The Penguins play the Wild on Saturday.  Not only are my beloved hometown boys playing in front of a free, sold-out crowd (yes, you read that right), the Washington Capitals host their annual Caps Convention in D.C. the same day.

That same Saturday I will be in Washington.

This could get interesting.

I’m not going to squelch my support for the Penguins to appease the Caps fans.  I’m also not going to run in there with my fists swinging telling everyone what I really think about Alex Ovechkin.  I am, however, going to approach Capitals fans for interviews.  I want to know what makes this rivalry tick off the ice.

Anyone who watched HBO’s special 24/7 knows how the players feel about each other.  Ovechkin had a few choice names for my city.  A few Penguins reiterated that “we don’t like them, they don’t like us.”  However, I want to see what the fans really think about each other.  I’ve been to Philadelphia in a Penguins jersey and quite honestly, the only thing that kept my from returning with a black eye was that we were still the reigning Stanley Cup champions and the Flyers fans couldn’t deny that.

Washington will be different.  I’m nervous, I’m excited, but most of all, I’m excited about the return of hockey.

Let’s go Pens.