER SUPPORT A DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM FROM THE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM THAT I SUPPORT