NHL Winter Classic puts hockey rivalry at center stage
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Patti Koerbel from Gibsonia (with sign) and Dan Zadach from Jefferson Hills (full Pens garb) were among the fans who thronged Market Square for the Penguins rally Thursday ahead of the Winter Classic against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
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That first-round playoff meeting in 1992? The one in which the Penguins spotted Washington a 3-1 lead before running off three consecutive victories en route to their second Stanley Cup?
Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik doesn't know a thing about it.
Same with Round 1 in 1995, when the Penguins again rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to end the Capitals' season.
Likewise, the opening-round matchup in 1994, when Washington won its only playoff series against the Penguins in eight tries.
All are part of franchise history; all are news to Mr. Orpik.
"Besides the one I played in, I don't know any of the other ones, to be honest," he said.
Happily for him, that second-round series in 2009 -- when the Penguins lost Game 6 in overtime at home, then blew out Washington in Game 7 at the Verizon Center -- is one he isn't likely to forget anytime soon.
It took a rivalry that had existed, and been fairly heated, for years and elevated it into one of the most intense this side of cobra-mongoose.
And while neither team is a clear choice as the other's most despised rival, neither is far from it, either.
"They have to be right there, with Philadelphia," Penguins center Sidney Crosby said. "If not right there, a really close second. Personally, I would put those two teams right together."
Alex Ovechkin, Mr. Crosby's counterpart as Washington's captain and franchise cornerstone, sees the Penguins pretty much the same way.
"They're top two, I think," he said. "Philly, New York [Rangers] and Pittsburgh are our [rivals], especially for the fans."
The Penguins-Capitals rivalry is, in some ways, almost a subplot to the Crosby-Ovechkin story line that dominates conversations anytime these clubs collide. Guys like Kris Letang and Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeni Malkin and Mike Green, are top-shelf talents, but the spotlight rarely drifts from Mr. Crosby and Mr. Ovechkin.
"Ovie and Sid really heat up the rivalry," Washington forward Jason Chimera said. "Anytime those two guys get together, it's a good event."
Although Mr. Crosby is widely regarded as the finest player in the world at the moment, it hasn't always been that way. In fact, Mr. Ovechkin has won two league MVP awards, Mr. Crosby just one.
First Published December 31, 2010 12:00 am
