It was his interest in extinct hockey that brought John Hodgman to Pittsburgh in May. Hodgman, the American humorist and wise guy, came in search of remnants of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a forgotten NHL team that roamed Duquesne Gardens a little more than four scores ago.
Hodgman’s trip to Pittsburgh, documented in an episode of the podcast “Surprisingly Awesome,” also took him to Consol Energy Center, where he watched Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Penguins. It was Hodgman’s first time at a hockey game. He walked away believing both extinct and extant hockey are, indeed, surprisingly awesome.