Is The Rivalry with the Capitals Simmered Down?

[PghSkins]

I've been a pens fans since early 90's and caps have always seemed to be the 2nd rivals after philly. I dont know much about the ranger rivalry many of the older fans talk about. Even in the playoffs where Jagr played for rangers I didnt feel there was a rivalry going on.

The caps... all those playoff series in the 90's, all the pens fans at away games that even I could hear from swedish tv etc. It just got a bit of a boost with Sid, Geno and AO but even without them I would say the rivarly that started in the 90's never died.

Yeah, that's why this "Not our Rival" crap is contrived BS. I don't hate any team- even the Cowboys at this point- as much as the Flyers but heck yeah they're a rival.

[m.lemieux66]

Didn't they beat us almost every game last year?

2-2 in the 11-12 season

[GreenBlood10]

I think a lot of the rivalry has to do with a lot of Marylanders associating with the Caps and the NHL trying to feed off of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry. They want so badly for the Caps-Penguins to be the Ravens-Steelers. Just MHO.

[littlemoonboot]

People can call the playoff punching bag history whatever they like, but they certainly had a rivalry relationship between 08-10 before OV started sucking, and it has diminished since.

It's also not the same because Semin and Bruce are gone, two people with their "Crosby problems" and Bruce with his butthurt remarks and penguin slapping commercials. Who really hates Adam Oates? And Backstrom is a nice guy. Jay Beagle is just that guy Asham put to sleep.

The Penguins are public enemy #1 in DC among their fans. That won't change. Seems to me Pens fans kind of shrug that off or almost even feel sympathy for their train wreck situation right now (save for a few Ovechkin jokes sprinkled around.)

[Lt. Dish]

People can call the playoff punching bag history whatever they like, but they certainly had a rivalry relationship between 08-10 before OV started sucking, and it has diminished since.

It's also not the same because Semin and Bruce are gone, two people with their "Crosby problems" and Bruce with his butthurt remarks and penguin slapping commercials. Who really hates Adam Oates? And Backstrom is a nice guy. Jay Beagle is just that guy Asham put to sleep.

The Penguins are public enemy #1 in DC among their fans. That won't change. Seems to me Pens fans kind of shrug that off or almost even feel sympathy for their train wreck situation right now (save for a few Ovechkin jokes sprinkled around.)

I agree with this.

I also find that, while I'm a very empathic and sympathetic person overall, I struggle to find sympathy for the segment of Caps' fans who apparently never saw this coming. Maybe that makes me a bad person, or maybe just a fan who enjoys seeing them learning a lesson through comeuppance. I know some knowledgeable Caps' fans (there are some!) who absolutely saw this day coming closer and closer with every boneheaded roster and coaching move GMGM made and started lining their doomsday bunkers with printouts of Teddy's blog when Varlamov was traded. They see the Caps have become all about a brand--not a hockey team--now.

I've warned some arrogant and hubris-filled young Pens fans I know to enjoy this time and use the freedom and peace of mind that success brings to really learn the game and become knowledgeable stakeholders of the franchise. Even with the stable ownership we're blessed to have now, you never know how players, economics, and CBAs shake out going forward. Being a Pens fan now entitles you to zilch in the future. I learned this having fully experienced 4 Super Bowl and the 1979 World Series wins before I turned 12 (and walking, barefoot and in a blizzard, 10 miles to school ).

Don't get the wrong idea: I'm still an absolute blast at parties.

[pittsoccer33]

i think over the last five years our five biggest rivals have been:

-flyers
-senators
-capitals
-red wings
-the other three atlantic teams. we've done a pretty lousy job against our own division recently.

[Pitt87]

Was never about the Penguins & Capitals. It was always about Crosby and Ovechkin, and it was only interesting for about 3 years.

[pittsoccer33]

Was never about the Penguins & Capitals. It was always about Crosby and Ovechkin, and it was only interesting for about 3 years.

Not really. in the last 20 or so years we've played and beat them seven times in the playoffs. Crosby was only there once. And even though the Penguins won those series they werent by much. There were a lot of game sevens.

[Gsnyder58]

I'd say the Caps are finally back to where their most Hardcore/legitimate/knowledgeable fans have wanted them to be. Those I've talked to about it are just relieved they're losing their most embarrassing fans to the Nationals/Redskins Wagon....even some are with the Ravens.

[no name]

My hate now for the caps is from Steckle. Then in the next game he fights our smallest guy on out team.

[littlemoonboot]

My hate now for the caps is from Steckle. Then in the next game he fights our smallest guy on out team.

Actually that is true, Steckel was another factor that added bad blood and he's gone, too. Caps fans that want to see Crosby hurt are the reason why whatever sympathy I could have for their situation just can't really be mustered up in full.

[Seattle-Pens-fan]

I think the Caps fans have considered us to be their biggest rivals since way back in the day when Nedved torched them in that marathon game. 96? 97? Anyway, we've kept them from advancing a few times, so yeah, they hate the Pens. A lot. Ovechkin/Crosby was just icing on the cake...

[DocEmrick]

Yeah but it just felt more enthused when Boudreau, Varlamov, and Semin were around.

[Pitt87]

Was never about the Penguins & Capitals. It was always about Crosby and Ovechkin, and it was only interesting for about 3 years.

Not really. in the last 20 or so years we've played and beat them seven times in the playoffs. Crosby was only there once. And even though the Penguins won those series they werent by much. There were a lot of game sevens.

You can say that about most teams.... Ducks & Red Wings, Blackhawks & Canucks... Good teams tend to have history, especially in the playoffs, but the thing that drove the latest chapter in the rivalry was 8 vs. 87. I don't think you can discount it completely like that.

[Desiato]

IMO, it's been way too one-sided to be a true rivalry. I can't say I hate the Caps like I do the Flyers and Devils. It was more a Sid vs AO thing recently.