Hiding Your Light Under a Bushel: Penguins and Caps Lesser-Lights Shine

How well do you know the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals? Granted, there's Alexander Ovechkin who shows emotion every shift and is always proving his love for the game, there's Sidney Crosby who's being touted as the "Next One", and there's an ever-growing list of talented young hockey players on these rosters, ranging from Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom, to Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin. But after that, there are some solid players on these teams who are overshadowed by the seemingly endless supply of young phenoms. If you tuned in Sunday afternoon, then you may have noticed some contributions coming from other places. Yes Crosby got two goals, Ovechkin got two assists, and Staal and Malkin hooked up for an empty-net goal at the very end of the game to seal a 4-2 Penguin victory, but what about Brooks Laich, Quintin Laing, and Petr Sykora? For Washington, I was thoroughly impressed with both Laing and Laich. For every Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom a team ... (link)