The giddy laughter of Jonathan Toews when he took the Cup from Commissioner Gary Bettman said it all. The tears from Jeremy Roenick, who played for the Blackhawks and never won a Cup, tell the story.

I love the NFL. Major League Baseball is fun. The NBA Finals are fantastic.

They’re not the Stanley Cup Finals, though. No other playoff series is as tough as the NHL’s. The regular season is pretty boring. Too many tie games that go to shootouts. Too many teams that don’t matter. You hope your team makes the playoffs, and then the real fun starts.

The NHL playoffs are a grind. They’re a test beyond imagination.

But the payoff, oh the payoff. The greatest trophy in sports and the greatest celebration. I mean, I knew maybe four of the Blackhawks that hoisted that thing over their heads, but it didn’t matter, right down to the trainer that put it over his head, the joy is unmatched. If you don’t get goosebumps, you don’t get it.

Who saw this coming? I mean beating the Cavs was awesome, and I certainly believed that the match-up with Orlando was much more favorable for the Celtics, but to win the first two games on the road is insane. That’s the first time in the C’s storied history that they have ever won the first two games of a playoff series away from Boston. Ever.

Paul Pierce has been the catalyst in this series. You think maybe he enjoys not having to check LeBron James any more? He was on fire last night to start the game. Orlando was slow rolling to him on defense and he just knocked down jumper after jumper. It’s always fun when The Truth is on his game because he plays with so much desire. It’s hard to believe that just three years ago he was mulling over the possibility of moving on from Boston and now he’s hoping to lead them to their second Finals in three seasons.

Someone on TV brought up a very interesting point last night. Since the emergence of Big Three 2.0 no team has ever beaten them in a playoff series when they were healthy. Remember last year the Celtics were without KG for the playoffs, and they still made life miserable for Orlando, after winning that grueling series with the Bulls.

This year’s team is different from the 2008 one, though. Pierce, Garnett and Allen are still big players, but the break-out season Rondo is having has made life so much easier for them. Did you notice that No. 9 hit a couple of mid-range jumpers last night? He’s more than a dish-and-drive guy now, he’s added to his game and is a force to be reckoned with.

Like that 2008 team, the bench has been huge for this team. It’s hard for me to admit, but Rasheed Wallace has been a big part of the Celtics successes over the past few weeks. I still think he tends to take more than his share of bad shots, but he’s finally playing down low, rebounding and making an honest effort.

Big Baby Davis and Tony Allen are stepping it up too. Davis did a great job of finishing plays in Game 2, something he’s not been particularly strong at in the NBA, but he’s been good for 8 to 10 points a night during the playoffs and he brings a ton of energy for such a wide body.

Two more wins and it’s a trip to the Finals, and most likely another match-up with the Lakers. Who would have speculated that that was a legitimate possibility a month ago? Not me, for sure, but I’m sold on this team now.

I never believed that a team could really just hit the switch and turn it on for the playoffs. These guys have. They meandered down the stretch, but they got healthy and now they look like world beaters. Six more wins and that’s exactly what they’ll be, and the naysayers — a bandwagon I’m glad to have vacated — will be wronged. I believe in this team again, and you should too.

Cue Gino.

That’s right. The Celtics were supposed to be a stop along the line to the championship for the Cleveland LeBrons, but that’s not how it worked out is it.

Instead there was disco playing at the Garden last night and the Celtics are getting ready for the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics move on, the LeBrons, well they’re done, and we’re all witnesses to that.

The big difference in this series, in my eyes, is style of play. Cleveland is a victim of SportsCenter. It’s all about LeBron and what he’ll do, and the team bought into that. Sure Mo Williams had a couple of good quarters, but for the most part Cleveland lived and died by King James, who is wearing a jester’s dunce cap after a 3-for-14 shooting night in Game 5 and then his 9 turnovers last night. Sure he had a triple double and was a force, but you can’t turn the ball over that much in an any game, let alone an elimination game.

The Celtics on the other hand did it by doing things inside the team concept. Doc Rivers has defined a rotation of 8 guys, and they all played their roles. Every one of those 8 guys — the starting five of Rondo (our MVP), Pierce, KG, Ray Allen and Perk, along with Sheed (I know, it surprised me too), Big Baby and Tony Allen (who was a monster the last two nights) did something to help the team win. It was impressive how they worked together, and when it mattered most they didn’t fall into that awful habit of choking in the second half, like they did during so many regular season games.

The rest of the world will be focused on where the heck LeBron James is going to land over the summer and what this means to his “legacy.” Who cares. Tell me when he makes a decision (for the record I think this will be dragged out and he ends up staying put). Until then there are important games to be played, like Game 1 on Sunday.

That game is in Orlando, by the way, not Cleveland. Someone tell ESPN so they send the cameras to the right place.

When you are the home team in a playoff series you have one job, to hold that home court advantage and win the first two games in your building.

Boston Bruins 2, Philly Flyers 0. Mission Accomplished, so far. Halfway home.

When you are the road team in a playoff series your main goal is to accomplish a split, negating the other team’s home court advantage.

Celtics 1, Cleveland 1. A job well done by the C’s.

Heck, it was such a good night tonight that even the Red Sox decided to show up and hit the ball. Hate to see them waste all of those runs at one time, but it’s just nice to see that they remembered how to hit the ball.

What was the bigger upset? The Red Sox putting up that many runs or Rasheed Wallace actually having a big game? I’ve got to go with Rasheed. I still want out from under that albatross of a contract, but it’s nice to see that rigor mortis had not completely set in.

*** Bruins notes: Two games, two one-goal games, two wins. This is not the same team we were watching in March, that’s for sure.

Milan Lucic is only 24 years old. If that fact doesn’t make you smile there’s something wrong. I know he didn’t have a very good year, but let’s not forget he was dealing with a high ankle injury that never let him really get it going. In the playoffs he’s been starting to turn it on.

There is no better goalie in hockey right now than Tuukka Rask. I believe that.

If the B’s met Montreal in the east finals it might set eastern Canada on fire. As big as that would be here, it would be even bigger there.

*** Celtics notes: Last month my son had to do a biography of a famous or important person. He chose Rajon Rondo. We had so much fun researching Rondo’s life and his resume. The way he’s played the last two games we’re going to have to do an addendum. He’s now the Celtics single game playoff assist leader. We love that guy.

I still think the Cavs win this series, but it’s nice to see the Celtics putting up a fight and making it interesting. And there’s always hope. Let’s not forget that the Cavs choked last year against Orlando in the east finals. I’m not saying they’re going to go down again, but the chance of it happening is certainly feasible.

Is it me or does it seem to make Reggie Miller ill to say anything positive about the C’s?

Lebron’s elbow is the most annoying story of the postseason.

** Red Sox notes: I didn’t watch any of the game. I’m not really all that interested right now. The B’s and C’s are playing playoff games and the Red Sox are underachieving.

With all apologies to September and October, I think I’ve decided that April is the greatest sports month on the calendar.

I write this just seconds after watching Daniel Sedin net a sweet goal with just over two minutes to go in a first round elimination game for the Canucks.

And we’ll start there, the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full force. Of all the tournaments, except maybe March Madness, these games are played at an intensity level that’s almost unmatchable. It doesn’t matter which two teams are playing, the games are so watchable because of how hard the players are going at it.

No. 2, let’s stay with the playoffs and switch to the NBA. There are more stinker games in the NBA playoffs, but again the intensity is up there, and when the games are good, they’re really good. Game two of the Celtics-Heat series was fantastic and the first round matches between LA and Oklahoma City have been fun to watch. There’s something about a tournament that brings out the best in athletes.

Speaking of tournaments, April brings us the end of the NCAA tourney as well. We had one of the best championship games ever this year, Duke-Butler. With so much going on this month it seems like eons ago that that Butler heave just missed at the buzzer.

April also features my favorite golf tournament of the year, The Masters. Sure this year we had the whole Tiger fiasco to deal with, but that aside, it’s such a wonderful tournament. The best is the familiarity of the course. Every year we look forward to seeing Amen Corner and the Hogan Bridge. Sure the Green Jacket might be a little corny, but that adds to the importance as well. Talk about an event made for HD TV.

We have to add in the NFL Draft, which becomes bigger and bigger every year. Like you, I questioned the Patriots first round strategy the other night. I wanted Dez Bryant and they could have had him. That kid’s going to be fantastic, but I like to remind myself that the pros know more than we do when it comes to picking players. The rest of the draft looks pretty good. They got a couple of linebackers, a couple of tight ends, a left-footed punter (really, in the fifth round? He wouldn’t have been available later?). Time will tell.

But I love what the NFL has done with the draft. Making the first round its own entity makes it much more intriguing. I feel for the guys that thought they were first rounders and had to sleep on the pain of not getting taken, but the NFL sure knows what it’s doing. They were in the spotlight all weekend, and that’s going to continue every year from here on out.

And lastly, baseball. Nothing is more April than baseball. Nothing makes spring better than hardball coming back. I love it. Sure the Sox aren’t very good right now, but they’re playing baseball, and then there’s fantasy baseball too.

April might have too much rain, but the sports make up for it.

When the Sox came up in the eighth inning yesterday, down 6-4, I felt like the fans from Major League at the beginning of the movie. “Who the heck is this guy?”

Welcome to Boston Darnell MacDonald.

MacDonald’s heroics, a game-tying homer and then a walk-off single in the ninth, hardly fix what’s wrong with the 5-9 Red Sox. But, for one night at least, they helped put the strife to rest.

That was an awesome finish and hopefully will start a turnaround for the Sox. Time will tell, but at least we got to see a career minor leaguer come up and have a big night in the spotlight. Good for him.

Life has not allowed me to spend too much time invested in the Red Sox since Opening Night. I would like to officially thank life for that.

So much for pitching and defense, huh. It’s a used joke, but were they really going for their own run prevention? The Sox are have zero hits in their last 32 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Excuse me while I channel Seth Meyers from SNL right now….

“Really Red Sox, really? 0-for-32? You make an average of like $8 million per player and you can’t come up with a single clutch hit?”

Thanks for the indulgence.

Seriously though, what the heck. I mean the Rays are good, I get it, but they lose four in a row, at home, to those guys. They’re good, but give me a break. Other than Josh Beckett did anyone even show up at the ballpark?

I was completely ready to give them some slack until today. It’s just horrendous the way that this team is playing. I understand that it’s just April but show me some signs of life, will ya? David Ortiz looks done. With Ellsbury and Cameron hurt the outfield looks like something a junior college would throw out there. It’s just ridiculous.