Pens v Ducks (W 5-4)

Ahhhhhhh. This is more like it. And before I say anything else, I must begin by saying Petr Sykora is AMAZING. He had a hand in 3 of the 5 Penguins goals (2G, 1A) tonight. Incredible. He rightfully earned the top star of the game. The Penguins twice scored goals within 20 seconds of the last - once in the 2^nd period, and once in the 3^rd. Marc-Andre Fleury was looking much better tonight, but he was still not as steady in goal as he has been in the past. Georges Laraque had another impressive night. If he keeps this up, we might be able to forget what happened with him last season. ;)

Sidney was looking outstanding as usual, getting an assist on a beautiful pass through Chris Pronger's feet to Ryan Malone. There was a scare when Sid blocked a shot with his foot, but he soldiered on and continued to play. X-rays did not show any broken bones. (Whew!!!) He'll be able to relax a bit and ice his foot for the next couple of days - they don't play again until they face the Canadiens on Wednesday. Here are Sid's highlights as reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The goal was made possible by center Sidney Crosby, who lunged along the right-wing boards and swatted the puck to Malone in the center of the ice. "I was just trying to get the puck over," Crosby said. Once Malone got it on his stick, he moved down the slot and stuck a shot over [Jonas] Hiller's glove for his first of the season. Crosby's assist is his only point so far. The Penguins probably expected him to have more after two games, but have to be grateful simply to have him in uniform.

Sidney passes the puck around Sean O'Donnell

He was hobbled after blocking a Francois Beauchemin shot with the outside of his right foot during the first period. Crosby, who broke his left foot blocking a shot March 16, was in obvious pain and skated gingerly to the bench, but was able to return in the middle of the period. X-rays did not detect a fracture, although Crosby, who acknowledged that "it did swell up," operated at less than peak efficiency for the balance of the evening.

"He's a warrior, and he always finds a way to get things done," Malone said. "That's the important thing."

Odds for a win were against the Pens - until tonight's game, they had only won 2 of the last 10 home openers. It was a hard fought victory, but anyone that thought beating the defending Stanley Cup champs would be easy was grossly misinformed. So what does Sid think of the win? "It feels good," Crosby said. "Especially against them."

And before I let you go, I wanted to make sure I mentioned this next story:

Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi have purchased suites at Mellon Arena for the 2007-08 Pittsburgh Penguins season and will make them available to numerous children’s charities throughout the region.

At the Penguins’ home opener on Saturday night against Anaheim, Crosby’s suite will host kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation while Recchi’s suite will host Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Many other children’s charities will be involved throughout the season.

“We think it’s very important for professional athletes to give back to our community, and we can’t think of a better way than enabling kids who are disadvantaged or have special needs to experience the excitement of a Penguins game at Mellon Arena,” Crosby and Recchi said in a joint statement.

Recchi has actually been doing this for a number years now, and it's especially nice to see that Sid is following the Wreckin' Ball's lead by giving back to the community.