by Alison Myers

Created on: May 23, 2008

As the NHL season draws to a close, fans look back on their individual teams' seasons with happiness or disappointment. The record books will be re-written with individual and team milestones. Here's some of what made headlines in the NHL this season:

The Pittsburgh Penguins

Two years ago, Sidney Crosby came onto a Pittsburgh team that couldn't get any worse. Even with top players such as Ziggy Palffy, John LeClair, and Mark Recchi; the Penguins finished near the bottom of the NHL standings. They fired head coach Eddie Olczyk and brought in Michel Therrien from the minors. The Pens looked good on paper but were struggling on the ice.

This season, all has been forgotten. The Penguins wrapped up the regular season Atlantic Division title and recently won the Eastern Conference championship. They have coasted through the playoffs, sweeping the Ottawa Senators and handing 4-1 series defeats to the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. Contributions are coming from young stars such as Evgeni Malkin and Marc Andre Fleury; and from veterans such as Marian Hossa. We still don't know if they can top the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals, but regardless; the Penguins have had a successful season and the future holds only more promise.

Washington Capitals regular season comeback
The Washington Capitals struggled in the early part of the season with a 6-14-1 record as November drew to a close. Glen Hanlon was fired and replaced by Bruce Boudreau on November 22. The Caps slowly gained confidence by ending a seven game losing streak against Southeast Division opponents and putting together a three game home winning streak in December.

In January, they managed to fight back in both the Eastern Conference and Southeast division standings. They finished the regular season with a record of 43-31-8 and win the Southeast Division. Alexander Ovechkin won the scoring title with 112 points for the season.

Even with a miracle regular season, the Capitals lost their conference quarterfinals series with the Flyers in seven games. Goaltender Olaf Kolzig recently announced plans to leave the organization. Although the season ended on a down note, Boudreau is sure to return to the Caps bench and players such as Ovechkin, Mike Green, and Brent Johnson look to be around for the future.

The Winter Classic

The outdoor game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Penguins was the NHL's first outdoor game since 2003 when Edmonton and Montreal played in the Heritage Classic. Pittsburgh won

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