FanHouse MarioLemieux

It's not exactly a national secret that hockey teams tend to go through coaching changes about as often as a high school kid goes through a change of clothes (speaking on personal experience, that's about once per year). As we begin the conference finals, it's probably worth pointing out that three of the four teams taking part -- the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks -- experienced a change behind the bench during the regular season.

There was a time when my favorite sport was, without hesitation, baseball. Recently, however, my interest in the game has been lost. Not because of a steroid scandal or the incompetence of Bud Selig, but mostly because the team I grew up cheering for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been a Major League Baseball team in name only and is currently working on its 17th consecutive losing season with no end in sight.

You might argue that makes me a fair-weather fan, but I disagree. My interest is so low that if, by some perfect storm -- like the rest of the National League halting operations and disbanding from the league -- the Pirates actually won something, I still probably wouldn't care as much as I should. I just don't care about baseball anymore, but I certainly don't begrudge those who still do. It's still a great game, even if my interest is at an all-time low.

Thanks to the events of Tuesday night, as the Capitals and Hurricanes advanced in their game 7 victories, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will be taking part in a playoff series that could very well consume us all. We've seen playoff series' get hyped before, but nothing will come close to the tidal wave of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin coverage that is about take the NHL by storm. Consider yourselves warned.

Before we look ahead to the madness, let's take a few minutes and remember the glory days of one of the best playoff rivalries the 1990's ever produced.

During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it's not uncommon to hear local radio stations blasting corny "fight songs" over the airwaves in an effort to build excitement and support for the home town team. At least, I think that's why they do it. The problem is, many of the songs are awful, and so bad that they make your brain bleed out of your ears. But what happens when they're not only somewhat catchy, but when they're recycled from one city to another by simply replacing team and player names?

Let's ask the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.

With his 35th goal of the season in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win over Montreal on Saturday night, Evgeni Malkin secured the first Art Ross Trophy of his career as the league's leading scorer. Malkin finishes the regular season with 113 points, beating out Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who finished with 110.

Ovechkin will take home his second straight Maurice Rocket Richard award as the league's leading goal-scorer, tallying 56 for the season.

Thanks to his two-goal, two-assist effort in Washington's 5-3 win over Tampa Bay on Friday night, Alex Ovechkin hit the 100-point plateau for the second consecutive season and third time in four years.

He's essentially clinched his second Rocket Richard award as the league's leading goal scorer, and is within six points of Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for the Art Ross Trophy for most points overall. His two goals on Friday also pushed him past Mario Lemieux's mark of 215 goals in the first four years of his career.

In the process, Ovechkin joins a list of all-time greats.

Before the Pittsburgh Penguins had Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to draw fans to the building, they had to resort to promotional giveaways advertised in cheesy commercials with what are now archaic graphics and technology. They also used superstars such as Rod Schutt and Pat Price to promote their product. I guess Rick Kehoe and Randy Carlyle weren't available.

Let's go back to March 13, 1982, when the first 5,000 adults for the Penguins vs. Colorado Rockies game received a promotional Budweiser picnic jug:

A couple of weeks ago, TSN hockey analyst Gord Miller came to the conclusion that in order for the Pittsburgh Penguins to remain competitive in the NHL, they would have to deal the league's leading scorer, Evgeni Malkin, for a first-line winger, a No. 2 center, and "hopefully" a pick or a prospect. It was a laughable proposal.

On Sunday night, Rob Rossi, Penguins beat writer for the Tribune-Review, appeared on a weekly Pittsburgh talk show and suggested the team would be wise to put Sidney Crosby on the trade block this offseason. I guess this is what happens when you go from being two wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup to being the No. 10 team in the Eastern Conference in a matter of one season.

Entering this season, expectations around the Pittsburgh Penguins were at an all-time high, or, if nothing else, as high as they've been since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were suiting up for the team. Here we are in the middle of January, and the Penguins are closer to getting John Tavares or Victor Hedman in this summer's draft than they are to getting the top spot in the Eastern Conference. That's a problem.

To say the team is falling shot of expectations would be a disservice to understatements everywhere. Simply put, this team stinks right now.

Naturally, when a team struggles, everyone looks to make any and all changes to right the ship, and it usually begins an ends with the man behind the bench, in this case, head coach Michel Therrien.

Mario Lemieux had plenty of memorable moments in his 17-year career, but the most impressive feat of them all was probably the performance he put on against the New Jersey Devils 20 year ago tonight.

December 31, 1988, Lemieux became the first -- and only -- player to score a goal every way possible in a single game: even strength, power play, shorthanded, penalty shot, empty net. Ridiculous.

I always knew of this accomplishment, but I don't remember the game itself, mainly because I was probably five years old, eating Frankenberry and watching cartoons. Actually, that's probably what I'll be doing tonight. So, not a lot has changed in 20 years.

Happy Anniversary, Mario, and thanks to Sean Leahy at Going Five Hole for reminding me of this epic moment in not only Penguins history, but NHL history.