In my household, Pierre Turgeon, Centre for the New York Islanders, was a sacred name. Seventy-seven was my brother's lucky number, and to this day, whenever I find a bike lock in my parents' house, Turgeon's birthday is the first combination I try. By contrast, Mark Messier, who played for the Rangers, was something of a curse word.

That's nothing compared to the elaborate superstitions and rituals that surround hockey games--especially the Stanley Cup playoffs. Peter Diamond memorializes the warrior's mask that is the playoff beard, transforms first-ever Olympic gold medalists the Winnipeg Falcons into angelic heroes and puts the Detroit Red Wings' traditional hat trick octopus on the ice, larger than life.