Playoff beard

Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in Jan. 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games.

[3] According to some observers, one may trim the beard after a loss in an effort to change the team's luck; Jim Dowd and Roberto Luongo are examples of players who did this.

This included two Swedish players (Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur), so it is possible that tennis champion Björn Borg's custom of not shaving his beard during Wimbledon, which he had been doing for several years by that time, was an influence on the start of the practice in hockey.

Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in Jan. 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games.

[10] In June 2015, Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports (who is the U.S. rightsholder of the league), told the Chicago Tribune that he had been lobbying the NHL to discourage the practice, arguing that it hinders the ability for viewers to recognize players.