Not all officials are calling obstruction

Mark Recchi comes to the defence of Crosby after Sid Vicious was called for a 'weak' penalty late in the 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes.

The NHL has zero tolerance on obstruction penalties, but one player said different officials have varying definitions of zero.

At issue was an interference call against rookie Sidney Crosby that led to Carolina's game-winning goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes Saturday at Mellon Arena.

Crosby and Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley were battling for the puck along the boards and the play seemed innocent.

However, by rigid definition, Crosby wasn't actually playing the puck, so the penalty was called.

"Most guys wouldn't have called that penalty," Crosby linemate Mark Recchi said. "Probably 99 percent wouldn't. That's just a battle play."

Saturday's referees were Dave Jackson and Chris Rooney.

Full story here.

Carolina 5 - Pittsburgh 3: Crosby Caught in the storm!

It wasn't a good night for Kid Crosby as the Penguins blew another lead and fell to the Carolina Hurricanes by a 5-3 score.

Crosby played 18:45 and was held pointless for only the second time this season. Crosby also finished -1, took 2 minor penalties, and didn't even take a faceoff.

Carolina scored four goals in the third period to post a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena on Saturday night.

The Penguins (1-5-5) held a 3-1 lead through two periods, but the Hurricanes came back in the third period with two power-play goals and an even-strength tally. They added an empty-net goal to seal the contest.

“That’s a tough loss, that’s for sure,” Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said. “For two periods we played really well. I kind of felt the first couple shifts in the third period, we weren’t doing the kinds of things we were doing early in the game. I just kind of felt the tide was turning.”

Game recap here.

Penguins WIN!!! Thrashees are Penguins' first meal.

Well, the Penguins finally managed to outscore and DEFEAT an actual opponent as they overcame the Thrashers 7-5 in a wild shootout.

Crosby definitely helped the cause with 2 assists in 19:32 of ice time. He finished EVEN on the night with 2PIM, and he won 2 of 3 faceoffs! Yes, the Penguins got their first win and Crosby actually won more faceoffs than he lost.

The Penguins, in danger of a blowout loss after Ilya Kovalchuk scored once and set up three goals in the opening 9:50, needed 10 games for their first victory - the longest season-opening stretch in franchise history. The Penguins have gotten at least one point in all but four games, but are 1-4-5.

Full game recap.

Sidney Crosby and the witness relocation program

Here is an interesting personal story from Susan Fish about her quest to get her son to meet Sidney Crosby thanks to a contest they won.

Sidney Crosby is on every hockey fan's radar right now. But because my son is an especially faithful fan, our neighbours had good reason to believe we were in the witness relocation program this summer.

It started at the end of our second day camping at a provincial park at the north end of Lake Huron. My husband, our three young children and I had hunted for million-year-old fossils and small toads; we had hiked woodland trails and waded into sandy bays. Then, as the sun was low in the clear blue sky, I sat under the cedar trees reading an L. M. Montgomery book aloud to our children while my husband built a campfire to roast marshmallows.

A park ranger strode onto our campsite and my heart sank, sure our kids had violated some noise regulation. They no doubt had, but this was not the reason for his visit.

He handed us a telephone message: my mother had called to tell us our eight-year-old son had won a contest and had the opportunity to skate in a hockey clinic with Sidney "the next Wayne Gretzky" Crosby and five other National Hockey League prospects.

Full article HERE.

Penguins 3 - Panthers 4: Victory Snatched Away

The Penguins lead the Panthers late in the 3rd period by a 3-2 score until Sergei "Bust" Gonchar decided to take a stupid penalty and Lukas Krajicek made the Penguins pay. With a 4-3 OT loss, the Penguins still remain the NHLs lone winless team.

Sidney Crosby played another solid game and he's doing his best in the face of the walls crumbling around him.

Sid Vicious had one assist (on Malone's PP goal), and finished with 19:45 of ice time, EVEN, 6 shots on goal, and a not-so-bad 3 for 7 on faceoffs.

Pittsburgh is 0-4-5, the longest season-opening stretch in its 39-season history without winning, and it has dropped its last 10 against Florida dating to the 2001-02 season. The Penguins have been the NHL's only winless team for a week and a half, and every other team had at least two victories before Tuesday.

The Penguins lost despite having a 12-7 advantage in power plays, mostly because the 18-year-old Crosby drew six penalties by himself. But Pittsburgh was only 2-of-12 with the man advantage, while Florida was 2-of-7.

"That's part of my job, to create some chances for us," said Crosby, one of the few Penguins players who talked afterward. "We did everything we could except win."

It's nice to see Sidney is a stand up kid and will face the media after another loss.

Full recap here.

Crosby not Panicking

While many expected the Penguins to be shaky, did anyone expect them to be this bad? Really, Mario hasn't been super himself, but Sergei Gonchar is sucking in new and amazing ways. Oh, signing an old player with a bad back is always a risk. The fact that John LeClair is struggling is no surprise. It might help if the Penguins gave his ice time to the young and talented Tomas Surovy.

From Alan Robinson

Crosby said last month he felt lucky because most No. 1 draft picks play for losing-record clubs, while he landed on a talented, deep Pittsburgh Penguins team that rapidly rebuilt itself last summer. Most rookies, he said, don't play alongside a Mario Lemieux or Mark Recchi, a John LeClair or Sergei Gonchar or Ziggy Palffy.

Eight games and eight losses later, four in overtime, Crosby still thinks the Penguins are a good team - and, he insisted Monday, a potentially great team. What they don't have is a single victory to prove it in a league where every other team has won at least twice and all but two teams have at least three victories.

Full article here.

PK not on Crosby's Menu

Hmm, would you really expect a team to stick an 18-year old kid who can't win faceoffs in the penalty kill? I mean, Crosby is great and all that, but it's not like he needs to be killing penalties when his best asset is his offense.

From Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Though the Penguins haven't been shy about using Crosby, he ranked just fifth among their forwards in ice time going into the game against Boston at the TD Banknorth Garden.

He was averaging exactly 181/2 minutes of ice time per game, which placed him behind Mark Recchi (21:21), Ryan Malone (21:06), Mario Lemieux (20:14) and Ziggy Palffy (20:03).

There is at least one obvious way to get Crosby more involved -- as a penalty-killer -- but the Penguins have no plans to make him a regular in the four-man rotation.

"He'll kill every once in a while, but, right now, we want him to watch and learn, and slowly graduate into it," said coach Eddie Olczyk, who noted that Crosby sits in on the team's penalty-killing meetings.

Full article HERE.

Boston 6 - Pens 3: The Curse of Crosby Continues

The Curse of Crosby?

Well, since he's been playing for the Penguins, the flightless birds haven't been able to win a game!!! Sergei Gonchar is turning out to be the biggest bust of the year and is killing fantasy hockey league owners all over North America.

Crosby had a much better game than the last outing as he had assists on 2 of the 3 Penguins goals.

Overall, Crosby played 16:24 and finished with 2 assists, +2, 3 shots, and 1 for 5 on faceoffs.

"I just want to win," said Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby, who had two assists and has points in seven of his eight games. "Team points is what matters."

Crosby, the first pick in this year's draft, assisted on goals by Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik in the third period after Boston had taken a 5-1 lead. He also missed an excellent chance 1:33 into the third period when he hit the left post on a breakaway.

Full recap here.

Sidney Crosby does GQ

Sidney Crosby decides to shed his shirt for a couple of pictures in GQ (Guys Quarterly).

Let the girly shrieking commence...

Devils 6 - Penguins 3: Crosby Scoreless, Penguins Winless

It was another NHL first for Sidney Crosby as he went scoreless and pointless for the first time in his young career. The Penguins also remain the only winless team in the NHL as the Devils ripped apart the Penguins weak defense.

Kid Crosby had his worst NHL game. In 19:47 of ice time, Crosby finished with 0 points, -2, 0 for 4 on faceoffs, and 3 shots on goal.

As you might expect player/owner Mario Lemieux is getting pretty pissy and there aren't a lot of joy-joy feelings in the Pittsburgh dressing room.

Lemieux, whose ownership group paid out millions to reshape the Penguins once the NHL labor dispute ended this summer, was critical afterward of some of his highly paid but underproducing talent. The Penguins are 0-3-4 after never previously going more than the first six games of a season without winning.

"It's a long time to not win, especially so early in the season," said Lemieux, who had a goal and an assist in his third multipoint game. "It's certainly not the start we wanted, especially with the personnel we have here."

Lemieux said the Penguins aren't playing together - an inexcusable offense to him more than two weeks into the season - and haven't been into games mentally at the start, causing them to fall behind early almost every night. The Penguins trailed 2-0 in the first after goals by Jay Pandolfo and Scott Gomez and have led in only one game, despite adding players such as Sergei Gonchar, Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Ziggy Palffy and goalie Jocelyn Thibault.

"We have a system, but guys aren't playing together and aren't all on the same page," Lemieux said. "We start playing when we're down two or three goals and you can't do that. That comes from not preparing mentally to play the game."

Full game recap here.

Wired Crosby reveals leadership

Oh, dearie. Did Mario get Sidney Crosby hooked on coffee?

No, Sidney was merely trying to collect incriminating evidence of Zigmund Palffy's crack habit.

From Joe Starkey of Pittsburghlive.com

FSN Pittsburgh had Penguins center Sidney Crosby wired for sound during Saturday's game against Tampa Bay. The snippets that were played on the air revealed Crosby to be a take-charge guy on the bench. He might only be 18, but he isn't the least bit shy with veteran linemates Ziggy Palffy and Mark Recchi.

"You just get caught up in the game," Crosby said. "You want to win, so you have to communicate, let guys know what you're thinking. And they have to let you know what they're thinking."

Maybe Cros can tell Mario to get his ass in gear and stop floating around so much? :)

Full article here.

McKeens: Crosby Steals Show

McKeens Hockey, the reputable scouting magazine/website, offers up their first-hand scouting report of Sidney Crosby and some of his Penguins teammates.

Displayed strong chemistry with linemates Mark Recchi and Zigmund Palffy .. always seems to know where his teammates are on the ice .. received a hard pass on his backhand which he deftly brought to forehand and delivered a beautiful saucer pass to Recchi on a 2-on-1 .. communicates well with his teammates .. thrives in the offensive zone with his quick feet combined with a special ability to disguise his actions .. actually has more time than he thinks, yet is still also very patient with the puck .. boasts blinding outside speed .. cuts low to the ice, combining twists and turns to elude defenders .. constantly intercepting passes with his anticipation, active stick and closing speed that can unsettle the opposition .. strong and aggressive on the forecheck .. took an interference penalty for bulling over Toni Lydman with a shoulder check and showcasing his remarkable strength and balance .. a highly-intelligent player always thinking on the ice .. consistently making smart decisions with or without the puck, demonstrating the little subtleties that make him special .. so strong on his skates and can make moves at top speed .. still lacks upper-body strength though as he gets muscled off the puck at times, however, at just 19, he should dominate that much more once he fills out .. will need time to get a better understanding of what both his teammates and the opposition are capable of .. so far, he's been as good as advertised while making a smooth pro transition

Full article here.

Sidney Crosby and his Straight Stick

Joe Sager of Pittsburghpenguins.com has a closer look at Sidney Crosby's stick.

Steve Latin has seen it all in his 27 NHL seasons.

Well, until this year.

So why was the Penguins’ equipment manager, a veteran of more than 2,000 NHL games, surprised when he came into Pittsburgh’s equipment room at the start of training camp?

Why? Check out the full story HERE.

Tampa 3 - Pittsburgh 1: Crosby gets emotional!

From Saturday night,

The Penguins lose again and Crosby gets a point again. Is this record broken or what?

Kid Crosby continues his score-a-point-in-every-game streak as he had an assist on Zigmund Palffy's lone goal as the Pens were defeated 3-1 by the defending cup champs from Tampa.

Crosby finished with 16:03 of ice time, EVEN +/-, 1 assist, 3 shots on goal, and 5 for 13 on face-offs. Crosby also took 2 minors for 4 PIM's. Bad boy!

It looks like Sid Vicious got a bit emotional...

Crosby set up Ziggy Palffy's slap shot from the top of the slot in the third for the Penguins' only goal, and the 18-year-old rookie now has at least one point in all six Penguins games, with two goals and seven assists.

But Crosby contributed to the flurry of Penguins penalties that kept Tampa Bay on the power play for much of the Lightning's decisive two-goal second period. He drew a slashing penalty at 12:17 and then complicated it by complaining, and was given an unsportsmanlike penalty that gave the Lightning a four-minute power play.

Game Recap Here

Pittsburgh 5 - Philadelphia 6 (OT): Crosby still scoring!

Another game and another OT loss for the Penguins who now fall to 0-1-4 after losing to the Flyers 6-5.

The Penguins can take some solace in the fact that they fought back from a 5-1 deficit, but Mike Rathje scored to give the Flyers the win.

Mike Rathje??? Ouch...

Sid Vicious has still scored in every single NHL game has he played as he had another goal and another assist for the Penguins in a losing cause.

On the negative side, Crosby finished -2 and was a pitiful 3 of 11 on faceoffs. I believe Sidney Crosby must be the worst regular faceoff taker in the entire NHL. He can score, but he can't win the draw.

The full game recap can be found here.

Sidney the Hairdresser?

Our favourite Calder candidate may have been giving frosted tips to hair rather than tipping picks into opposing nets.

From a Readers Digest Quiz:

When hockey sensation Sidney Crosby was six, he dreamed of playing in the NHL or pursuing what other career?

Correct Answer: hairdresser

According to Sidney’s mom, “When he was six, Sidney and I would play hairdresser. One day we were driving to practice and he said, ‘Dad, I don't know if I want to play in the NHL or be a hairdresser.’ Shocked, his dad said, ‘Well, Sid, uh, you don’t have to make any suggestions just yet.’ We didn’t play hairdresser anymore.” Learn more about the NHL’s Next One, Sidney Crosby, in an exclusive interview only in the October issue of Reader’s Digest.

Good thing he woke up to reality!

(Assist to Hockey Will Tear us Apart)

The Crosby Chronicles

Sports Illustrated recently had a story that talked about The Globe and Mail's assigned Crosby-stalker, Shawna Richer. She has been stalking Crosby for the paper and will be covering his entire first season in the NHL.

Why?

"If we really wanted to penetrate the life and times of a great player, and through him understand hockey as a sport, social and cultural phenomenon and business, we had to be there for all those serendipitous moments of meaning," says Edward Greenspon, the editor-in chief of The Globe and Mail. "If we were going to commit to this, we wanted to commit fully."

Now Sidney Crosby is used to lots of attention, but how would you feel if you had a reporter assigned to cover your every move? How would you feel if your job was to simply cover one player for an entire season?

"I told [Crosby] I was here for The Globe and Mail and that I was from Halifax," she (Richer) says. "As soon as I said I was from Halifax, he lit up [Crosby is also from Halifax]. I told him I would be covering the team for the whole season, but really my focus would be on him, and not in a daily every-move-you-make-sort-of-way but sort a broad way that hopefully got at other stories. He said, 'That's cool.'

"It's interesting: He's 18 years old but he realizes that if he wants to be the ambassador to the game, which he clearly does, this is all part of his job."

Ichiro Suzuki and any Japanese baseball player can surely relate. They have a whole team of reporters that follows them around and reports every little item back to the homeland. If they can manage, Sid can manage too. It's just not something we're used to seeing in Canada.

James Mirtle, who also works for The Globe and Mail, wrote his thoughts on Sports Illustrated taking notice of the Canadian reporter stalking Crosby.

I find it fascinating, however, that Sports Illustrated is reporting on the activities of Canada's national newspaper. Of course, this is what I do, but seeing the American sports media reporting on the Canadian sports media in a meaningful way is interesting (and rare) in any context.

Toronto's sports media scene is a competitive one, with four large daily newspapers all competing for the same eyeballs. It's doesn't come as a surprise, then, that The Globe's decision to have a reporter shadow Crosby is a hot debate topic in media circles (something I haven't seen publicly, but often run into privately).

As long as the market is there and people are interested, we'll continue to see more Crosby media than we know what to do with. Will this lead to a Crosby backlash? Not likely, since the kid is pretty aw-shucks darn nice and all that. Don't blame the kid for the media ruckus, since it's a self-feeding monster more than anything.

Why does Sidney Crosby keep losing his clothes?

Another Sidney Crosby sweater was 'lost', and then recovered again.

ESPN.com reports...

A jersey worn by No. 1 draft pick Sidney Crosby in his first National Hockey League game was found Tuesday at Pittsburgh's international airport after vanishing from luggage checked onto a US Airways flight to Buffalo by his father.

Sidney Crosby's jersey worn Oct. 5 vs. the Devils has been found.

The shirt was discovered wrapped in plastic at the foot of a stairway used to load luggage onto planes by a US Airways employee. The luggage was partially unzipped and the shirt missing when the elder Crosby claimed it after the flight Sunday.

A US Airways spokesman said the company was in the process of returning the jersey to Crosby's father.

The shirt was worn by Crosby in the Penguins' season opener in New Jersey last week.

Buccigross can see that Crosby's THE MAN

It appears that ESPN's John Buccigross has a real case of Sidney Crosby Fever. I haven't seen a case of hockey manlove this bad since Don Cherry and Doug Gilmour's smoochfest on Hockey Night in Canada.

From the article:

On opening night, Crosby was paired with John LeClair and Mark Recchi. Maybe Recchi can hang, but LeClair is a poor fit. He is now a marginal NHL player and should not be playing with someone like Crosby. Then, I saw the Penguins with multiple 5-on-3 power plays and Crosby was on the bench.

Penguins coach Ed Olczyk quickly realized Crosby was his best player. By the team's second game, he put Crosby on the power play with Ziggy Palffy, and with 1 minute and 24 seconds left in regulation, Crosby rifled an outrageous centering pass to Palffy for the tying goal. The Penguins are realizing you don't bring this kind of talent along slowly. You let them go, let them fly. All while badgering him on the details of the game: "Sidney, I want you to be the best face-off man in the NHL!"

No. 87 is the man. Can't you see it?

Yeah, I can see that Buccigross can see the obvious :)

Sidney Crosby's big Thanksgiving Weekend.

Sidney Crosby celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving by giving the NHL fans his first NHL goal, but the Penguins still can't find a way to win games!

Boston 7 - Pittsburgh 6: Sidney scored his first goal on Saturday night and added 2 assists in 19:16 of ice time. He also finished +1 but won only 7 of 22 faceoffs. Pittsburgh had a 2 goal lead but couldn't hang on in a wild game of firewagon hockey.

Buffalo 3 - Pittsburgh 2 (Shootout): Sidney had another assist and finished +2 in 21:32 of ice time. He is still having major troubles with faceoffs as he won just 4 of 19 draws! Maybe they should let someone else take faceoffs until he can win them more often.

So, Sidney has a 4-game point scoring streak to start his NHL career, but he can't win faceoffs. Yes, Sidney is human, folks.

Here's Sid celebrating his first goal.

Sidney Crosby: The Must-See Kid

Some more Crosby worship from Kara Yorio of The Sporting News:

There will be more lessons, more struggles and plenty more press coverage as he carries the hopes of a city and a league on his back. You can watch and guess what it's like to be Sidney Crosby, but only he knows the truth. Only he knows what it's like to sit next to Mario Lemieux and listen to him talk about how you -- you -- turned around an NHL franchise before you even played a game. Only he knows what it's like to have a Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, move a reporter to Pittsburgh to cover his first NHL season -- her sole assignment for the year. Only he knows what it's like to be Sidney Crosby.

Don't expect him to open up and publicly share that feeling any time soon, but that doesn't matter. What matters is what he does on the ice, and after only three games in the books, he's already authoring a pretty good story. No colorful quotes required.

Sidney and the Penguins both go to 0-2

Sidney Crosby got his 2nd NHL assist, but the Penguins offense is still struggling and they lost tonight 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout loss.

Crosby also cracked the 20 minute mark with 20:09 of ice time. Crosby also finished -1 with 3 shots on goal and 8 of 22 faceoffs won. While Crosby has put up 2 points, his 'other' stats aren't so impressive yet. Still, it's just 2 games and his teammates aren't exactly pulling their weight (Hello, Mario?)

Two games, two points for Sidney Crosby.

Crosby, the first-overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft, continued to shine as he set up another goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their 3-2 overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center.

Crosby, who had a point in Wednesday’s season-opener, set up Ziggy Palffy’s game-tying goal for the Penguins in the third period. Both teams remained tied through the overtime period, so the game went to a shootout for the first time in either franchise’s history. The Hurricanes won the shootout, 1-0, as Cory Stillman scored on their first attempt and the Penguins failed to convert on three tries.

Full recap here.

Crosby's Big Transition

Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes of Sidney Crosby's transition from the high-scoring QMJHL to the bigger and tighter NHL. (Story Link)

At an age when many people are overwhelmed by the idea of leaving home to attend college, Crosby has moved to a foreign country and taken a job in which everything he does or says will be analyzed across North America.

Ok, the USA might be a 'foreign' country, but it's not as if he really has to change his lifestyle and learn a new language. The only thing he'll have to get used to is separating US$ bills since they are all the same colour...and not using metric.

Veterans such as Recchi and Mario Lemieux help Crosby on the ice by sharing insights they've accumulated over the years, but Lemieux came through with perhaps the most important assist of all when he offered to have Crosby live with his family this season.

There's a little something in it for Lemieux -- his four children have a swell new playmate -- but the arrangement is far more valuable for Crosby. It spares him worrying about the details of day-to-day living, whether it's paying utility bills on time, making sure he has clean socks or preparing nutritious meals.

The Penguins placed Lemieux with a family when he joined the franchise in 1984, and the merits of that arrangement stuck with him. Which is why the decision to have Crosby move in with his family was as easy for Lemieux as the one general manager Craig Patrick made to select Crosby after the Penguins won the NHL draft lottery.

"Living with Mario is really going to make the adjustment off the ice easier," Recchi said. "He's not trying to fend for himself and make meals. He's going to eat properly all the time, and that's very important."

Hmm, Mario was once known for eating Big Macs and French Fries when he first came to the NHL. I hope Crosby isn't getting the Young Mario diet.

It's great that Mario can mentor young Crosby, but how hard is it to pay the utility bills and worry about some household chores? Talk about babying the kid. Let him grow up and learn a little personal responsibility.

Crosby Isn't the new Jesus??

It seems not everyone was impressed with Sidney Crosby's 1-assist debut against the Devils last night.

From a humorous satire piece from The Hammer:

18-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins super phenom Sidney Crosby was disappointing in his official NHL debut last night against the New Jersey Devils. While the native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia turned in a workmanlike if not spectacular performance, collecting an assist on his team's lone goal in their 5-1 loss, his inability to feed thousands from a single loaf of bread was a major letdown.

"I don't know, I guess...I just expected more from Crosby," said Toronto Star hockey writer Damien Cox. "Sure, he demonstrated his exceptional lower body strength, as well as some amazing passing skills beyond his years, but he didn't bring the dead back to life, which is what I think everybody was expecting."

You just can't please some people! :)

Emotional Crosby Breaks the Ice

Shawna Richer, the appointed 'Stalker' from the Globe and Mail has a closer look at the kid and what he appeared to be feeling during his debut:

At various moments yesterday, Sidney Crosby's face wore every emotion a young man can possibly feel in all their varying degrees.

He was eager and excited, nervous and tense, anxious and awestruck, expectant and happy, aggressive and frustrated. It was the biggest day of his life so far, and now he can get on with a career in the National Hockey League.

...

Mr. Crosby's big day turned into a lousy night for the Penguins, who lost 5-1. But the rookie centre registered his first NHL point, an assist at 5:36 of the third period. He made a tidy pass to Mark Recchi from behind the goal. The winger scored, and Mr. Crosby pumped his fist and exclaimed: "Yeah!" But he seemed to mute his celebration because the team trailed so badly.

C'mon Sid, it's your first NHL assist. Don't be too afraid to show some emotion.

You can read the full article here.

Crosby and the Penguins Be-Deviled 5-1!

It was a historic night for Sid Vicious as he got his first assist, but the Penguins got pwned by Martin Brodeur and the Devils 5-1. (BOXSCORE)

Sidney finished with 1 assist on 3 shots and a -2 tonight. He played 15:50 (6:33 on the PP) and won 6 of 16 faceoffs.

The Penguins really floundered on the Power Play, converting just 1 of 11 opportunities.

From Pittsburghpenguis.com

Sidney Crosby didn’t score a goal in his NHL debut, but he did pick up an assist in the Penguins 5-1 loss at New Jersey on Wednesday.

Crosby, whom the Penguins selected with the first-overall choice in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, nearly scored on his first shift much like teammate Mario Lemieux did in his 1984 NHL debut. Instead, Crosby’s backhander was denied by Devils goalie Martin Brodeur early in the first period.

However, Crosby set up the Penguins’ only goal in the third period with a beautiful cross-crease pass to Mark Recchi, who buried the puck past Brodeur with 14:24 remaining in the game. John LeClair had the other assist on the play in his Penguins debut.

Prediction Sidney Crosby's Production

So, just how good will Sidney Crosby be this year? With the new NHL rules in effect, and a lineup full of other offensive stars, the environment is there for Crosby to put up some numbers...just don't expect him to challenge Teemu's Sellane's rookie scoring records.

The Sports Forecaster is the most generous with Crosby, predicting Sid Vicious to produce 28-59-87PTS in 82GP.

McKeen's Magazine is more conservative with an estimate of 79GP 25-36-61PTS.

As for myself, I tend to go on the conservative side and I'll predict 75GP 27-35-62PTS.

Oh, and he'll take home the Calder trophy. They've already etched his name on it ;)

Got a better nickname for Sidney Crosby?

Let's face it, "Darryl" is a pretty boring nickname for the next big thing. Sid the Kid is OK, but will wear itself out and the boy needs something long lasting and relevant.

ESPN SportsNation is attempting to get the fans to submit their choices and maybe we can make a campaign to give him a better moniker and make it stick.

Got a suggestion? head on over to SportsNation and put one on the board.

So far, it looks like "BING" is in the lead. Ugh... I like Sid Vicious, myself.

I shall call him..."Darryl"???

We (media, pundits, fans) have been trying to come up with a really good nickname for Sidney Crosby. Sid the Kid just doesn't have the same ring as Mr. Hockey, The Great One, or Super Mario.

but it sounds like Sid already has a nickname...DARRYL!

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"Not too many guys know about it now, but when I was in junior, my first exhibition game I got eight points, and [Hall of Famer] Darryl Sittler got 10 in the NHL [in a game in 1976], so they just said 'Darryl' and it kind of stuck the last couple of years," Crosby said.

"That's how nicknames come, in funny ways like that."

Some of Crosby's teammates noticed "Darryl" on the cuff of his hockey gloves, a space often used for players' nicknames. Now a few of them refer to Crosby that way.

NO NO NO NO NO! This won't do, Sidney. We're gonna have to have a talk with your PR people.

CROSBY’S DEBUT DRAWS UNPRECEDENTED MEDIA COVERAGE

Sid the Kid prepares for his debut. Who is more excited? the media, or Sidney? I'm sure Sidney is excited, but he's played in so many big games already in his young career that he's probably well prepared.

From Joe Sager of Pittsburghpenguins.com

Since the end of July, the hockey world’s focus has been on Pittsburgh. From the Penguins winning the NHL Draft Lottery and selecting Sidney Crosby to bringing in big-name free agents and building a contender.

That focus shifts to New Jersey on Wednesday night as the revamped Penguins make their debut at 7:30 p.m. against the Devils. However, the majority of the eyes will be on No. 87 – it’s an NHL debut many have anticipated for years, including Crosby.

“Your first game is something you always remember,” he said. “That’s the one I have dreamed about since I first started playing.”

Crosby explains that he won’t do anything out of the ordinary for his debut.

“I will think about it when the time comes. I don’t think it’s going to be anything where I am not going to sleep or anything like that, but I am sure I am going to be excited,” he said. “On game day, you always go through a routine. I just have to do the same things I do on every other game day and get ready for the game.”

While Crosby will go through his same routine, the media will go through a totally different one. This game is scheduled to attract an unprecedented level of coverage for any home opener. It will have all the attention – and more – of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Although, this contest is in October, not June.

Penguins 7 - Capitals 1

Sid the kid had just 1 assist as the Penguins romped the sad-sack Washington Capitals.

Sidney finished with 1 assist, -1, 15:37 of ice time, 6 shots on goal, and won 8 out of 19 faceoffs (42%). He also took 2 penalties and rang a shot off the post.

Overall, it was bit of a shaky effort in an otherwise easy game for the Penguins.

Crosby finished the preseason with 5GP 1-3-4 -2 19SOG and the Penguins finished with a 2-5-2 preseason record.

Full game summary can be found here.

Sidney Crosby does Vanity Fair

Does the NHL owns shares in fashion magazines like Vanity Fair and Flare? Perhaps the editors of these magazines are big hockey fans. Not long after Wayne Gretzky's daughter graced the cover of Flare magazine, Sidney Crosby was posing half-nude for the delight of squealing teenage girls. in October's issue of Vanity Fair

It's great that the NHL is able to get free publicity in non-hockey magazines before Crosby ever plays a professional game. Sid might just do a better job of marketing than the NHL can do all on its own. What is even funnier is that Crosby doesn't even have to try that hard. The hockey media and some mainstream Canadian media are driving the engine all on their own. As long as Crosby performs well on the ice and keeps flashing that trademark goofy grin, it's basically easy money for him and the NHL.

Oh...here's the eye candy, girls.

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An exerpt from the article:

Kid Crosby
-Brett Forrest

The last year the Stanley Cup sat on the shelf was 1919, when an influenza epidemic wiped out the playoffs. There is under the weather, and then there is laid low, which is pro hockey's posture as the N.H.L. opens play this month. Truth is, hockey has been backsliding for years, even before money came between the owners and the players, forcing last season's cancellation. Scoring has taken a leave of absence, the networks have backed off, and fans in time-honored hockey hubs (Phoenix! Nashville!) aren't quite sure what they're cheering for.

Into the identity breach skates teenager Sidney Crosby, from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia, who is now charged with hefting hockey back to relevance. The game's best prospect in 20 years, Crosby is the type of player with the ability and appeal (and healthy endorsement deals with Reebok and Gatorade) to draw the casual masses to his sport, like an A-Rod or an M.J., or even Gretzky, "the Great One," himself.

Sidney doesn't yet carry a majestic nickname. (For the time being, let's call him Kid Crosby; his agent, after all, first eyed him at age 13.) But now that the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed him, he's lugging around some pretty unfair expectations. After Crosby's unprecedented back-to-back honors as M.V.P. and top scorer in the Canadian junior leagues, Gretzky said that the upstart could very well break his seemingly unbreakable N.H.L. records. "I've always wanted to be the best, but so do a lot of other people," says the deferential Crosby, who has the requisite aw-shucks Canadian temperament to help him straddle that tricky divide between winning everyone over and kicking everyone's ass.

And now the Big Ice cometh. "I've been waiting for this a long time," Crosby says. How long? The Kid, last time we checked, was just out of high school.


Source: Vanity Fair, October 2005, pages 306-7.

(crossposted)

Crosby: Under Mario's Wing

A lot will be made of the fact that Crosby will be living with Lemieux and be learning on-ice and off-ice lessons from Super Mario. If you are going to have a mentor, Mario is one of the best to have, don't ya think? Still, I can't but get funny images in my head of Crosby wearing an apron, doing dishes, and yelling at the kids to shut up.

From JOHNETTE HOWARD of Newsday.com

For now, Crosby has gratefully accepted an invitation to live with Lemieux, his wife and their four young children this season. (Asked whether he or Mario gets to pick the radio stations on their drives to games and practices, Crosby sheepishly answered, "He does.") The long-standing custom of young players boarding with families is one of the sweetest, quaintest traditions in hockey. But pairing Lemieux, one of the best players ever, with the kid who someday might be The Best Ever could provide an extraordinary twist on Crosby's career. Imagine a young Gretzky getting a one-year around-the-clock apprenticeship with Rocket Richard.

"I feel very fortunate," Crosby says, "and I want to learn as much as I can."

Lemieux, a Quebec native whose first language is French, stayed with a businessman's family in Mount Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb, to ease his rookie year transition. When asked in Pittston if he has set any house rules on, say, Crosby bringing home dates, Lemieux joked, "Yeah. No sleepovers." How about baby-sitting? Lemieux, still part-owner of the Pens, sighed and said, "It's not in his contract. But you never know."

Smiling fondly now, Lemieux volunteered, "He's a really good kid."

Full article here.

Crazy Crosby Caption #1

Mario: "Hmm, I wonder how much I can get for that on Ebay?"

Crosby's Time Has Come

Really? Why not tomorrow? Or May 23rd?

From Alan Robinson of the AP:

In the United States, where hockey can disappear for 15 months without many people knowing or caring except for noticing the increased poker coverage on ESPN2, Crosby hasn't played a game yet but already is recognizable among the mostly indistinguishable mass of oft-scarred and stitched-up hockey player faces.

He's not just in the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated, but in GQ (with his shirt off) and Vanity Fair (with it very much on). He's already being compared to the NBA's LeBron James for his instant and forceful effect on his sport, not just from a performance standpoint but an economic one. In the three weeks immediately after the Penguins won the draft lottery and chose Crosby - general manager Craig Patrick compared it to hitting the lottery - the team sold more tickets than in the entire 2003-04 season.

"This is huge for us," said Lemieux, the Penguins' owner-player who decided, coincidentally or not, to not sell the team as previously planned within days after landing Crosby.

Much has been made of the media creating a monster, but it's a good thing when the non-hockey types get up and take notice. The only other player with a lot of Street Cred was Wayne Gretzky.

The next time you think Sid the Kid may get too much attention, just remember that it takes such attention to really market the NHL outside of its core base. If Crosby can draw in a new legion of fans, even screaming little preteen girls, I think that's a good thing.