The Hockey Stop

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin today followed Wayne Gretzky as the second NHL hockey player ever to be immortalized in wax. The unveiling took place this afternoon at Madame Tussauds in downtown Washington, D.C. as a swarm of media from as far away as Canada and Russia captured the moment from every possible camera angle.

The atmosphere in the room was electric in anticipation of seeing the Great Eight pose next to his wax likeness. Finally the wall slid open and there was Ovechkin posing beside Ovechkin. A surreal and hilarious scene indeed. Ovie was asked if there was anything missing from the wax figure, and he joked that the cut on his forehead from this morning's practice was not there.

Ovechkin was joined by children from the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey club. The kids sported blacked-out-tooth smiles in front of Ovie's real gap tooth. Many of these inner city children come from troubled homes and the Fort Dupont Ice Rink in Southeast D.C. provides them a positive place that teaches respect, discipline and self-esteem and the importance of academic success.

Also joining Ovie on stage was his father Mikhail, who was a former professional soccer player in Russia.

And the most important question of the day was of course what Ovechkin was going to dress up as for Halloween. "Dumb and Dumber with Nicholas Backstrom" was the reply. "We look like them," said Ovechkin to lots of laughs.

Here is video of today's unveiling.



And here are more photos.

It's been 37 years since the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts joined the National Hockey League. The Scouts became the Colorado Rockies and then the New Jersey Devils. The Caps are still going strong in the nation's capital, but the team has only been to the Stanley Cup finals once -- in 1998 Washington was swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.

Is this the year the Caps capture the Cup?

That question will be definitely answered next spring. But the hopes were high and the energy was positive at the third annual Caps Convention last Saturday, which took place for the second straight year downtown at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation was holding their annual gathering there at the same time, so it was an interesting assortment of well-dressed men and women and red-clad Caps fans in Ovechkin and Backstrom jerseys).

New additions in the offseason have brought optimism to a beaten down fan base that has been disappointed by heartbreaking early playoff exits the past three years. The hope is that the new teammates will push the core group of Caps over the edge when it counts in the postseason. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Semin and Mike Green are now in the prime of their careers and have been through the battles and crushing defeats and are learning how to win the big games. Now they have help from former Caps Captain and Potomac, Maryland native center Jeff Halpern, Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks right wing Troy Brouwer, veteran defenseman Roman Hamrlik, gritty right wing Joel Ward and veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun.

Have the Caps learned how to win? Will a Cup winner like Brouwer stand up in the locker room the next time the Caps face adversity and the "here we go again" negativity creeps in? Will he tell his teammates that "no, it doesn't have to be like this. We can do this!"? Did General Manager George McPhee make the right moves? Will Head Coach Bruce Boudreau prove his critics wrong?

Many questions. Few answers. But it is a new season and the Caps and 29 other teams all have a shot at glory.

There were some interesting panel discussions at the Caps Convention, including "20 Questions with Ted," with former Washington Redskins linebacker and current local TV and radio personality LaVar Arrington interviewing Capitals Majority Owner Ted Leonsis, pictured below left, about subjects ranging from changing the name of the Wizards back to the Bullets ("I don't comment on NBA matters") to offseason speculation about Ovechkin's weight ("pinch his stomach at the autograph session").

At the panel discussion "Embracing Your New Teammates," new Caps Halpern, pictured below left, and Brouwer talked about the difficult transition of changing teams and cities, especially when there is family involved. Brouwer was asked if there are any hard feelings with new teammates because of past experiences as the opponent. He said not with a team like Washington that Chicago only plays once a year, but that it would have been difficult if he went to a divisional rival like the Vancouver Canucks.

Perhaps the most anticipated and interesting discussion took place on the main stage. "24/7 Behind the Scenes" took a look back at what it was like filming the highly acclaimed Emmy-nominated HBO reality series "24/7 Caps-Pens: Road to the Winter Classic." Ovechkin, Boudreau and WashingtonCaps.com Senior Writer and panel moderator Mike Vogel were joined on the stage by HBO Producers Scott Boggins and Michael Oliver (pictured below left to right).

Boudreau said he was looking forward to watching the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers on this season's "24/7," which will culminate in the Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philly.

Here are more photos from the Caps Convention.

If you have followed The Hockey Stop blog the past couple of years, it is no secret my admiration for Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis. He will be the first to admit the playoff disappointment the Caps and their loyal fans have faced in what has turned into a difficult rebuild in the team's quest for that elusive Stanley Cup. That's why Leonsis and General Manager George McPhee committed to a major overhaul of the roster this off-season after being swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in round 2 of the playoffs.

But listening to Leonsis speak Wednesday at a luncheon at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, D.C. (and munching on yummy cupcakes, see below), I got the sense that he has felt the pain of three straight years of early playoff exits more than anyone. Leonsis is a big Greek man from Brooklyn who has made millions as an Internet pioneer at AOL and later a venture capital investor and founder of such companies as social media website SnagFilms. But under that tough exterior lies a sensitive kid at heart who, as he explained, cried recently when he saw video footage of the New York Jets Super Bowl III victory over the Baltimore Colts in 1969, which Leonsis attended as a child with his late father.

He went on to say that as the owner of two major sports teams, he is in the business of "making grown men cry." He has said before that if the Caps ever win the Stanley Cup that he will cry like a baby. Well, he won't be the only one raining tears. Count me in and thousand of others with ties to Washington's hockey franchise.

It might not happen next year, or the year after that, or even the year after that. Leonsis has been humbled by three straight years of playoff failure and the tough realization that there are no guarantees in the postseason -- even for a team like the Caps that has been so successful in the regular season. But Leonsis said the window is wide open for the Caps, and that he expects the team will make the playoffs for the next 10-15 years, and if you make the playoffs then anything can happen.

Leonsis is a man who knows and respects history. And the most touching part of the speech was when he paid homage to the late Abe Pollin, who, as owner of the Capitals and Wizards/Bullets, brought the two teams to the heart of Washington, D.C. by financing the building of the Verizon Center with $200 million of his own money. The arena became the catalyst for the revitalization of the entire downtown area of our Nation's Capital. Leonsis said that Pollin deserves a monument for what he did for the city.

As I write this the No. 1 seed Washington Capitals were just swept by the No. 5 seed Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Something must drastically change in this organization for this team to stop underachieving when it matters most -- in the playoffs.

There was a lot of optimism in Washington when owner Ted Leonsis and General Manager George McPhee decided to blow up the team and rebuild through the draft. The team lucked out by drafting Alex Ovechkin -- a sensational player they could build their team around. They added young, dynamic players like Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green into the mix, creating an offensive powerhouse --- in the regular season that is.

The problem is that the core of the team they built is geared toward offense, which unfortunately doesn't work in the playoffs. So the decision was made in the middle of this season to change the system to a defense-first style. McPhee added some veteran depth in the likes of Scott Hannan, Dennis Wideman, Marco Sturm, and of course Stanley Cup winner Jason Arnott.

It wasn't enough.

It has been three straight years of epic playoff collapses (not including the Game 7 loss to the Flyers four years ago).

• A 6-2 Game 7 blowout loss at home against the Penguins two years ago in round two.

• An historic Game 7 loss to No. 8 seeded Montreal after having a 3-1 series lead last year in round one. The Caps became the first No. 1 seed in NHL history to blow a 3-1 series lead to a No. 8 seed.

• And now getting outsmarted, outplayed and outclassed by the Lightning in a four-game sweep in round two. The Caps became the first No. 1 seed in NHL history to be swept before making it to the Conference Finals.

Now it is time for some serious introspection from top to bottom in the organization. The first, and perhaps most important, step is to fire head coach Bruce Boudreau. While I thank him for his service in Washington, having propelled the last-place Caps to an historic late season march to the playoffs four years ago after taking over for Glen Hanlon, the bottom line is that he is not the leader to take the Caps to the Promised Land. During his playing and coaching career he was known as an offense-first type guy, which like the Caps players themselves, is suited perfectly for coasting through the regular season.

But at playoffs time it doesn't work.

Plus his off-the-ice theatrics, with all the car and carpet commercials, and his laughable coaching techniques, which were on full display on HBO's "24/7" series, were reasons I believe he lost the locker room a long time ago and thus the Caps lacked the mental strength, focus and discipline to play a full 60 minutes every game.

So Gabby has to go and a no-nonsense, disciplined coach who displays quiet but effective leadership -- sort of like Tampa coach Guy Boucher -- is who should replace him.

If McPhee doesn't have the guts to fire Boudreau, then Leonsis must fire McPhee.

Then the really tough decisions need to be made. The "Young Guns" -- Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green must be split up. That means trading one of them. I don't know who but one of them must go. And it won't be Ovechkin, although he should be stripped of his captaincy and the C should be worn on Arnott's sweater. It is evident any chemistry the "Young Guns" have developed over the years has not translated into playoff success. So a change is in order.

Next, do everything possible to draft, trade for and pick up in free agency more tough, gritty defensive-type players in the forward and blue line positions. The Caps need more workhorses if they are going to get to the Promised Land. More Matt Hendricks-type guys and less Alex Semin-type guys.

Also, while Michal Neuvirth played great and can't be faulted, and Braden Holtby will be our goalie of the future, the Caps must pick up a proven veteran to mind the net -- much like the Lightning did in picking up 41-year-old Dwayne Roloson. Youth is not the answer in goal for making a long playoff run. A Stanley Cup-winning goalie who has been through the battles is preferable as a calming presence in the grind of a long playoff series.

Finally, the Caps need a new marketing strategy. Tone down the whole "Rock the Red" and "Unleash the Fury" themes and tone down hyping up all the "Young Guns" to fans. That strategy doesn't work anymore after four straight years of early playoff exits. I don't know what the new marketing scheme will be, but I'm sure Leonsis and his brain trust will think of something.

These are just the humble thoughts of one disappointed Caps fan. I don't know if these are the right answers, but one thing I am absolutely sure of -- Change must come to Washington!

The Hockey Gods are cruel. What other explanation do I have for the fact that the Washington Capitals are down 3-0 to a Tampa Bay Lightning team that is hot, yes, but not that much better than the Caps. A bad bounce off Scott Hannan in Game 1. A bad bounce off Mike Green in Game 2. Too many men on the ice for a power-play goal in the first period of Game 3. Nothing is going right for the Caps and everything is going right for the red-hot Lightning.

Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman and head coach Guy Boucher look like geniuses while Caps GM George McPhee and head coach Bruce Boudreau look like they have been outsmarted and outplayed. Alex Ovechkin has been amazing and cannot be faulted. But the rest of his teammates simply haven't been good enough. And Tampa Bay stars Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos have just been better. And Dwayne Roloson has just been slightly better in net than Michal Neuvirth.

Now the Caps are on the brink of another devastating playoff loss. I'm at a loss for words. I won't say Boudreau should be fired. I won't question the character and heart of the players on the ice. Not yet at least. All I can say is the NHL has amazing parity and the playoffs are a crap shoot no matter how good you are. Are the Hockey Gods against us? Are the Caps cursed? I won't try to answer that. All I know is that what was one of the most promising seasons in Caps history could end tomorrow night with a thud in Tampa. And that hurts. It is another dagger in the hearts of long-suffering Caps fans.

Tampa has won the Stanley Cup. The Caps have never won the Cup. We have a great future ahead of us. But four years of playoff futility is hard to take. This is to owner Ted Leonsis: I feel your pain. And I understand if Bruce Boudreau is fired after another mind-boggling playoff disappointment.

This is what I wrote last year after the then run-and-gun Washington Capitals became the first No. 1 seed in NHL history to blow a 3-1 series lead and lose to a No. 8 seed, the Montreal Canadiens, in the first round:

"What do I hope the high-flying Caps learn from this Game 7 loss, and last year's Game 7 loss to Pittsburgh, and the year before when they lost in Game 7 to the Flyers?

DEFENSE WINS STANLEY CUPS."

Lesson learned. On Saturday afternoon the road to redemption took a big step in the right direction as the Caps dispatched the New York Rangers in five games. It took three years of painful playoff exits and a 7-0 regular season thrashing by the very same Rangers this year to get the Caps to make the necessary changes to become a playoff team.

They changed their entire system from offense first to a tight-checking defensive style suited for the grind-it-out playoffs. They added a shutdown defenseman in Scott Hannan, a veteran Stanley Cup-winning second line center in Jason Arnott and two more battle-hardened veterans in Marco Sturm and Dennis Wideman. They also went with a young goaltender named Michal Neuvirth who has won two Calder Cup trophies with the minor league Hershey Bears and is cool as a cucumber between the pipes.

But despite all those necessary changes, the biggest question mark going into Saturday's game was whether the Caps could close out a series in five games. Well, by beating the Rangers 3-1 to end the series, the Caps not only threw that big monkey (more like a gorilla) off their backs but sent it into space.

This team found their inner killer instinct and is a dangerous team going forward. For the first time as a Caps fan, WE are the dangerous team no one wants to play. Change has come to Washington. Onward.

Other Notes:

• Congratulations to the Nashville Predators for winning their first playoff series in franchise history by beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2.

• Could it be the curse of the President's Cup? The Vancouver Canucks are on the brink of making the wrong kind of history as the Chicago Blackhawks forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 to the Sedin twins and their mates. The biggest question mark going into Game 7 is between the pipes for Vancouver. Cory Schneider was injured on the tying penalty shot in Game 6 and Roberto Luongo has been very shaky in this series, including flailing around and giving up a bad rebound goal by Ben Smith in overtime last night. It should be a great game on Tuesday.

• What an exciting Round One! The Sharks came back from 4-0 down in Game 3 to shock the Kings and the Caps came back from 3-0 down at MSG in Game 4 to stun the Rangers. And all the overtimes have been great for fans. It is safe to say in these playoffs that no lead is safe and that the games will be most likely settled in the extra session.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is an easy target for criticism.

"Optional," cries out the self-annointed experts on the Washington Post comment boards (because he skips the optional practices occasionally.) "Tries too hard," says former NHL player and TV announcer Jeremy Roenick on Versus. "Most entertaining," but not the greatest player in the world and doesn't make his team better, said ESPN analyst Matthew Barnaby earlier this year when Ovechkin and the Caps were in the depths of their season-long scoring struggles and losing streak. Not a leader. No heart. Overweight. Parties too much. Not focused. Chokes in the playoffs. The list goes on.

Perhaps Tuesday night was the tipping point for Ovie. The Russian superstar is used to getting booed every time he touches the puck in opposing arenas. To me it is the ultimate sign of respect when an opposing player is feared enough that he is booed by the opposing team's fans. But the Caps have been struggling mightily at home of late, and the Verizon Center crowd has been getting restless. When the Caps again flamed out on their atrocious power play, I heard the loudest boos from the fans rocking the red since Ovie signed with the Caps. The boos were raining down on Ovechkin while he was carrying the puck out of his own zone.

Well, all the Great 8 did was turn all those boos into crazy cheers when he scored a vintage Ovie goal in overtime against the New York Islanders to send the Verizon Center into a frenzy.

Say what you want about Ovechkin. And the haters will continue to be critical of Ovie and the Caps until they win that elusive Stanley Cup. But no one can argue with Ovie's work ethic and passion for the game. Even when he is not scoring goals and things aren't going his way, he is always, and I mean always, the hardest working player on the ice. He always has a positive attitude, even when the team is slumping. And it is the other things he does to help his team when he is going through scoring droughts, like punishing every opposing player who gets in his way with bone-crushing body checks.

Anyways, here is Ovechkin's amazing OT goal tonight against the Isles. Enjoy.

As a Caps fan growing up in the D.C. area, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins was as predictable as the Cherry Blossoms sprouting every spring. And to add insult to injury, bus loads of Pens fans would make the four-hour trip from Western Pennsylvania to the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland (in 1997 the Caps moved to the Verizon Center in downtown Washington) to cheer on their team to victory over the Caps.

Pittsburghers in Mario Lemieux or Jaromir Jagr jerseys hoisting tin foil Stanley Cups would annually fill up half the arena, making the Capital Centre a neutral venue.

When the Caps lost in seven games to the Pens two years ago, it brought back many painful playoff memories for Caps fans. Washington lost to Pittsburgh in the playoffs in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001. The only playoff series win against the Pens came in 1994.

Caps fans had to watch Pittsburgh skate to Stanley Cup championships in 1991, 1992 and 2009 while the farthest the Caps have gotten is the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998 when they were swept by Detroit.

This lopsided history is why it was so satisfying to see not only the Caps beat the Pens 3-1 at a rainy Winter Classic under the lights at Heinz Field, but also to see so many Caps fans in the stands. In fact, there were around 30,000 Washingtonians who made the trek to Pittsburgh, creating something of a D.C. invasion in the Steel City.

I read that one downtown bartender remarked that it was the most out-of-town fans he had ever seen for a game. And they were rockin' the red and were just as noisy and at times even louder than the 40,000 Pens fans. Of course they had more reason to celebrate with their team doing so well on the ice.

After so many seasons of frustration and disappointment at the hands of the hated Pens, for one night at least it was time for the Pens to get a taste of their own medicine and for the Caps to savor a big win over their arch rivals.

The NHL has decided to move the Winter Classic from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday because of consistent weather forecasting calling for rain showers in the Pittsburgh area throughout the morning and afternoon hours. The rain is supposed to stop around 6 p.m., which should give ice crew chief Dan Craig enough time to prepare the surface for an 8:12 p.m. puck drop.

Moving the game to prime time is not only the right decision, but in my view the event will actually benefit from the time shift because all but one of the college football bowl games will be over by Saturday night and therefore the Winter Classic should attract more viewers and get more attention from the media.

And really, would we want anything else from a Caps-Pens, Sid-Ovi matchup than on a cold winter night under the bright lights of Heinz Field with the sparkling Pittsburgh skyline as a backdrop for all the world to see?

This is going to be great. Here is video of NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly discussing the decision:

Preparations began for the Winter Classic as soon as the Pittsburgh Steelers game ended last night at Heinz Field. Also last night, hockey fans were treated to a thrilling preview of the highly anticipated New Year's day matchup between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins when the two rivals battled in D.C. to a 2-2 overtime draw and seven rounds of the shootout before the Pens' Pascal Dupuis beat Caps goaltender Michal Neuvirth to win the game for the Pens. The Caps will be looking for revenge on January 1st at 1 p.m. in what will hopefully be an epic game on NBC.

Here is the live video of Heinz Field being transformed from a football stadium to a hockey stadium:

I just witnessed the Washington Capitals suffer perhaps their worst loss in the Alex Ovechkin era with a 7-0 thrashing by the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on a cold, rainy December night in Manhattan. The defeat extended the Caps' losing streak to six games and will inevitably lead to hand wringing by the media and soul searching from the top to bottom in the organization. As a Caps fan, I have not felt this deflated since the Game 7 loss to the Montreal Canadiens after blowing a 3-1 lead in the first round of last year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

Maybe the biggest question this organization has to answer is a structural one. When owner Ted Leonsis and General Manager George McPhee decided to blow up the team and rebuild, they drafted, picked up in free agency and traded for high-flying, offense-first players -- Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, just to name a few. And when the Caps are cruising through the regular season in the weak Southeast Division and goals are coming easy, then the offense first structure looks brilliant. But when the playoffs roll around and offense is at a premium and defense is emphasized, then the house of cards collapses and the Capitals are simply awful. That was evident the past three years in seven-game losses to the Flyers, Penguins and Canadiens. This season, McPhee acknowledged the defensive deficiency when he traded offensive-minded forward Tomas Fleischmann for stay-at-home defenseman Scott Hannan.

Even with Hannan however, the perhaps fatal flaw in the structure of the Capitals is being exposed by an improved Southeast Division. The Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning are now right on the tail of the Caps in the standings and are threatening to leave the Caps in the dust if the slump continues. And the game tonight against the Rangers exposed every weakness the Caps have been criticized for -- too young, too much offense, not enough defense, not mentally strong, no heart, no killer instinct, no identity, no discipline.

So as the Winter Classic date of January 1st quickly comes up, the Caps are a team in turmoil. It is gut check time to say the least for the team that won the Presidents Trophy last year and has received so much hype and given so much hope to long-suffering Caps fans who have poured their hard-earned money and their hearts out for this team by rocking the red at the Verizon Center every game night after years of disappointment.

We will soon find out the true character of this team at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

And the team they will face is red-hot, having won 12 straight games. And their Captain Sidney Crosby has an 18-game point streak. With their most recent win at Buffalo, the Pens matched a franchise-best by winning their seventh consecutive road game. And Pittsburgh is pulling away from the pack atop the standings with a record of 21-8-2 for 44 points.

It should also be noted that Crosby and the Penguins have already proven themselves by getting to the Stanley Cup Finals three years ago and winning the Cup two years ago. On that magical Cup run they also beat the Caps in a thrilling seven-game series which ended with a 6-2 blowout at Verizon Center (see above for all the reasons why that happened).

So needless to say, as these two proud franchises clash outdoors in front of 65,000 fans and millions watching around the world, it really shouldn't be a contest. The Pens should blow out the Caps. But then again, when these two teams get together you can just throw out win streaks or losing streaks and get ready for one of the fiercest rivalries in all of sports.

NBC's Crosby-Ovechkin Winter Classic preview:

The NHL's Southeast Division until as recently as last season was considered the weakest division in hockey. Except for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers were awful compared to the rest of the league.

But ten games into this young season there have been noticeable improvements in every team, most notably the Lightning, who as of October 31st have the second best record in the league at 7-2-1 for 15 points -- one point behind the Los Angeles Kings.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:



New General Manager Steve Yzerman has brought his wealth of experience and winning ways from the Detroit Red Wings to this franchise and has started to put the pieces together to rebuild the Bolts into a championship-caliber team that will challenge the Caps for Southeast supremacy.

In the offseason, Yzerman resigned Martin St. Louis; signed defensemen Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and goaltender Dan Ellis; and brought in Simon Gagne via trade. Those acquisitions added to an already potent lineup that includes Vincent Lecavalier and reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner and goal-scoring machine Steven Stamkos. Last season Stamkos finished with 51 goals and 44 assists for 91 points.

ATLANTA THRASHERS:



The Thrashers, or Chicago South, made a bunch of big moves in the offseason. It started with the organization deciding not to renew the contract of Head Coach Jon Anderson and his coaching staff. Former General Manager Don Waddell was promoted to President of Hockey Operations, Rick Dudley former Assistant GM was promoted to General Manager.

The first move was a major nine-player trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that brought Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and Akim Aliu to Atlanta. Later the Thrashers also traded for Blackhawk Andrew Ladd. The next day the team named Craig Ramsay as the new head coach, along with new staff in other key positions within the organization.

The Thrashers currently sit in third place in the Southeast division with a record of 5-4-2 for 12 points.

CAROLINA HURRICANES:

After an atrocious start to last season, one in which they finished with only 35 wins, the Canes are rebuilding with a youth movement and a veteran goaltender to back them up. So far in this young season former Vezina Award winner Cam Ward has been playing brilliantly.

Carolina has a mix of proven veterans like Ward, Captain Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruttu and Erik Cole and young talent like Jeff Skinner, Brandon Sutter, and eventually, when they are called up, Jon Matsumoto and Bobby Sanguinetti.

The Canes are currently sitting at 5-5-0 with 10 points.

FLORIDA PANTHERS:



The Panthers still have a ways to go until they become an elite team in the NHL. But they are making progress. And they might just be able to avoid the distinction of being the first city with ten consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, although they are probably too soon in their rebuild to make the postseason.

Like the Hurricanes, the Panthers at least have a rock-solid goaltender in Thomas Vokoun, who has the ability to keep them in every game. And new General Manager Dale Tallon is beginning to put his imprint upon the organization. Tallon built the Blackhawks to the current Stanley Cup championship team so the Panthers are in good hands.

Some of the players Tallon nabbed in the offseason were blueliner Dennis Wideman and forward Steve Bernier. Tallon also added Christopher Higgins, Marty Reasoner, Mike Santorelli and Mike Weaver.

The new-look Panthers are currently 4-5-0 with eight points.

A tougher Southeast Division is good for professional hockey because it makes more games competitive and means that there will be more of a fight for every playoff spot. Also, the Capitals are finding out that they won't be able to cruise through the regular season like they have in past years, and the rest of the league is starting to figure out that they can't take any Southeast Division opponent for granted.

The Washington Capitals unveiled their Winter Classic uniforms on Saturday at their fan convention, which was held for the first time in downtown D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center just a few blocks from the Verizon Center.

The Caps will be sporting their red, white and blue throwback jerseys worn from 1974-1975 to 1994-1995. The players will be wearing the road white jerseys with red pants and red helmets. Former Capitals Yvon Labre and Rod Langway joined current Cap Alex Ovechkin (pictured above signing autographs with Caps forward Mathieu Perreault) on the stage to model the uniforms, which will go on sale in November.

The Winter Classic on January 1st against the Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and the HBO "24/7" reality series leading up to the big game were hot topics at the panel discussions throughout the day.

"When you have a big event like this you want to get the best matchup to drive the most attention and really create as much expectation as you possibly can," said NHL COO John Collins. "This was the matchup that everybody wanted. People had talked about why haven't the Capitals been in it before. So we're just happy we were able to pull it off. We're happy that the Capitals organization agreed to do it. And I think the fact that HBO "24/7" now is going to follow the Caps and Pens all the way into the Winter Classic I think is great for the sport and obviously great for the organization."

Caps General Manager George McPhee weighed in on the HBO series: "I think it's a great opportunity to expose this team and this game to not only hockey people but non-hockey people. Some people are going to watch it that have never seen hockey and go 'that is pretty cool.'"

More pictures from the Caps Convention:

























Caps owner Ted Leonsis signs autographs

Caps General Manager George McPhee answers questions

Left to right: Caps PA Announcer Wes Johnson, Caps forward Mike Knuble, NHL COO John Collins and Caps Head Equipment Manager Brock Myles discuss the upcoming Caps-Pens Winter Classic game in Pittsburgh.

The Washington Capitals unveiled their Winter Classic uniforms on Saturday at their fan convention, which was held for the first time in downtown D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center just a few blocks from the Verizon Center.

The Caps will be sporting their red, white and blue throwback jerseys worn from 1974-1975 to 1994-1995. The players will be wearing the road white jerseys with red pants and red helmets. Former Capitals Yvon Labre and Rod Langway joined current Cap Alex Ovechkin (pictured above signing autographs with Caps forward Mathieu Perreault) on the stage to model the uniforms, which will go on sale in November.

The Winter Classic on January 1st against the Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and the HBO "24/7" reality series leading up to the big game were hot topics at the panel discussions throughout the day.

"When you have a big event like this you want to get the best matchup to drive the most attention and really create as much expectation as you possibly can," said NHL COO John Collins. "This was the matchup that everybody wanted. People had talked about why haven't the Capitals been in it before. So we're just happy we were able to pull it off. We're happy that the Capitals organization agreed to do it. And I think the fact that HBO "24/7" now is going to follow the Caps and Pens all the way into the Winter Classic I think is great for the sport and obviously great for the organization."

Caps General Manager George McPhee weighed in on the HBO series: "I think it's a great opportunity to expose this team and this game to not only hockey people but non-hockey people. Some people are going to watch it that have never seen hockey and go 'that is pretty cool.'"

More pictures from the Caps Convention:

























Caps owner Ted Leonsis signs autographs

Caps General Manager George McPhee answers questions

Left to right: Caps PA Announcer Wes Johnson, Caps forward Mike Knuble, NHL COO John Collins and Caps Head Equipment Manager Brock Myles discuss the upcoming Caps-Pens Winter Classic game in Pittsburgh.

Multiple sources have reported this morning that Home Box Office network is bringing "Hard Knocks" to the National Hockey League with "24/7 Penguins/Capitals Road to the Winter Classic" -- an in-depth reality series in the weeks leading up to the highly anticipated showdown on New Year's Day at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

This announcement is a real coup for the NHL and almost assuredly will bring in boffo ratings to the cabler (to use my former employer Variety's slanguage dictionary) and will also likely assure sky high ratings for the game pitting Alex Ovechkin's team against Sidney Crosby's team.

According to NHL.com, it marks the first time HBO will document two teams simultaneously and the first time teams will be filmed in the middle of a season.

The first episode will air on December 15th at 10 p.m. EST with an encore at 11 p.m. and subsequent episodes will air on the following Wednesdays at 10 p.m. with multiple replay dates and the ability to watch the shows anytime on HBO On Demand.