Written by DCist contributor Eli Resnick

Last night, the Washington Capitals lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They’ve been doing this for quite a while. In this so-called rivalry, the Penguins have owned the Capitals for decades. Well, okay, there was a night back around 1993 that the Capitals beat the Penguins 8-1, and there was one playoff series where the Capitals actually pulled through, but basically, as the NHL decides whether to build the rivalry between these two young teams into its marketing centerpiece of the new millennium, they have to recognize that the Capitals can’t beat the Penguins to save their lives.

Last night Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby made approximately equal contributions, battling for two points each, and anointed rookie-of-the-year Evgeni Malkin chipped in two points of his own and a shootout goal to turn the game in Pittsburgh’s favor. Capitals fans are left hoping that Niklas Backstrom makes as much of an impact next year, or that the two teams manage to avoid meeting in future playoffs.

This week’s worse news for some Caps fans is that Peter Bondra signed a contract on Sunday night with the Chicago Blackhawks. For fun, see if you can find the coverage of this momentous return to play for the Washington Capitals’ all-time leading scorer in the Washington Post or the Washington Times.

In fourteen seasons in Washington, Bondra rewrote the Capitals’ offensive record-book and earned himself a place in the hearts of the city. Then, in the spring of 2004, the Capitals traded Bondra to Ottawa for Brooks Laich, who’s scored three goals in his last three games, but is about as likely to lead the league in goal-scoring as George Bush is likely to enlist as a marine. Bondra led the NHL in goals twice, both times as a Capital. The team tried to re-sign him in the summer of 2005, but he ultimately signed with the Atlanta thrashers, disappointing fans and frustrating his old team, but instantaneously creating the first rivalry any Washingtonian cared about in the young Southeast division. This summer, Bondra’s agent called the Caps to say that Bondra was interested in playing in Washington again, and the team responded that they were not interested. Apparently, they meant it.

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