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PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- This banner. This arena. These two teams.Its not hard to imagine that this is where destiny meets disappointment. Or where hope meets reality.The Pittsburgh Penguins raising of their 2015-16 Stanley Cup banner to the rafters of the newly named PPG Paints Arena Thursday night was first and foremost a testament to the teams recent history. The teams championship last June came after a tumultuous regular season that saw a coaching change and myriad questions about the teams character all answered emphatically when they downed the San Jose Sharks in six games in the Stanley Cup finals.For those reasons, its an achievement that will never be forgotten, the banner a constant reminder of that time. But the moment the banner stopped fluttering high above the Penguins logo, that shiny piece of history was quickly be placed aside in pursuit of something else historic: a second straight championship.We dont need to think about [repeating], GM Jim Rutherford said. Its hard to win one. We know that. We all know its hard to win two. But one of the things [coach Mike Sullivan] is continually saying is, Lets just play.Lets just play. And play they did Thursday night, with the Penguins ultimately coming out on top of a wildly entertaining affair 3-2 in a shootout to open their defense of the Cup.The witness to the festivities -- actually, they came out shortly after the banner had made its trip north to the arena rafters -- the Washington Capitals?couldnt have been more perfectly chosen as the team to face the Pens on this festive night.The Capitals and their captain, Alex Ovechkin, have played the foil to Sidney Crosbys Penguins throughout the past decade, during which the Pens have won two championships. The Capitals are still looking for their first franchise Cup win.Whether or not the schedule makers did it on purpose, I dont know, said Capitals forward Justin Williams, a three-time Cup champion himself.But he admitted there is a sour feeling being the other team on a night of banners and celebrations of past glories, especially when those glories came at the expense of the Capitals.Last season, the Capitals roared through the regular season finishing 16 points ahead of the Penguins atop the Metropolitan Division and won the Presidents Trophy as the top team in the NHL. They won it every which way: heavy, fast, high-scoring, button-down. And when the two teams met in the second round, the first time in the postseason the two teams had met in the Crosby-Ovechkin era since an epic seven-game second-round series in 2009, there was a crackle at what might unfold.Even though the Caps won Game 1, they seemed to chase the series throughout, ultimately bowing out in overtime in Game 6 in this very building.So, cruel joke or not, it was indeed fitting the schedule makers gave the Capitals the task of waiting out the pregame ceremonies and cheers and appearance of the Stanley Cup one last time before the start of a new season.Indeed, as much as theres been a constant magnetism between the two teams since captains Ovechkin and Crosby, who missed Thursdays game while recovering from a concussion, came into the league in 2005, there is much that binds them this season.Both will have to guard against looking too far ahead and wanting too much to prove themselves before the time for proving is at hand.After we won it, its a little bit easier to not rush the process, said Penguins center Eric Fehr, who might have the best perspective on the dynamic that exists between being a champion and being perpetually disappointed, having been a first-round draft pick of the Capitals in 2003.I think when you lose out, youre extra hungry to try to force that getting into playoffs. I think, for us, were just taking it every game to trying to make sure we prove why we were the champions.No team has repeated as Stanley Cup champions since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings.The team before that?The Penguins, in 1991 and 1992.Phil Bourque was a defenseman on those two Cup winners in the early 1990s. Few know this Pittsburgh team as well as Bourque -- now an analyst on the teams radio broadcasts -- and in spite of the fact that the team will begin the 2016-17 season without Crosby, Bourque believes they might be as well-poised to repeat as champions as anyone since that Hall of Fame-laden team in Detroit almost two decades ago.The leadership core is rock-solid, and they might have the best one-two goaltending tandem in the league with Marc-Andre Fleury, who was excellent making 39 saves Thursday while playoff sensation Matt Murray?is recovering from a broken hand.But theres the group of hungry youths who were so critical to the Penguins playoff success in the form of Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and Brian Dumoulin.All the pieces are in place, from up top all the way down, Bourque said.But this smartly played, emotional game Thursday was also a reminder that the Caps have legitimate claims on defying history, mostly their own. There are so many attributes from top-end coaching and management to the defending Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby, who was outstanding Thursday, to perennial goal-scoring champion Ovechkin, to three-time Stanley Cup champion Williams, to emerging star Evgeny Kuznetsov and the inextinguishable Nicklas Backstrom.If there is such a thing as destiny, is this time for Washingtons to reveal itself?Ovechkin admitted a different emotion came with being on hand for the Pens banner raising.I wish we had this position in Washington, but we didnt, Ovechkin admitted. Hope this year were going to do it. ... I think its time for us.Veteran NHLer Mike Rupp likewise believes the Capitals are a team capable of finally breaking through and winning it all. But he cautioned that the challenge for them might be more mental than anything.When a team has as dominating a season as the Capitals did last season, so many times thats your opportunity, Rupp said. Individually, thats your year to win.But they didnt. Theyll have to deal with that.I think everyones kind of tired of talking about what-ifs and you guys were so good here, why cant you do that, Williams said. I think this season you just want to let the play speak for itself. Sure, well have to answer questions. Its just part of the history of whats happened [in Washington], but I think just kind of focus on letting the play speak for itself. We love our team as we did last year, and I think were even better this year.And really, hes right.Apart from the not winning part, whats not to love?Just as theres much to love about the Penguins and their bid to defy history and raise back-to-banners.And watching these two powerful teams trade chances Thursday night, it was hard not to imagine that at some point next spring that their destinies will once again be intertwined. Swell Flaske Marmor . PAUL, Minn. Swell Traveler Norge . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. http://www.swellflaskenorge.com/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Swell Flaske Hvit Marmor . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Swell Flaske Liberty . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month.The Winnipeg Goldeyes have now won 1,000 games. A soft broken-bat ground ball off the bat of Nick Liles scored Fehlandt Lentini from third base and gave the Winnipeg Goldeyes a come from behind 4-3 victory over the Quebec Capitales. "Thanks for reminding me, Id forgotten about it (1,000 wins) already," said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney shortly after Sundays game ended. "Congratulations has to go to Hal Lanier who contributed so much to this organization and brought us so many of those wins and to Doug Simunic who was here for the first two years and helped introduce independent professional baseball to Winnipeg. It was nice to get the win at home." With the victory, the Goldeyes improved to 16-13 and won four of six games on the homestand. They also won back-to-back series for the first time since the opening road trip in mid-May. Regardless of what happens later in the day, the Goldeyes continue to hold onto at least a piece of first place in the American Associations North Division. It was a sensational bottom of the ninth for the Goldeyes. With one out and the Fish trailing 3-2, Leonard Davis had a terrific at-bat and got a 3-2 fastball from Quebec closer Chris Cox that he drilled into the right-centre field gap for a double. Right behind him came Fehlandt Lentini, who banged a single up the middle to score Davis and suddenly the Goldeyes were deadlocked at 3-3. Luis Alen came in to pinch hit for Nate Samson, but on a throw over to first designed to keep Lentini honest, Rene Leveret mishandled the throw and Lentini hustled into second. Cox walked Alen intentionally and that brought up Nick Liles. On the second pitch to Liles, Lentini stole third and that set up Liles unintentional heroics. With the count 2-2, Liles hit a high, broken-bat chopper to third baseman Jonathan Malo, who inexplicably was playing deep at third. Malo trried to throw out Lentini at home, but it wasnt even close.dddddddddddd. Liles had the game-winning RBI and the Goldeyes had a huge come from behind victory. "That was Leonards best at-bat in quite some time," Forney said. "Its why you play all nine innings. He got behind 1-2 and didnt give up. He kept fouling them off, worked the count and got a pitch he could drive. That at-bat put some energy back in the team. It was huge for us." Another thing that was huge for the Goldeyes was starter Matt Ruschs performance. Quebec took an early 3-0 lead. They scored a run in the first off an RBI single from Sebastien Boucher and then added two in the second as Malo and Leveret each drove in runs, but the Goldeyes got two in the bottom of the third as Amos Ramon singled home Jordan Guida and a Josh Mazzola ground out to short scored Tyler Graham from third. Thanks to Rusch, who settled down and stopped Quebec cold, the Goldeyes never trailed by more than 3-2. Rusch, who didnt get the decision, finished the game by retiring 13 Capitales in a row. "We had a depleted bullpen and I needed eight innings from Matt today," said Forney. "I didnt tell anybody that, but I dont know who I could have used. I want to use Aaron Correa in a spot start on Tuesday, so I didnt want to be in a situation where I had to go down there. Matt finished so well. It was a tremendous effort. Patrick Keating (3-0, 0.71 ERA) got the win for Winnipeg, while Cox (0-1, 6.75 ERA) suffered the loss for Quebec. Lentini was the only Goldeyes batter to have a multi-hit game, going two-for-four with a run scored and the game-tying RBI. With another solid game, Lentini raised his batting average to an even .300. Immediately after Sundays game, the Goldeyes boarded the bus to head for St. Paul where theyll open a three-game series on Monday night. ' ' '