ESPN NHL

Everybody likes a hot hand heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the magic can cool off just as quickly when the stakes are raised in the postseason.

Detroit, for instance was 4-5-4-2 in the final month of the 2002 season while resting a number of veterans. The Red Wings couldn't turn it on right away as losses in their first two games against Vancouver showed, but then they won 16 of their next 21 games to win the Stanley Cup.

A winning streak is nice, but players will say they "just want to feel good about themselves as a team. New Jersey was feeling good after an 8-3-4-1 finish before they began their Cup-winning run last year.

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