STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Paul Bissonnette had the normal nerves and emotions of anyone about to play his first NHL game.

Then the team's biggest star reminded the rookie just how special Saturday night was for him.

"Geez," Sidney Crosby told Bissonnette, "not only is it your first game, but you're playing in Sweden."

Although the Penguins would like to have earned more than a split of their two games against Ottawa at the Globe Arena in the NHL Premiere, they were more than happy overall with the trip -- which included six days in Stockholm and a side trip to Helsinki for an exhibition game leading up to their two season openers.

"The hockey's been fun, and seeing the city and taking in the atmosphere of Sweden and Finland is pretty neat," forward Jordan Staal said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

The Penguins arrived Sept. 28 after an overnight flight. To try to beat jet lag, they stayed awake with a spirited, 90-minute afternoon practice of mostly four-on-four play.

Last Monday, after practice, they had a guided tour of the Vasa Museum, home to a well-preserved 17th-century wooden war ship.

"I think the museum was pretty cool. Seeing the Vasa was pretty neat," said Crosby, who also listed the team's other main outing as one of his favorite activities here.

That was a scavenger hunt that led players around the city on various missions, including a climb up the 365-step city hall tower, a trip up a tall outdoor elevator to a restaurant with a sweeping view and a ferry ride to the zoo.

After a normal practice day Wednesday, the club had a morning skate Thursday in Stockholm, then a charter flight to Helsinki and back the same day for a 4-1 exhibition victory against Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League.

Friday, Ottawa joined the Penguins in Stockholm after spending four days in Gothenburg, hometown of the only Swedish player on either team's roster, winger Daniel Alfredsson.

While in Gothenburg, the Senators headed out on the North Sea on a trip arranged by Alfredsson.

Things got a little rough.

"The boat trip that [Alfredsson] set up for us was pretty interesting and intense," Ottawa coach Craig Hartsburg said. "We were airborne a few times. We were starting to worry about hurt backs and stuff like that."

Open practices for the teams Friday afternoon at Globe Arena drew several thousand fans who seemed partial to Ottawa because of Alfredsson -- although he sat out the practice as a day of rest -- but cheered the Penguins, too.

That kind of enthusiasm is what Penguins center Jeff Taffe will remember.

"Just the people and the atmosphere," he said. "I think everybody around town was excited about seeing a few NHL games here."

Several players said they discovered a city that was clean and interesting and where nearly everyone speaks English.

Crosby found comfort in hanging out around town with his teammates in relative anonymity during the week, although with his picture in the papers and the games drawing closer, he said he was recognized and approached for autographs more and more as the games got closer.

The NHL plans to continue to have teams travel outside North America for regular-season games, an idea the Penguins and Senators champion.

"For the league to bring a couple teams over here every year I think is probably a pretty good thing," Ottawa center Jason Spezza said.

But maybe not the same teams in successive years.

"I think it's great. It's something different," Staal said. "I don't think I'd want to do it every year, but it's something that I'd love to be part of again. It's been a lot of fun."

Both teams are being given some time to recuperate, with no games until Saturday. That's when the Penguins will have their first game at Mellon Arena, against New Jersey.

"From a league standpoint, I think they realize it's kind of grueling over here," Taffe said. "From that standpoint, it's going to be nice to have a few days off, then have a few days of practice and start over again."