ST. LOUIS -- In case you are wondering, Joe Thornton is cool with any random person tugging on his thick beard this time of year.
"It's all good for me," the Sharks' centerman said here Monday. "Just gets you more in the game, I think."Did I mention that hockey is a peculiar sport?The Sharks and the St. Louis Blues will play the second game of their conference championship series here Tuesday night. The beard-pulling competition might continue. It began early in Sunday's Game 1 when St. Louis center David Backes grabbed Thornton's whiskers after a whistle stopped play -- and in response, Thornton reached out and pinched Backes' muttonchop version of the traditional hockey playoff beard.