The Hockey Stop

This past Super Bowl weekend was simply awesome for fans of hockey and football, and specifically followers of the Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals and New Orleans Saints.

Most of the Monday morning water-cooler discussions rightfully centered on the Saints' feel-good victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami. New Orleans' win was the tonic this nation needed to have something to feel good about in the midst of a seemingly endless jobs drought and divisive rhetoric about, well, almost every issue being debated in Washington. Plus the still raw memories of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

This nation and the city of New Orleans needed a Saints victory and we got it. So thanks to Drew Brees and company for a hell of a performance last Sunday. You gave the whole country (outside of Indianapolis) something to celebrate and come together over and that is special.

If the Saints had won the Super Bowl and nothing else happened that would have been enough. But two of perhaps the most exciting hockey games of the year took place in rainy Los Angeles and snowy Washington, D.C. and what a treat they were!

First on Saturday afternoon at Staples Center I was lucky enough to nab two $100 seats for $20 each from my co-worker to the game. So my friend and I hopped on the subway and headed downtown to the arena where we took our seats seven rows up and one section to the right of the visitors bench. I was so close I could almost hear backup goalie Chris Osgood talking shop with Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and the rest of the Detroit Red Wings teammates.

The many Detroiters in attendance had a lot to cheer about in the first period as the Wings built up a seemingly impenetrable 3-0 lead going into the intermission. But then the Kings came alive and scored four unanswered goals in the final two periods to win 4-3 on a shot by Michael Handzus past Jimmy Howard to send the purple-and-black-clad fans into a frenzy.

The win was L.A.'s ninth straight, which set a franchise record for consecutive wins. As I waited for the Blue Line train at the Pico station with the celebratory Kings fans, I couldn't wait for NBC's national telecast of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in D.C.

Because of the record snowfall in D.C. the game was somewhat in doubt. The Pens had lost in Montreal 5-3 the day before and since the D.C. area airports were closed they had to fly to Newark and take a bus down to Washington. They even stopped at a rest stop in Maryland to pick up some Burger King (I won't say it was the fast food that caused the Penguins to lose because the meat industry might sue me).

Like the Kings, the Caps had to overcome a three goal deficit to extend their winning streak to a mind-boggling 14 games -- only three short of tying Pittsburgh's 17-game streak set in 1993. The Caps were down 4-1 before Eric Fehr cut the lead to one and then two goals by Alex Ovechkin for a hat trick tied the game before a near capacity crowd ready to let loose after the Great Blizzard of 2010. Caps fans were rocking the red at the VC no matter what the conditions were. They probably would have sledded across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, along the National Mall and up 7th Street to get to the game if that was the only form of transportation.

And the Caps provided these loyal, courageous fans with a thrilling finish. With everyone in Capitals Nation still feeling the bitter sting of the 7th game playoff loss to the Pens last year, the Caps turned the table for at least one day by beating the Pens 5-4 in overtime off a Mike Knuble tip-in past Marc-Andre Fleury to send the red-clad crowd into the snow happy (and this Caps fan doing cartwheels in his apartment in Los Angeles).

What a weekend!

Other notable news from around the rink:

Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke's son dies

The hockey world is in mourning over the tragic loss of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke's son Brendan at the age of 21. Burke, the student manager of Miami University's NCAA hockey team in Oxford, Ohio, died along with a friend at the scene of a two-vehicle collision during heavy snow in Wayne County, Indiana at around 2:50 p.m. Friday. Brendan was driving back from Michigan State in East Lansing because he was interested in attending the law school there.

Burke's youngest son made headlines last November when his father revealed to the media that his son was gay.

"I think it's important my story is told to people because there are a lot of gay athletes out there and gay people working in pro sports that deserve to know there are safe environments where people are supportive regardless of your sexual orientation," Burke said.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a news release that Brendan was "a young man of courage and character. Words simply cannot express our sorrow over his loss."

New owner for Lightning

Boston Red Sox minority owner Jeff Vinik has agreed to buy the Tampa Bay Lightning pending approval from the league's Board of Governors. The St. Petersburg Times writes about how GM Brian Lawton will be on the hot seat as he tries to impress his new boss.

Caps-Pens TV ratings

NBC's broadcast of the Caps-Pens last Super Bowl Sunday scored a 1.3 overnight rating, which tied the season high of the Pens-Flyers telecast of two weeks ago. It was also the best ever rating for a Pittsburgh-Washington game.

Caps embrace social media

The Washington Post's Gene Wang has a story on the Caps and owner Ted Leonsis' embrace of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to promote the team. Here is an excerpt courtesy of Kukla's Korner Hockey Blog:

"The Washington Capitals in recent years have moved more aggressively than any other NHL team toward embracing social media Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook, targeting supporters who get their information from non-traditional outlets.

Now, with the team in the midst of a franchise-record winning streak led by one of the world’s most dynamic hockey players in Alex Ovechkin, owner Ted Leonsis is hoping the social media strategy will pay off in expanding the club’s popularity and engagement with fans.

“The team blew up, and the team got great with really young kids who were very identifiable by the same generation that used that technology,” Leonsis said last week from his office at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. “So the co-mingling of this understanding of social media and technology and the team doing great, and the city wanting a winner, has really made this a very magical time for the franchise.”

Leafs-Ducks-Flames in huge deal

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke had seen enough.

The storied franchise has been mired in mediocrity in recent years and this year has been particularly bad with the Maple Leafs sitting second to bottom in the league with a record of 17-28-11 for 45 points.

Toronto aims to get back on the right track with this blockbuster deal pulled off Sunday -- Toronto gets defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Calgary and Stanley Cup-winning goalie J.S. Giguere from Anaheim.

The rest of the seven-player deal with the Flames includes right wing Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White.

My opinion? This is a smart move for Toronto. They needed to shake things up and as the old saying goes -- defense wins Cups and the Leafs just added two stonewalls in back of their blue line. And Phaneuf has the ability to light the lamp often as well, which is always a plus with a defenseman.

Sale of Tampa Bay Lightning could come soon

The financial mess the Lightning face -- the NHL had to bail the ownership out to make payroll -- could soon be resolved, according to a report in the St. Petersburg Times.

The report says that talks are underway about selling the team to Boston hedge fund manager Jeff Vinik. The article says there is speculation that an NHL-brokered deal could happen swiftly.

Many Lightning fans are likely rooting for this deal because the current ownership is not very popular because of their non-hockey background and flashy Hollywood-type decisions such as hiring Barry Melrose as head coach. We all know how that worked out. On the other hand, Vinik is a minority partner in the Boston Red Sox so he knows about how to run a winning franchise. He also managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund in the 1990s so he is wise to the financials and would probably not get himself into a situation where he fails to pay his players.

But the most intriguing part of the story? The speculation from The Hockey News that Vinny Lecavalier may be traded in order for the team to cut costs. Lecavalier would have to waive his no-move clause. He is in his first year of an 11-year, $85 million deal. One potential place Lecavalier could end up is Los Angeles. To be continued ...

Caps aim for franchise record Tuesday

Speaking of the Lightning, the Washington Capitals beat them 3-2 in a matinee affair at the Verizon Center Sunday on a game-winning third period tally from Alex Ovechkin. The win was the Caps' 10th straight, which ties the franchise mark set in 1984.

The red-hot Caps have a chance to set the franchise record for most consecutive regular season wins on Tuesday when they face off against the struggling Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden.

And while Washington's explosive league-leading offense has propelled the team to victory after victory, solid penalty killing and clutch saves from Jose Theodore and Michael Neuvirth have contributed as well.

I've been saying for awhile that the Capitals are one shutdown defenseman away from being a Stanley Cup contender. I still believe General Manager George McPhee will be shopping for a veteran sacrifice-the-body-in-front-of-the-net blueliner to put the final piece of the puzzle in place for a Stanley Cup run.

The goaltending situation I believe to be resolved as this past winning streak has shown. Number one goalie Simeon Varlamov is nearing a return from injury and has been getting some important schooling from Caps goaltending coach Arturs Irbe. Varlamov is sure to match his high skill level with more maturity when he returns. That said, veteran Jose Theodore is playing his best hockey since he became a Cap, and rookie Michael Neuvirth has been playing solid under pressure. Plus there is highly touted prospect Braydon Holtby, who has been tearing it up in Hershey but has yet to play an NHL game. Needless to say, the future between the pipes for the Caps is a bright one.

Jonathan Quick with save of the year?

I expect to be watching a replay of L.A. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick's unbelievable save on the ESPY Awards.

On Sunday in New Jersey, the talented young netminder was sprawled on the ice with bodies in front of him blocking his view when a Devil lifted the puck off the ice into an open net only to see Quick's glove hand rise up and snap the puck out of the air. All this while Quick's eyes were probably staring at the skate blade of one of the players in front of him. It was spectacular and one of the reasons the Kings rallied with two goals late in the third period to win 3-2 and go 5-0 on their road trip.

The Kings are certainly ready for the playoffs and could potentially ride their hot goalie deeper into the postseason than many pundits think they will go.

Here are the game highlights. Quick's spectacular save is at the 4:35 mark: