The eternal question...

What is the meaning of li...oh nevermind. More importantly, playoff beard or no playoff beard? If you go to the official NHL PlayoffBeard guru, then it should be no question now that my team, the New York Rangers, have clinched a post season berth. However, my knowledge should be deeper.

According to the ever-accurate Wikipedia, the playoff beard began in the 1980s with the New York Islanders dynasty. The idea was that players would not shave from the time they entered the playoffs until their team was eliminated. Since then, it has spread into all other pro leagues.

However, George Steinbrenner of the Yankees completely disallows the use of any facial hair, let alone playoff beards.

One interesting hockey tidbit came from the first Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup in the 1983-84 season. Before the final game, Wayne Gretzky walked into the dressing room and said to shave off everyone's beards because "Stanley Cup champions need to be clean cut." They went on to win, without the elusive help of the playoff beard.

Comment Below: Should fans do the playoff beard?