To the 2010-11 Pittsburgh Penguins: THANK YOU

Well, the end of the 2010-11 season for the Pittsburgh Penguins is officially over. After a very tight game last night, they lost the series to Tampa. It was one of the best games in the series; the Pens just couldn’t find the net behind Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson.

As I wound out last night after watching the handshake and the stick-raising to the fans at Consol Energy Center, I realized this was a season of “what if…” I’m actually proud of my favored team for putting together an exhilarating run after January’s misfortunes. They could’ve just packed it in and settled for “next year-itis.” Instead, I watched a group of guys pull together and make one fantastic second-half of the season.

I’m sure everyone plays the ‘what-if’ game after their team of choice bows out. So indulge me while I do the same.

2011 Winter Classic (Cross It Off the Bucket List!)

The end of 2010 has been hectic (to say the least); fortunately, the tail of the holiday season left me and my beautiful wife on the cusp of attending the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field in our previous hometown of Pittsburgh. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a diehard Penguins fan – beginning way back in 1984 when a certain Mario Lemieux was drafted.

I won’t rehash my experience here. Why? Because I covered it pretty extensively for WeLoveDC, so you’re welcome to go there and read all about it:

Road to the Winter Classic, Part I
Caps Overcome Rain, Penguins in Winter Classic
Road to the Winter Classic, Part II

Photos here.

Suffice to say, it was everything I’d hoped and more, save a Penguins victory. But even that loss cannot dampen how much fun and awesome the whole thing was, from lead-up to denouement.

And now, back to writing. I’ve got two books to finish by the end of February…

Ice Time

I find myself in possession of a few minutes before the final regular season game of the Washington Capitals (against the Boston Bruins) so I thought I’d jot down some thoughts regarding the opportunity the Capitals have given me over the last few months. Back in January, I was discussing (via email) with Tom – fellow WeLoveDC founder – how to take our beautiful site to the ‘next level’, as he had just announced to the group regarding our amazing readership numbers. (We’ve skyrocketed nearly every month since our July 2008 launch.) He was in the process of applying for press access to the Nationals and DC United, so I popped up and asked if we could approach the Washington Capitals. I mean, why not?

The Caps are finishing up one of the franchise’s best seasons ever. Records have fallen all over the place, both within the team and on the NHL stat charts. They’re on the cusp of a Stanley Cup season; if not this year, most definitely in the next three. Fan craze is at an all-time high (rivaling Pittsburgh) and have managed to capture this city’s attention. No small feat, considering the Redskins football team has been (and still is) the reigning sports champion – at least in spirit.

So indeed, why not let our burgeoning DC site cover the Caps more ‘officially’?

2009 Eastern Conference Champs!

’20090506-IMG_2634′ courtesy of ‘avanluven’

And well-deserved. Back in February, who would’ve thought this Penguin team would be repeat contenders for the Stanley Cup? I’ll admit I had my doubts, but I was pretty confident the Penguins would go far.

And far they did.

Not bad for a team whose mascot is a flightless bird.

Eastern Conference Semifinals: Capitals vs. Penguins

‘Ovechkin and Malkin, Friends at Last, Friends at Last’ courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

[Note: Normally I don't cross-post from my stuff at WeLoveDC. But I'm in a bind today, writing-wise, and while I'd like to have a more Penguins-centric and snarky article dissing the Caps, I'm going to instead opt to just reprint my article from WLDC instead. It's close to what I wanted to say anyway, so...

I will say here, though, that I'm glad that all these games are national coverage. Despite my disdain for NBC and Versus coverage and commentary, I loathe Comcast's Caps broadcast team even more, because Joe Laughlin makes me want to scream. Joe, btw - it's MALL-kin, *not* MAAL-kin. Freakin' do your research.

If, however, Comcast flexes its blackout rules and forces me to watch the games with the bumble-twins, don't expect me to be in a good mood the morning after a game. Just sayin'. -BHR]

I’m in hockey nirvana.

When the NHL playoffs were finally set, one of the first things many fans here and in Pennsylvania did was figure out when and if the Capitals would actually face the Pittsburgh Penguins during hockey’s “second season.” It was a bit convoluted to work around, since both teams were highly seeded, and it looked – for about a week – that this year wouldn’t see the match-up we all secretly wanted, and dreaded. But then the Caps figured out they were actually in the playoffs and executed a very stressful and tense comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to stuff the Rangers.

And when Carolina shocked New Jersey with two quick goals in the last two minutes of their own Game 7, it was as if the hockey planets aligned. The match-up the NHL slobbered for had arrived.

Penguins. Capitals. Stanley Cup Semifinals.

And it promises to be one extremely wild, crazy, emotional ride for both cities. Find out why after the jump.