59 thoughts on “Last Night the Better Team Won”

1. Why the white-out? Sharp comment. Could it have anything to do with the whole Igloo, Penguins theme of the team? Snow?

   Have you ever witnessed a black snow, Teddy? Yeah, me either.

2. Ted,

   Do you like Fishsticks?

3. Ted,

   Pens fans put a lot of money in your pocket over the years when you couldn’t sell out your building and Pens fans took over your arena just about every time they played in Washington.

   White outs are a hockey tradition, dating back to the Winnipeg Jets. Black outs are juvenile and foolish as it makes it harder to see the puck for goalies. No NHL team would endorse a black out for this reason.

   Washington’s cheering section in Mellon arena should consist of two empty rows of red seats somewhere in section C, as that would have the same effectiveness as the Caps fans that do attend the games.

4. The Pens hand out white towels / shirts because if you go to one of our games so many people have different jerseys. At a given game you’ll see home jerseys, away jerseys, powder blue throwbacks, vintage jerseys, hell I have Sergei Gonchar’s Traktor Chelyabinsk jersey for games some times.

5. Pens fans in Pittsburgh, like Steeler fans in Heinz, hold sway because they buy season tix and don’t give up their seats for big games. I have friend in Pgh who turned down $1000/seat for the Dallas regular season game this year. After the embarrassing show by Redskins fans on MNF vs Steelers, I don’t blame you for taking some measures to avoid dissipating 1/3 of your homefield advantage. But the solution is selling out season tix and tix holders not turning to Craigslist or Stubhub for some easy cash. No one will rip you for keeping out opposing fans if you do it the right way. The screening is seriously bush league.

6. They white out because a black out would make the puck impossible for both goalies to see.

7. Brian,
   I am not debating whether it is selfish or not, just reminding you that your pens have made the same practice in the past in order to shut another fan base out (detroit last year). I do not recall pen fans complaining about it then, only now. Also; you are not “told” you can’t buy tickets because of who it is you support, it is based on zip-code. I personally am a Caps season ticket holder but I live in Seattle, I don’t even receive the password for additional playoff ticket sales, but my sister’s neighbor here in Virginia (who is a die-hard pens fan) does, and managed to get an extra pair for game 5. Stop whining, unless you complained about it when your own team did it. You sound like crosby, I will wait to see him complain to the refs about hats being thrown on the ice in pitts next time he gets a hat trick there. If cindy does that at home, and pen fans complain when their own team only sells tickets to locals, then maybe people wont use the term WHINER.

8. Dave,
   I don’t live in Fairfax county. I’m not in “Nova.” I am told that i am a penguins fan and cannot purchase tickets. Whether I can or not is not important to me. I am not that selfish. It’s the concept.

9. Hey Ted. Pens fan here. You put me in the difficult position of having to root against a fellow Greek’s team.

   I have to disagree about the White Out/Red Out issue. First of all, we can’t do black because not only would it not be as noticible, but also because as others have mentioned, a sea of black with a black puck wouldn’t work too well.
   Furthermore, the white out is a gimmick. As is the red out, or the Flyers’ orange out, or any other team telling its fans to all wear the same color t-shirt. We only do it occasionally. (The players seem to like it.) But I never understood teams that do it all the time.
   And you guys don’t hand out the red shirts? So your fans all just buy those “rock the red” shirts? In addition to jerseys? You sir are a genius if you can get people to fork over that much cash.
   Anyway, Kyrios Leonsis, best of luck, whenever you’re not playing my Pens.

10. Penguins…”The Igloo”…does the whiteout make sense now?

11. The white out is done because of a few reasons. #1 I believe last year it was Dallas? Correct me if I am wrong that did a black out first in the playoffs. Goalies complained because they lost the puck. #2 Red is a very attainable constant color, try and find a vegas gold outside of the Pitt Zoo is difficult. #3 Free white t-shirts are given out to advertise, they do not have to do it but companies hand them out for free (I mean who doesnt own a white shirt?) just a nice gesture

12. What is it with pens fans? Your team has done the same thing, but I guess you’ve forgotten how concerned your organization was about Detroit fans being in your building during the finals last year that they did the same thing in order to try and shut them out. Besides, you say you are a pen’s fan living in Virginia, well, Virginia is in the DC metro area so it would be a non issue if you live in the area. Stop whining.

13. Ted, the move to now allow Pens fans from anywhere, or Caps fans from Pittsburgh to buy tickets is disappointing. I thought you had better morals and actually cared about the game of hockey. Sure it is probably doing what is best for the Capitals organization, but you are hurting so many other individuals. I personally live in Virginia and am a Penguins fan who cannot travel to Mellon Arena. I have always looked forward to the Pens/Caps games in DC as a chance to get to see hockey games. Why would you not let me purchase tickets to these playoff games in DC? Am I a threat? You are building a hatred between these two organizations instead of what should be a mutual respect. Rivalries don’t have to include hate. I live with a Caps fan and we can watch the game side by side at our apartment, yet you will forbid that from happening at a live venue in DC. Ted, you should be embarrassed. You have used your power in a corrupt and abusive way, and it is a shame. I hate to be one that wishes misfortune but i do believe in a little bit of karma. Perhaps one day you will be in a situation where you will need a person from Pittsburgh to help you, one who you turned away, maybe they help you maybe they don’t. I would still help you, but i would be foolish to guarantee the same from others that you have shunned. Please be more considerate, Ted.

14. If Mario Lemieux can use the public restrooms, so can you. Pens in 6!

15. Pen Fan here.

    Ted, class and sportsmanship go a long with hockey, and its best players and franchises. You don’t see drug-abusing, violent criminals playing hockey very long. By refusing Pens fans tickets and treating them poorly when they arrive, you are fostering a poor sporting environment.

    I would like to direct all the bandwagon Caps Fans, which refers to most caps fans, to Philadelphia to see how NOT to act. Don’t blame the refs, don’t blame the ice, just play the game. The classiest franchises in the league are also generally the best, considering the Pens and Wings are right back in successful playoff runs.

    If anything can undo a franchise, its a poor attitude. You know exactly what Jagr did to your chances while he was here. Please, Ted, be one of the classiest owners so your fans can follow that example.

16. Ted, love the blog. Hate your practice of denying fans outside certain area codes access to the building. Unfortunately for you, when you decided to start the practice back in 2000 (I think this is when it started) I was able to get tickets for a friend and I for game 5 when the Pens won the series. The fans on both sides have been passionate about their teams and respectful of opposing fans. This is in direct contrast to Philly fans who berate and belittle opposing fans and threaten physical harm. Great series, hope it continues the same way.

17. Re the white out. The Pens organization is giving away free shirts to its fans. The NHL Channel must not think it looks too “strange” — they use clips from our white outs on their Stanley Cup promos. (Anyone who knows about hockey knows that blackouts are not recommended.)

    Authenic?

    I would call 110 (and counting!) consectutive sellouts pretty authentic, Ted.

    Do it Pens!

18. Ted,

    Any chance you can release the arrival time of the plane tonight at dulles/reagan? IMO it would be great if a bunch of rowdy caps fans were there to welcome the team home.

19. “Traffic in Pittsburgh is as bad as traffic in DC at least during rush hour. Their city – like ours – needs to synch up those traffic lights.”

    I am guessing that is the reason you were late for your Sirius HNIC Radio interview. It did come up 10 minutes before game time though, which was great. The moderator comments after you finished were very nice.

    The playoffs are a long grind. I though the way that Varlamov played created a screaming opportunity for a win in overtime that would have made the Friday game a better time for a bit of a letdown. The Pens deserved to win but we almost stole the game. Looking forward to tonight and hope that Fehr, Semin, Federov, Erskine, Green and Poti all have fast healing powers.

20. Wonder if these white-outs make the players feel like they’re entertaining prisoners at a mega-jail. Nice choice, Pittsburgh!

21. Interesting “take” Ted. I believe the white out at the Igloo is a tradition dating back to the great Penguin teams of the 90s when the Pens wore white at home. For example, Petr Nedved was wearing a dark, ‘away’ sweater when he scored his goal in the 4th OT in Washington in the 1996 playoffs. The new NHL jersey rule was not about to ruin a Pittsburgh tradition (that along with our Terrible Towels). And, regarding your more “authentic Red-Outs.” I think the Penguins organization gives away free T-shirts as a way to show gratitude to the fans with the most consecutive sell outs in professional hockey.

    Just sayin…

22. And to clarify about white outs vs. black outs, I have heard that the NHL does not like the concept of black outs because as steve (6) mentioned it has the potential to limit puck visibility when the puck is airborne, etc. It makes sense to me.

    I’d like a yellow out, but the problem there is that we no longer wear any yellow on our jerseys since our alternates are the powder blues (which I don’t like very much). I much prefer the jerseys from the ’80s and early ’90s. Loved the all yellow ones.

23. Since you guys have been all over the media with mentions of the officiating thus far in the series, I think that your comment of “In OT, we were once again playing short-handed. I cannot remember an OT game where we had a 5 on 4 advantage, can you?” needs to be addressed. Of all the penalty calls that are available for you to harp on from the game, you have chosen the one that is the least objective from an official’s standpoint. The penalty that put the Penguins powerplay unit on the ice in OT was assessed to Brian Pothier for a delay of game after he put the puck over the glass during a failed clearing attempt. If you have a problem with going down a man in a tight overtime game, then I’d suggest you make sure your players don’t make stupid mistakes that happen to be against the rules. Just saying…

    P.S. For the record, I think that it is an awful rule. Refs should be given penalties for delaying the game by assessing a delay of game penalty.

24. Hey, any chances you might let us Pens fans who live in VA come to the game?

25. How “authentic” is the red out, when you actively try to prohibit the opposing team’s fans from attending the game? That’s just poor sportsmanship. You weren’t turning away the Penguins fans years ago, when you couldn’t come close to filling your building ….

    Anywhoos, great series so far, each game has been more than living up to the billing. Hope it continues on Friday!

26. Apparently people over at the Post-Gazette are taking this entry as an attack on the greatness that is Pittsburgh.

    It wouldn’t be Pittsburgh without the “pit”…right?

    http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/emptynetters/archive/2009/05/07/ted-leonsis-hates-pittsburgh-5-7-09.aspx

    And yes, I agree that the “White Out” scheme was too forced. “Anything you can do I can do better!”…not.

27. I couldn’t figure out the “white out” situation either since the Caps were the ones wearing white jerseys as the visiting team. Seemed like they should have had a “yellow out” or “black out”. I agree that it is not an authentic “white out” if you have to give out free t-shirts to the home fans to make it happen!! Not like our Caps fans who ROCK THE RED wearing their own red outfits that they paid for themselves!!! Way to go CAPS fans!! We have even gotten into buying and ringing the ROCK THE RED cowbells that are for sale at the Verizon Center, including you Ted!! We Need More Cowbell!!!

    I felt bad for Varly as the only one to really have a stellar game – he really deserved better for his efforts. Even though we were outworked by the Pens in game 3 it would have been nice to have stolen a victory in Pittsburgh which with Varly’s play we almost did. We need to come out and play better in game 4 and play 60 minutes of Caps Playoff Hockey. LET’S GO CAPS!!

28. Hey Ted, Pens fan here, enjoy reading your perspective on things though. I have to gripe with your view that the penalty calls were inconsistent though. As you said, your team got outplayed last night. I’m sure you’re well aware that most of the time when one team is outplaying another as was the case last night, the team working harder tends to draw more penalties. Also, it’s not like the refs had a choice in calling a delay of game penalty in OT. That’s a concrete call every time.

29. From a Pens fan, I am glad to hear that you love the journey to the public bathroom. I guess that is why we need a new arena!

    As to the white-out, we always wear the opponents color. It is tradition.

30. Ted..the refs were so biased last night..come on..8 pp’s. Our guys were freaking exhausted…the VS announcers were blatantly Guins fans…and so were the refs…that game was totally biased!!! Give us just half those pp’s and we will dominate the Guins!!!We were only outplayed because we were limited to four guys for 16 minutes….GO CAPS!!!

31. Yea, although the white-out doesn’t make sense, the NHL isn’t a fan of black-outs for contrast reasons, because, well the puck is black.

    Blue out wouldn’t work, because the colors just aren’t our primary ones.

    Yellow out would work, but man, I can hear the jokes coming now. Tough to really come up with a good catch phrase or marketable way to push along a “yellow out.”

    So yea, as backwards as a white-out may seem, as a penguins fan I’m still content with it.

    I still think this thing will be a 7 game fight to the end.

32. Last night was not the Caps best effort in this series. But the refs were just awful. How can anyone who watched honestly say that in playoff hockey one team has just 3-4 penalties the entire game while the other has 10-11? I mean it reminded me of the NBA when Jordan played and the refs just swallowed the whistle when ever he was around the ball. You cant tell me the Pens didnt commit more penalties than that last night. Does anyone else agree or am I just a partisan homer?

33. The Penguins play in the Civic Arena (now the Mellon Arena), which is nicknamed the Igloo. Does a ‘white out’ make more sense now?

34. The series could have easily been 3 to 0. Varley played great – none of the Pens goals were his fault last night.

    BTW, why do they play back to back – Friday and Saturday?

35. Wow, Ted, the inferiority complex is worse than I’d thought. After surviving 3 years in DC as a Pens fan, I thought I’d heard it all, but really, criticizing the color of a free gift to fans to wear for a game? Calling your Red Outs “more authentic”? The reason they all have red tee shirts is because they all bought them last year when they jumped on the bandwagon.

36. Thanks for coming out last month for Tim Armstrong. We are happy that he wants the “old guard” to be part of AOL.

    The white out is traditional from the old Winnipeg Jets. They did it in the 80′s. I think Crosby suggested doing it last year or two years ago.

    Go Pens.

37. “In OT, we were once again playing short-handed. I cannot remember an OT game where we had a 5 on 4 advantage, can you?”

    Off the top of my head, I can’t remember a 5-4 advantage. But I do remember Juneau got penatly shot for a delay of game in the 2nd OT of the Nedved game. Of course, that was a powerplay goal too.

38. Hey, I’m a Pens Fan

    They don’t wear black because then the goalie wouldn’t be able to see the puck when it was up higher, off of the ice, which would be a bit of an issue. And, they tell people that they don’t have to wear white, because the handout is the t-shirt. Pretty awesome give-away.

    And by the way, we’re going to win, so there.

39. Ted:

    The better team did in fact win last night. Unfortuantely the team consisted of the Penquins and the refs, which is disconcerting.

    As we learned in the past the best team does not always win, but the team that refuses to lose rarely does. That team was not the Capitals last night.

    So, as you say on to games 4 & 5. By tomorrow night at approximately 10:00 PM the MOST IMPORTANT game the Capitals will have played this season will be over. We MUST WIN.

    Jimi

40. Pens fan here,

    It was requested by the Pens players last year, and this is based on the tradition that was done by the Winnipeg Jets, since 87. Here is a link.

    http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=361424

41. Enjoy your blog most of the time but as a Pens fan I take offense to some of your comments here.

    It’s not a Blue Out because blue isn’t one of our actual colors, it’s just the third jersey. It’s not a Black Out because the league advised against it due to safety concerns to protect the players (especially goalies) from losing the puck in the crowd. Not a Yellow Out (actually our color is gold) because it’s not one of our main jersey colors. The White Out is the same color as one of our jerseys, also a White Out is how these things started in other sports (whiting out the other team, like erasing a mistake on a term paper).

    Most people have black jerseys so if we had a black out, ours would be just as “authentic” as yours but due to safety concerns we don’t use that color. And it’s nice that you think it’s authentic to sell “Rock the Red” t-shirts for $20 a pop, but here in Pittsburgh the team appreciates the fan support enough that they will gladly provide us with things for free rather than gouging us for extra money … but to each his own.

42. The White Out is a throw-back to two things. First, the days when the home team wore white (they switched for the ’03-04 season). Second, the Winnipeg (Jets) White-Outs, where the fans were encouraged to wear white (home color) to support the team. A newspaper journalist wrote added recently that a “black-out” might make it dangerous for players to distinguish the puck when it isn’t on the ice or for fans if the puck goes into the stands. Nice blog though. Great series, probably will go 7 exciting games.

43. Ted,

    I’m a diehard Penguins fan, but I appreciate your thoughts. You definitely have a good sense of humor and you know hockey better than a lot of owners do. I agree that the white outs are a terrible idea. Gold would be much better.

    Good luck the rest of the way, but not too much.

44. Absolutely. The GWINS “white out” when they are wearing dark jerseys is completely assinine. They are laughing stocks.

45. Ted, I agree with you about the white-outs. They make no sense. And they’re particularly bad because they make any red jerseys in the crowd stand out all the more.

    I’m sure you saw that pocket of Caps fans over in C20– they took up about three rows, six or seven across each row, and were having a good time (well, until the end).

    We ran into them walking out of the arena. Thankfully, while they took some slack, nearly all of it was of the non-profane variety, and they were neat kids who made a cool road trip.

    To make a long story short: having opposing fans in your building can add some flavor. Don’t fear it!

    (Also, while this preceded your ownership, the Capitals not only got an OT power play, they got an OT penalty shot (!) in 1996.)

46. Ted,

    As another commenter pointed out, the Pens do a whiteout because the blackout would be an issue for goaltenders. I wouldn’t mind them doing a gold-out, but I am not sure that would work well either. When your primary color is black, your options are limited.

    Total domination by the Pens last night, if the Caps don’t fix it, I’d say the Pens could win 3 straight and end this thing.

47. Yes, the Caps got outplayed but the officiating last night was atrocious. Just like the GM said, that 7:2 ratio is troubling and the refs seem content to let the other team take runs at SV, maybe it’s a rookie/non-superstar bias thing, I don’t know.

    At any rate, while the Caps didn’t do well, I’m encouraged that they tied it up and forced the Pens to win in OT. That shows character and I still have the utmost faith that the Caps will take this series.

48. If you’d like protection in the public washrooms, Ted, fly me to Pittsburgh and have me sit next to you. During breaks, I’ll cover your back as you…well, you know.

49. First off I would like to say I am born,raised and still living In South Philadelphia. Since the 1993-94 Season I became a die hard Washington Capitals Fan.
    I really loved the playing style of Al Iafrate,Kelly Miller,Sylvain Cote, Steve Konowalchuk,Peter Bondra, and of course Dale Hunter.
    I was hassled from family member and friends in high school for my love of the Capitals.
    I would go to every Capitals Vs. Flyers game in Philadelphia always rocking my Capitals Jersey very proudly. An enemy in my own city, an enemy to my own friends and family. I did not care. The Caps are my team and nothing and no one could change that.

    In 2001 I entered an AOL contest to win two tickets to a Capitals Home game. I WON!!! I still have the letter the envelope and both tickets. The Game was against the Florida Panthers and The Capitals lost 4-2. My first and only time at a Capitals home game.

    Fast Forward to today. My love for the Capitals is stronger then ever. It’s great to see my Favorite team for the last 16 years or so have such an amazing team
    one of the best fan bases in all of hockey. Makes me proud of all my years of loyalty and dedication following the Capitals in good years and in very bad years.

    We find ourselves once again playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs. So many heartbreaking memories in 95,96 and in the early 2000′s. Super Mario and Jagr now become Crosby and Gino, the nervousness’s and anxiety of a Capitals Penguins series fills me up once again.This time is a little different for me,
    something has changed. This Capitals team is like none I ever followed before. This is truly a superstar team with some of the best young talent in the NHL. With a great coach and owner, die hard fans and a never say die attitude. So please Capitals players and Fans in D.C. never give up never stop believing and please BEAT THE PENGUINS!!! Capitals fan for life

    -Salvatore- ROCK THE RED!

50. Last night’s game was very fishy…I was watching it on versus unfortunately (terrible onesided pitt commentators)
    But it wouldn’t take an Einstein to see the the game was being called unfairly
    This is exactly how the game went down…Pittsburg rushes our net slamming hard, then u see a 3 caps players fall down 1 at a time…no puck, then suddenly penalty for us…this happened many times…It makes it unpleasant to watch/ Look how Detroit got robbed/ I can’t even imagine if that had happened to us

51. We noticed the “strange” white shirt situation last night too. Good luck with the bathrooms on Friday night! The Caps can learn from last night and win on Friday!

52. nice, honest summary!

53. Teddy Ovechkin’s goal was SWEET! The Pens reaction slowed the pace of the game down. Somehow, we got caught up in that. Yes, we need to play more in their zone and pound them with shots on goal. But, even on not such a good day “the Caps” gave the Pens a run for their money. I am looking forward to Friday, so, we can set the record straight! Lets Go Caps!

54. Pens fan here. Good blog.

    I questioned the “white out” too, I haven’t verified this, but I heard that the league doesn’t like “black outs” – as it’s a safety issue with goalies & players seeing the pucks.

    I don’t know about using yellow – I don’t think that would look as good as white. (or red, comparing to your team).

55. Unfortunately I remember being short handed in OT… Game 7 last year against Philly. The Flyers scored the series winner on the power play…

56. arrived in dc this am…took red eye after ot loss…love the atmosphere here…finally cap vibe is everywhere in beltway…see you all at game 5 on saturday.

    btw-does it always rain here?

57. It was a rough loss last night. I agree that the ice seemed to be titled against us most of the night. Despite all of that Varly and some timely goals nearly stole a win. I believe that Caps can come out in game 4, play their game and take home a 3-1 series lead.

    I’m surprised for how much Pens fans crow about their white outs that the arena has to hand out shirts to make it happen. I’m unsure about the color selection as well; did the NHL switch home colors a little bit back? Would the Pens have been in white a decade or two back?

    In any case, GO CAPS! Hope to see you rocking the cowbell again at game five!

58. Brilliant blog!!! GO CAPS !!! Ted, tremendous thanks for the entire organization’s efforts for DC & the S.C. Silverware!!!

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1393532&l=47c4678bb4&id=666675955

59. Good points Ted…sometimes the other team plays better and you gotta take your lumps. I hope our guys can take it to the Pens on Friday and Saturday instead of being on the receiving end! Work harder and good things will happen!

    And my son said the same thing about the White Out…he said “aren’t their home jerseys black?” LOL