The Adventures of Sid and Mario: Part #1
*sigh* Another loss for the Penguinos last night as they fell to the Sabres 3-2.
Crosby finished -1 with 0 points and just 2 shots on goal in 19:21 of ice time.
All the news, analysis, and useless information about Sidney Crosby that you could ever want!
(I am not Sidney Crosby or officially affiliated with Sidney Crosby, just so you know)
Sidney Crosby's naked ankle peeked from the gap between his left shoe and hem of black slacks. On his first National Hockey League road trip to Florida, the Penguins rookie looked like a resident; bare feet in dress shoes is a decidedly local fashion statement.
Those feet, among all the other parts of him, are the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise, and on Saturday afternoon, he limped to his stall in the visitors' dressing room at the St. Pete Times Forum.
Sidney Crosby could miss today's game at Tampa Bay with a bruised left foot.
Crosby was hit in the foot by a shot during the third period of the Penguins' 6-3 loss Friday night at Florida. He did not take part in practice yesterday and is listed as questionable.
Crosby said yesterday the foot was better, but still a little stiff.
"We'll see ... I think it depends on the swelling," Crosby said of whether he will play against the Lightning. "If it's swollen like this, we'll probably just wait. If it's still swollen, and because it's swollen, the left foot probably doesn't fit in a skate."
"Slap me silly, Sidney."Full article here.
Mike Lange, the play-by-play man for broadcasts of Pittsburgh Penguins games, has this or something similarly catchy to say every time Sidney Crosby scores a goal. "My father used to say, 'Slap me silly,"' says Lange. "It popped out of my brain" while dreaming up something fresh to throw at viewers.
Canadians are hearing more and more of Lange's creative phrases during this NHL season because Crosby is invariably in most highlight packages.
Sid, it is.
Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 18-year-old phenom got the better of his first NHL meeting with Alexander Ovechkin – Washington’s 20-year-old sensation. Crosby scored a goal and added an assist, while Ovechkin was limited to an assist in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 triumph Tuesday night at Mellon Arena.
Thanksgiving may be Thursday, but the hockey feast begins Tuesday for fans at Mellon Arena.
And, this smorgasbord features the first of what could be the NHL’s best rivalry for a decade or so.
Move over Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, it’s time for Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
"I don’t think it’s something I am worried about. Everyone is comparing us a lot, but I am not really worried about it. I have to worry about playing my game,” Crosby said. “Yeah, there’s going to be healthy competition there and that’s to be expected with us both being No. 1 picks. It’s going to be cool to have us both out there. It’s not something I am going to turn into me against him, though.”
The Philadelphia Flyers made a third-period lead hold up this time, even while seemingly preoccupied with whether Pittsburgh rookie Sidney Crosby stands up nearly enough.
Crosby scored the winning goal on a breakaway Wednesday, and also got Pittsburgh's first goal in the rematch. He also had one of his first on-ice confrontations with an established star, yelling expletives at Peter Forsberg when the Flyers' star made a hand gesture suggesting Crosby dives to take penalties -- a theme initiated earlier in the week by Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock.
"It's not the first time I've been accused of something, but it's pretty obvious what they're trying to do. Obviously, they're trying to get me off my game. ... But it's something that isn't there," said Crosby, who has four goals and two assists in three games against Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie center Sidney Crosby entered this season touted as the NHL's best young talent since Wayne Gretzky.
So why, after scoring two goals, including an overtime game-winner Wednesday night, was the 18-year-old superstar-in-the-making getting no respect from the Flyers, who visit Crosby and the Penguins again tonight in Mellon Arena?
Asked after Wednesday night's game what he thought of Crosby, Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said, "Other than the breakaway (goal in overtime), I didn't really notice him.”
Sidney Crosby is a better shooter than actor.
The 18-year-old rookie sensation scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway with 46.7 seconds left in overtime, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
Crosby needed stitches on his upper lip after getting high-sticked in the second period. No penalty was called on the play and Crosby later got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for diving.
"It's frustrating," Crosby said. "I go out for five minutes, come back in and get hit in the face from the same guy."
With its bone-crunching violence, bulky armor and head-to-toe uniforms, ice hockey is an unlikely setting for a teen idol.Gretzky, Lemieux, and Peter Forsberg, yes... Bobby Orr? Since when did Sidney switch to defenseman and start making end to end rushes? Since when did Crosby revolutionize the way the game has been played?
Sidney Crosby is shattering that stereotype. The 18-year-old is the hottest thing on ice since Wayne Gretzky, generating a Beatles-like reception at appearances in his native Canada. Now, the buzz is spreading to the United States.
Just two months into his first National Hockey League (NHL) season, the rookie leads the Pittsburgh Penguins in points, drawing comparisons to Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr.
It is not just his swift, goal-scoring plays nor his ability to withstand punishing body checks that excite fans, managers and sponsors. It is also a potentially powerful commercial appeal at a time when the NHL is desperate for a hero.Is the NHL desperate for a hero? Does the NHL need to be saved?
With heartthrob looks, his own brand of sports clothing and a contract worth $2.5 million with footwear manufacturers Reebok, Crosby is the sport's biggest goldmine in more than a decade.Heartthrob looks? Crosby isn't an ugly kid, but he is (and the ladies will agree) no Jiri Slegr in the looks department.
Inside Hockey editor-in-chief Kevin Greenstein compares Crosby to basketball prodigy LeBron James, who went from high school to the National Basketball Association (NBA) two seasons ago, displaying spectacular dunks, deft passes and a veteran's savvy on the court.
The NBA and basketball in general is a very individualistic game where the roster depth doesn't mean nearly as much as in hockey. In hockey, you need a strong 15-22 players to be a contender. In basketball, you need basically 2 (Jordan and Pippen, Stockton and Malone, Magic and Abdul-Jabbar) awesome talents and a bunch of warm bodies. We have seen that one lone player cannot guarantee success in the NHL unless their name is Dominik Hasek. Basketball also does not have a real minor league system and it's either NCAA or NBA for any young and talented players. Sidney Crosby played against a much higher level of talent than LeBron James did before entering the big leagues.
"He's down to earth. He's mature for his young age. He comes across as someone people can relate to," said Reebok marketing executive Len Rhodes.
Oh yes, I can perfectly relate to a multi-millionaire hockey player who has more hockey talent in his pinky finger than I do in my whole body. I can perfectly relate to a kid who has been a huge media sensation for almost a third of his life. Yeah...he's just like one of us, eh!
The 30-team NHL desperately needs a new face to attract talent to the junior leagues, sell jerseys, pack stadiums and market goods.
How the hell does the NHL need a new face to attract talent to the junior leagues? The CHL has been expanding long before Sidney Crosby ever played in the QMJHL and it's not as if he'll suddenly cause an explosion anywhere outside of Pittsburgh.
Let's get a little perspective, people!
(crossposted)
This Sidney Crosby kid is no shrinking violet, that's for sure.
If anyone harbored any doubt Crosby wouldn't be a star in the NHL, those thoughts were mercifully put to rest Monday night when the 18-year-old wunderkind helped the Pittsburgh Penguins down the New York Rangers, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden.
The trip to the Garden marked Crosby's first venture to the Big Apple, but you wouldn't have known if from watching him play. Crosby was calm, cool and collected playing before the bright lights of the big city and 18,200 fans who weren't interested in seeing him excel.
After Mario Lemieux got his team on the board at 15:20 of the first, Crosby took center stage and put the Penguins up 2-0 on a beautiful shake-and-bake goal that left Rangers goalie Kevin Weekes woozy.
Six, seven, eight shooters got the puck for the New York Islanders in the NHL's longest shootout so far, and still Jason Blake didn't get the call. When it comes to skating 1-on-1, he is the Islanders' last choice right now.Sidney finished with 1 goal on 5 shots and a -1 in 23:58 of ice time. It figures that Sid Vicious finished 0 for 1 on faceoffs...
Blake, New York's ninth and final shooter of the extended shootout, nearly lost the puck when he finally got his chance but recovered to steer a shot past Jocelyn Thibault and give the Islanders a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
As Blake came down the slot, the puck fell off his stick momentarily, but he got it back and beat Thibault by faking a backhander only to slide the puck inside the near post.
Most 18-year-olds don’t have a 37-year-old big brother.
It seems Sidney Crosby has found one in Mark Recchi.
Crosby gained a “big brother” when he came to Pittsburgh this year and Recchi, one of the Penguins’ many veterans, took the young phenom under his wing.
“Absolutely, even though I am pretty close to his father’s age,” Recchi said with a laugh. “We talk a lot off the ice and in the dressing room. He’s my roommate on the road. We’re able to talk about hockey and about a lot of things.”
Indeed. While many of the Penguins help Crosby adapt to life in the NHL, Recchi and Crosby have formed a special bond on and off the ice. They’ve been linemantes, off and on, since the beginning of training camp. And, while lines have been shuffled at times, the two have stayed together from a productivity standpoint.
Jaromir Jagr scored three goals Saturday night to lift the New York Rangers to a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena.
Jagr, a former Penguin, scored twice in the second period and completed his 17th-career hat-trick in the third period with a tally. Meanwhile, Steve Rucchin had a pair of third-period goals to seal the game for the Rangers.
New York’s Jed Ortmeyer scored the first period’s lone goal. Following a Penguins turnover in their own end, Ortmeyer put the Rangers up 1-0 just 2:15 into the game. He broke in alone on Jocelyn Thibault, who made the initial save. However, Ortmeyer punched in his own rebound.
When Recchi and Lemieux both came up short, it all came down to Sidney Crosby's efforts to be a hero. With the building electrified with cheers, Sidney threw a backhand shot up at the top of the goal and over Jose Theodore's glove side. The voice of the Penguins, Mike Lang had the call for one amazing goal and with his Hall of Fame voice recorded team history as well as "The Next One's" personal career history.
Sidney Crosby is spending his first NHL season learning from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. On a night Crosby lived up to his hype, he won a game by not copying Lemieux.
The 18-year-old rookie beat Jose Theodore with a backhander for the only goal in the first shootout in Montreal Canadiens history and Pittsburgh recovered after losing a two-goal lead for a 3-2 victory Thursday night.
``It's so amazing, it's hard to believe,'' Crosby said of a memorable game against the team he grew up rooting for. ``I was just fortunate to get that shot. I got lucky with that shot.''
Crosby got a goal that counted in regulation and so did Lemieux, barely a minute after he was lay prone on the ice after being hit by a stick. Jocelyn Thibault, previously winless, turned aside 30 shots in easily his best game of the season. He outdueled Theodore as Pittsburgh beat the team with the Eastern Conference's best record a night after losing 5-0 in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Thrashers scored three goals in the second period en route to a 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
It was the first time the Penguins have been shut out this season as Mike Dunham turned aside all 26 shots he faced.
A win would have given the Penguins eight points on a five-game road trip for the first time in the franchise’s history. Instead, the Penguins (4-7-5) finished with a 3-2 record and six points as their season-long road voyage came to an end.
Sidney Crosby's first goal in Madison Square Garden helped the Pittsburgh Penguins get out of last place.
Crosby - the game's first star - scored his fifth goal in his 15th NHL game and Mario Lemieux picked on a familiar opponent in the Penguins' 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.
Crosby has three goals and two assists through the first four games of the Penguins' longest road trip of the season. And it's no surprise that Pittsburgh is 3-1 with one game left.
"It's an historic place," said Crosby, who has points in 13 games. "The atmosphere here ... it's always a challenge to play here so it was nice to get one."
Has living with Mario Lemieux and his family had any impact on your relationship on the ice as linemates?
To be honest with you, when we're home there's not a lot of talk about hockey. When we're away from the rink, we talk about other things, you know, to clear your head. But maybe on a chemistry level, just confidence and trust and communicating is probably the biggest thing. Just being comfortable talking to him. When I first met him, it was a little intimidating. I mean, I grew up watching him play.
Have you answered these same questions like 100 times by now?
No [laughs]. Well, there's a bunch I've answered already at certain times. But it's fine.
Jiri Slegr scored two power-play goals in a 35-second span in the first period and Patrice Bergeron had a spectacular end-to-end rush for another power-play goal in the second, leading the Bruins to a 6-3 victory over the Penguins on Saturday night.
Mario Lemieux chuckled when asked what he thought about Sidney Crosby's first two-goal game in the NHL.
"Everything that he is doing now is quite amazing at his age," Lemieux said after his 18-year-old linemate had three points in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Lemieux was pretty good, too. The Penguins' player-owner set up both of Crosby's goals and added a third assist as Pittsburgh rode a rare early lead to victory.
Sidney Crosby’s arrival in Pittsburgh will affect a lot more than wins and losses for the Penguins.
It could give them more Ryan Malones.
You see, Malone, a native of Upper St. Clair, is the only Pittsburgh-born player to skate for the Penguins. That could change, though. Crosby’s mere presence alone in the Steel City is sending more and more children to the rink.
“I think it’s going to be very huge. The numbers of the younger kids playing have sort of flat-lined in the past two or three years,” said Mark Shuttleworth, the Penguins’ director of amateur hockey. “Hockey, in general, was experiencing a bit of the doldrums with all the clutching and grabbing. Obviously, our franchise was experiencing a down period and youth hockey enrollments at the younger age groups were a little bit flat. I think this is going to be a huge shot in the arm for youth hockey in this region.”
When the Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux in 1984, youth hockey exploded in the Pittsburgh area. Interest and enrollments went through the roof when the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. Malone was part of that generation.
“When Mario came and they won the Stanley Cups, more rinks were being built and it became more of a hockey town. Obviously, it’s a football town, but hockey gave it a little competition,” Malone said. “It made it more exciting and more fun for everybody. You saw a lot more kids playing street hockey. My friends and I, we’d play street hockey whenever we could. That’s what we had to do when there weren’t so many rinks. Now, hopefully, a lot of people come to the games and get excited about this team. I think the game will continue to grow.”
Center Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who led all rookies in scoring with 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 11 games, has been named NHL Rookie of the Month for October.
Crosby edged Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin (8-5-13 in 11 games), Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jason Labarbera (6-1-0, 1.70 goals-against average in seven games) and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (5-2-0, 1.76 goals-against average in nine games).
Sergei Gonchar scored 1:01 into overtime to lift Pittsburgh over the New Jersey Devils 4-3 Tuesday night for the Penguins' second victory of the season.
Gonchar took the puck in his own end, split the Devils' defence and shovelled a backhander past goalie Scott Clemmensen.