The 2012-13 NHL season may have skimped on their game output -- especially before the hyphen, when there were none -- but at least it didn't skimp on the love. Even in the lockout-shortened season, there were top-notch hockey hugs aplenty to find and appreciate.

But, just as last year, some hugs were at the toppest of notches, and before we turn the page on this NHL season, it behooves us to take one last look back at the best of the best. What follows are our 10 favourite hockey hugs of the year.

No. 10 - Anaheim Ducks

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Corey Perry's great, wide-eyed, cathartic exhalation was his reaction to ending a scoring drought, but out of context, it sort of looks like he's just the first person to notice the roof of the Honda Center has opened up and it's raining Skittles and kittens.

No. 9 - Boston Bruins

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Pretty much any time that Zdeno Chara hugs someone, you're wading into the world of classic big-guy-little-guy comedy. But when that little guy is tiny Brad Marchand kicks in his legs and pumping his fist like a kid being taken off against his will, maybe because he was supposed to stay put and he somehow escaped his babysitter and made it onto the ice, well, that's just hilarious.

No. 8 - Carolina Hurricanes

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I honestly can't look at this picture without hearing Jordan Staal hissing like the alien from Alien in my head. Someone was kind enough to do the necessary photoshop, with just an added touch of weirdness, and it's pretty much perfect. There's no doubt in my mind that, the day after this hug, Jay Harrison birthed a chestburster.

No. 7, Washington Capitals

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Alex Ovechkin is one of the most intense hockey huggers in the game. The next time someone suggests he doesn't care or that he isn't a team player, I suggest you just show him photo after photo of Ovi leaping into a pile of teammates while screaming his lungs out. In this photo, Mike Green is downright overwhelmed by the intensity of Ovechkin's celebration. He's right to be. Ovechkin throws himself into hugs like he doesn't have a bludgeon in his hands and knives on his feet -- problem is, you know, he does.

No. 6, Anaheim Ducks

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