Today is the first Wednesday that hockey fans from all over, including myself, will be deprived of the Caps/Pens Road to the Winter Classic on HBO. It lasted four weeks and in my opinion it got better each week. Behind the scenes looks at both teams gave us insight on our favorite athletes, whether it was on the ice or at their homes.
As a Caps fan, the first episode was hard to watch because it took place during the nine-game losing streak. After one loss, Bruce Boudreau showed me that he took the losing streak personally when he used expletives in the locker room. On the other side of the equation the Pens were all laughs and smiles during their 12-game winning streak. Despite hating the Pens more than any other sports team on the planet, it was cool to see professionals pulling pranks on rookies and joking around in Pittsburgh.
As the show went on, the Caps started winning and it became more enjoyable seeing smiles in DC. My favorite part of the show came at the end point of the second episode in the Ottawa visiting locker room. The Caps ended their losing streak and capped off the night fist-pumping to DJ Pauly D in the locker room!
The third episode featured the first matchup between the Pens and Caps on Dec. 23. The Caps lost in a shootout ending in a 3-2 final. The next two days the teams were off and able to spend time with family and friends for the holidays. I enjoyed seeing teammates Marcus Johansson and Mike Green joining Nicklas Backstrom and his family for a Swedish Christmas Eve dinner. Bruce Boudreau revealed his humorous side when he was oblivious about Christmas gifts for his wife and craved ice cream in the morning at the mall.
From that point on both teams had their eyes on New Year’s Day and their chance at hockey history. They arrived in Pittsburgh and couldn’t celebrate New Year’s Eve like the rest of the world.
In the fourth episode all of the Washington Capitals, especially Ovi and Bruce ,displayed their never ending hatred for the Penguins. Bruce said “it’s two [expletive] points we’re going to take off these pricks here.” We all know how the game ended making the series that much better to watch with a Capitals win.
In the end the Penguins didn’t have the balls or respect to shake Washington’s hands after the game. The Capitals cherished the experience and enjoyed the periodical HBO cameras shadowing their every move. Bruce cracking a Bud Light in celebration of the epic win was all I needed to see to cap off this amazing four-week experience.
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