Being in Ontario during the hockey playoffs is the right place to be. There is a pervasive legitimacy about being Leafs fans that you just don't get in the Maritimes with the mix of allegances for the Habs, the Bruins and whatever team is good this week. We watched the win over the Senators last night from the bar of the Merchant MacLiam at the foot of Princess, with the cook at my side and the bar staff standing back to their customers, all eyes fixed to the screen.

The Merchant is a newish pub/restaurant in old digs. The 1840's building is one of the last small waterside warehouses left in town and the inside is low-roof, open-beam.