Here's how people just are: They see what is true now, and they expect it tomorrow. Even when they should know better, that's what they do. This is why people gamble and believe they'll win. This is why people think "the hot hand" means it won't go cold. Until it does. And this is why the order things happen in affects how you experience the world, and how you feel about it.

Now think seriously for a second about this. If the Leafs had played yesterday's game first, and struggled a bit, but prevailed, and then got blown out in the second Boston game, would you feel differently?

You'd have had three days now of knowing that the job got done, and the loss would just seem like a typical rebound from an important win. The job, of course, for the team without home ice advantage at the start of a playoff series is to go home for game two with it packed in with the sticks and the skates.

The Leafs play Boston at home on Wednesday and then have two days off before the Saturday game. The job in those two games is to not give home ice back.

On to the news:

More playo— no wait.

Now we're ready for news. There are more playoffs coming for Easton Cowan:

Brandon Lisowsky and Fraser Minten also start the third round on Friday.

Oh, also, this was fun:

So Pastrnak does not have a cloaking device. Good.

Color of Hockey: Dream Nations Cup to put Algeria, Egypt, others in spotlight | NHL.com
Tournament, set this week for New Jersey, chance for emerging nations to gain traction
NHL logoWilliam Douglas

This Week in Olympic Sport History April 22-28, Ice Hockey's Olympic debut in summer 

‘A bit surreal’: First female ‘Cup Keeper’ talks journey with hockey’s holy grail
Miragh Bitove vividly remembers her first time seeing the Stanley Cup.
Penticton HeraldJoshua Clipperton The Canadian Press

I turned on the NHL.com gamecentre for the Islanders-Canes game with five minutes to go and the Islanders were winning. Now it's 5-3 Canes and the Islanders have lost both games in Carolina.

That's all for today, which is a travel day so don't expect 11 million misleading tweets about William Nylander.

From The Branches