The New York Rangers organization has always been incredibly kind to me, although this night the Washington Capitals outshone the Rangers' hospitality when I attended this game at Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

I did not identify myself to the Washington Capitals as press. That night, I was just a New York Rangers fan in Washington, DC. I was there to cheer on my new home team play against my old home team. Since becoming part of the media, I am never afforded the chance to cheer for any team, nor am I allowed to discuss my team loyalties or favorite players with anyone. This trip was designed to let my inner fan leak out. (Just so you know, the Rangers are not the only team I cheer for. There are a lot of teams I cheer for.)

There were a few Washingtonians that were not pleased that I was cheering for the Rangers, because I am still a Capitals' fan at heart. I just like to tease them and say, "We have your Jagr now!" That is a very sore subject for them.

My very first NHL hockey game was in 2001, the Washington Capitals vs. the Boston Bruins. Jaromir Jagr was playing for the Capitals then and was later traded to the New York Rangers after Jagr became very difficult to work with after he had his heart broken. Capitals fans were in love with Jagr the moment he donned a Capitals jersey, but Jagr's personal problems made his time in DC a miserable time for everyone. The trade was a great move for everyone, but Capitals fans still miss the big guy.

Despite my Rangers t-shirt, the Capitals gave me the VIP treatment while I was there. They showed me the best seat in the house to snap photos of the New York Rangers during the pre-game skate. I had center ice seats in the first row behind the Capitals penalty box. The NHL guys gave me copies of the stats following each period. I actually had an incredible time with the Capitals fans and the NHL officials on my side of the glass. We were laughing the majority of the night over the craziness around us.

The highlight of the night was when the official manning the Capitals penalty box gave me a Washington Capitals puck, which was one of the nine goals scored that night. That goal put the Capitals' hospitality above that of the New York Rangers. I never thought I would say anything like that, because the Rangers have been absolutely amazing to me.

As for the Rangers on Capitals ice, the Boys In Blue continued their generosity towards me when a few of the Rangers were incredibly kind and actually posed for a few photos. Colton Orr, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Drury gave me some absolutely incredible shots. Henrik Lundqvist has been my favorite model. He never fails to give me an incredible shot.

My most prized photo of the night came from Chris Drury. He was slightly looking towards Colton Orr, who was standing to my left. I saw in the lens an opportunity for an incredible photo and I said, "Chris, move your head a little more to the left." He moved his head back a little further and I got an incredible shot of his blue eyes. I also received similar poses from Brendan Shanahan and Colton Orr.

Orr also got into a fight with Donald Brashear right in front of me and I was able to get a few photos from the scrap (even though I was shooting through two panes of glass).

This video is one of my top videos on Youtube. Hockey sites all over the world have placed it amongst their archived video footage of the New York Rangers. It is amazing to see the captions for the video translated into Russian, Chinese and Japanese.

(If any of the New York Rangers read this...Thank you so much for all of the opportunities you've given to me to take so many great photos of you.)