Pittsburgh-Washington: Blowout Finish in Tight Series Will Spark Lasting Rivalry

Usually when people write "no one expected this," a few people could have seen that result coming.

But with the Pittsburgh Penguins' 6-2 destruction of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, a tight contest was what everyone predicted.

Only one game in the series before Tuesday was decided by more than a goal. Three of the previous six games had gone to overtime.

And the stars were shining. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin had dueling hat tricks in game two. Ovechkin scored a late third-period goal to force overtime in game five, and Crosby did the same thing in game six.

When Crosby stole the puck from Ovechkin for Pittsburgh's final goal Tuesday, Alex the Great fell to the ice and could only watch behind him as Sid the Kid bolted down the rink and finessed the puck through Jose Theodore's legs.

The game was a big disappointment for Versus and the NHL because it was over about 28 seconds into the second period when Bill Guerin ripped a shot past Simeon Varlamov. Game seven did not live up to the competitiveness of the first six games.

But the NHL got something great instead: a hatred between Crosby and Ovechkin and also between Pittsburgh and Washington that will last for a solid decade.

Nothing's guaranteed, but these two should meet again in the playoffs some time in the near future, and everyone will be talking about that series.

Regular-season contests between the two will draw enough hype on their own, but future post-season series will have fans and the league salivating.

Crosby drew a huge double-minor penalty in the third period Tuesday night when he took a stick in his face, and that set up his breakaway goal. He also had an assist and another goal of his own.

But as Ovechkin lay on the ice, watching Crosby put that breakaway through Theodore's five hole, he was surely thinking of next year.

He'll get his chances in the future.

This series belonged to the Penguins, but Ovechkin and the Caps are going to remember this humiliating defeat.

They'll remember their silenced fans who were all clad in red and ready to cheer their Capitals to the Eastern Conference Finals.

They'll remember Sidney Crosby and the Penguins celebrating on their ice while they mourned after a hard loss.

And that's a win for hockey fans everywhere.