Road to the Cup is paved with whiskers
The hairier things get for the Flyers during the NHL playoffs, the closer they will be to winning the Stanley Cup.
The most grueling tournament in professional sports begins tonight and the success of the 16 teams involved can be measured by the length of the whiskers on the skaters' faces. Many players go unshaven until they are eliminated.
"I started [growing a beard] in New York, so it's almost a week now," Flyers winger Simon Gagne said yesterday as he scratched the growth on his neck and prepared for tonight's game against Pittsburgh. "I think it's a superstition more than anything. You let it grow and you're afraid to shave it or else you might lose your power, or you might lose the next game. If you see one guy shave it in the middle of the playoffs, you're not going to feel right."
Teammate Scott Hartnell, who has a shock of frizzy red hair the approximate size of a cumulus cloud, hopes to avoid shaving cream until June, when, in all likelihood, some hairy-faced captain will hoist the Cup.
"The first week it gets itchy, but after that, if you moisturize as much as you can, and, you know, clean it out a little bit, it's not so bad," Hartnell said.
No one is sure of the origins of the playoff beard, but it's widely believed it began with the New York Islanders, who won four straight Stanley Cups in the early 1980s.
However, the New York Rangers recoiled at the mere thought of doing anything to copy the rival Islanders, so they remained clean-shaven while winning the Cup in 1994.
Former Flyer Rod Brind'Amour has never grown a playoff beard. Then-Flyer Jim Dowd shaved his beard last spring in hopes of stopping the Washington Capitals' winning streak. Whiskers or not, the Flyers won Game 7.
The tradition of growing a playoff beard has trickled down to hockey's minor and junior leagues, but also to other sports. As a sign of unity and at the urging of Brian Dawkins, the Eagles set aside their razors during their late-season playoff push.
But this is a custom that really belongs to hockey. The Web site playoffbeard.com hands out a symbolic Norris Trophy for best facial growth of the postseason. No, it's not the Norris Trophy that's awarded to the NHL's top defenseman. It's a trophy named after Chuck Norris, the bearded actor.
The Flyers and Penguins asked fans to get involved and will hold beard-a-thon campaigns to raise money for charity.
Pittsburgh winger Pascal Dupuis suggested another motivation.
"Maybe the thing behind it is you don't spend time in the mirror looking at yourself," Dupuis told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You focus on playing hockey and you don't worry about other stuff. It's only hockey that you think about.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
