Fansided

Pittsburgh Penguins: Rivalry With Washington Capitals Is Peaking

By Matthew Rodrigopulle |
PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 07: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) and Washington Capitals Left Wing Alex Ovechkin (8) go for the puck during the second period. The Washington Capitals went on win 2-1 in the overtime period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 7, 2018, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. The Capitals won the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference Final. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 07: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) and Washington Capitals Left Wing Alex Ovechkin (8) go for the puck during the second period. The Washington Capitals went on win 2-1 in the overtime period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 7, 2018, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. The Capitals won the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference Final. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Penguins are headed into the 2017-18 season and I think as fans of the team, we’re headed for something interesting this season.

What makes this year’s season different for the Pittsburgh Penguins, you may ask? Well, this year, the Penguins will be experiencing something different when it comes to their relationship with another team. Who might that team be? Well it’s none other than our divisional rival Washington Capitals.

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The Change

Now why might this season be different? Well, for the longest time, the Penguins had the upper advantage on the Capitals and their fans. If we lost a game to them, we always had the upper hand when it came to the one thing that mattered–we had Stanley Cups and they didn’t.

But this season the Caps went out and did it. They won the Stanley Cup. The first for their franchise. And honestly the only thing we can say here at Pens Labyrinth is congratulations to them. They put together an amazing team that overcame great feats to triumph over the entire league. The Capitals gave us a run for our money as well and it’s nothing but respect for them.

Now what does that have to do with change though? Well it’s because now, the Capitals and Penguins rivalry will only heat up that much more. For so long, we dominated them and the rivalry was pretty much won by us most of the time. It almost made the rivalry…a little less interesting.

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But this year, the Capitals are a new team, as confident as they ever were. I Know they’ll be playing their hearts out against us just as much as we do with them. This year there will be much more on the table, and I’m excited to see the Capitals face us more than ever before.

What Does This Mean For Us?

The Caps were always my favourite recent rival (with the Flyers trailing closely), but now this puts things on another level. I got to say I’ll be paying more attention to the Caps positions in the standings this season.

How will this affect our team though? Well I hope this will make our team thirst for another Cup even more. No longer do our fans, and possibly the players, have the same edge when it comes to chirping as we used to. I think the Penguins will be eager to get more wins against the Caps more than ever now. Their Cup win has reignited this rivalry, and I know we’ll be seeing the best hockey out of both clubs this season.

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