Sidney Crosby nestled into a chair at a New York hotel at the end of the busiest summer of his young life.

The latest in a list of countless interviews and guest appearances was taking place, and the youngest captain of a Stanley Cup champion couldn’t have been happier.

Oh, how different this year is from last.

Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins avenged a loss in the 2008 finals by rallying from a 3-2 series deficit and wresting the Stanley Cup away from the champion Red Wings in Detroit in a stirring Game 7.

That helped erase the sting of the previous year when the Red Wings celebrated following a Game 6 victory in Pittsburgh.

“The mood was a lot better,” the 22-year-old Crosby said in his typical understated fashion. “It was a pretty tough summer sitting on a loss in the finals and not knowing when I was going to get the chance to get back there or if it would ever happen.

“I am really happy we were able to get back there and finish it off right this time.”

Don’t be surprised if these two powerhouses go for a three-peat in a rubber match next June.

“For both teams to get there in back-to-back years, it’s amazing. It really is,” Crosby said. “Both teams kind of defied the odds in getting back there, but now both have to try to do it again. You have these high expectations when you go that far and everybody wants to beat you. So it just gets tougher.”

While Washington’s Alex Ovechkin basks in the glow of back-to-back MVP awards, Crosby will try to take their personal rivalry to a new level this season with a repeat championship.

The Capitals likely pose the biggest threat in the Eastern Conference to Pittsburgh’s return to the finals. With a lineup that boasts Ovechkin, the NHL leader in goals each of the past two seasons, fellow forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin, and high-scoring defenseman Mike Green on the back end, Washington is looking to make its big splash in the playoffs.

Ovechkin forced Crosby and the Penguins to a Game 7 in the second round, but couldn’t seal the deal.

The Boston Bruins figure to have something to say about who comes out of the East as they try to build off a season in which they surprisingly vaulted from the No. 8 playoff seed in 2008 to No. 1 in 2009.

While goalie Tim Thomas (Vezina Trophy), defenseman Zdeno Chara (Norris Trophy) and Claude Julien (coach of the year) were honored individually, the Bruins were stung by a second-round playoff loss to Carolina – a Game 7 defeat at home after they rallied from being down 3-1 in the series.

The San Jose Sharks can relate.

They posted the best record in the NHL and their best in team history, before bowing out early — again. The Sharks couldn’t even get out of the first round, falling quickly to Pacific Division-rival Anaheim.

General manager Doug Wilson was angry and didn’t sit back. In a big move just before the season, the Sharks plucked disgruntled star forward Dany Heatley from Ottawa in a blockbuster move that sent forwards Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek to the Senators.

It is critical that the Sharks get the guy who has scored 50 goals in a season and not the one who publicly talked his way out of Ottawa. One thing San Jose forward Joe Thornton and the rest of the remaining Sharks can feel good about is that big Anaheim defensemen Chris Pronger (Philadelphia) and Francois Beauchemin (Toronto) have moved on to the Eastern Conference.

Detroit, with its fine mix of champion veteran players and up-and-coming kids, is still the team to beat out West — even if just on reputation.

“We all understand how long the journey is,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s a marathon and we’re just focused on getting out of the gate. The first 20 games is what we’re always talking about.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve got a real good core, so we’ve still got a chance to win. It’s not like these teams are going away. They’re going to be back and they’re going to try to get themselves into better positions this year.”

While it’s fun to talk in September about might happen in May and June, the NHL season has much to offer before it even gets to the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Flyers will meet the Bruins outside in the Winter Classic in Boston’s Fenway Park on New Year’s Day, just more than a month before the league takes its two-week hiatus for the Winter Olympics.

This one carries even more significance than usual because the Olympics will be held in the NHL city of Vancouver, and might be the last that features pro players. Collective bargaining will determine that in the coming years.

Now it’s time to drop the puck.

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