Crosby solid in debut, Penguins top Islanders 5-0
The defining moment of Sidney Crosby's dazzling season debut in the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0 rout over the New York Islanders on Monday didn't come on either of his two goals or his two assists.
It didn't come on the flash-bulb popping opening faceoff or the electric buzz his presence on the ice created.
Midway through the first period, with Crosby standing near the New York net while the Penguins worked the power play, New York defenseman Travis Hamonic turned and saw a black No. 87 jersey standing near his goaltender.
He sent Crosby tumbling.
This was the first real test of Crosby's comeback from concussion-like symptoms, the one even Crosby knew couldn't be duplicated in practice.
And like all the other challenges he's faced the last 10 months, he passed with flying colors. Crosby quickly bounced back to his feet as the Penguins and the rest of the NHL exhaled.
''I was mad at myself for putting myself in that position,'' he said. ''I'm glad I kind of got that over with too early on. There's going to be more hits and probably harder ones.''
Just not ones more important to a franchise's psyche.
''There was a fair amount of contact out there for him tonight, and he just seemed to thrive on that situation and came away with the puck and skate away,'' coach Dan Bylsma said. ''After the first time I saw him skate off the ice, I kind of stopped worrying about that situation.''
So did Crosby.
Despite all the precautions he's taken during the 320 days since he last played in a game, Crosby knew he couldn't predict how his body would react. He knew he didn't want to be treated with kid gloves, and Hamonic obliged with a very clean but very direct hit to the chest.
''Did I know who it was? Yeah,'' Hamonic said. ''I thought it was just an opportunity to be hard on someone and, you know, that's all it was and just got caught out there battling.''
That was all Crosby and the Penguins could ask for. The 24-year-old superstar returned with the kind of singular play that evoked memories of Hall of Famer and current team owner Mario Lemieux's return from retirement in 2000.
Lemieux had a goal and two assists in a 5-0 win. Crosby stressed early Monday it would difficult to top. Somehow he did.
''I don't really have good words for it,'' Bylsma said. ''That was a special in a lot of ways.''
For no one more than Crosby, who celebrated his first goal in 328 days in decidedly un-Crosbylike fashion.
After a breathless sprint down the ice in which he weaved through the New York defense and beat rookie Anders Nilsson with a backhand, Crosby raised his arms in triumph and let out a roar punctuated by a hard-to-miss profanity.
He laughed while watching himself on replay and later apologized for his poor choice of words while admitting ''I couldn't hold that in.''
Crosby added assists on goals by Evgeni Malkin and Brooks Orpik and capped his comeback with a second tally, a backhand that fluttered by Nilsson early in the third period to provide the final margin.
Steve Sullivan also scored for the Penguins while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots to collect his 21st career shutout, one behind franchise leader Tom Barrasso.
Nilsson, making just his second start of the season, made 31 saves for New York but was no match as Penguins roared to life with their captain back.
Displaying the speed and remarkable skill that have made him a national icon in his native Canada and the face of the sport before his 25th birthday, Crosby transformed the Penguins from Cup contender to Cup favorite in less than 6 minutes, or the length of time it took for him to find the back of the net for the first time since last December.
Finishing off a backcheck, Crosby streaked up the ice, took a pass from Pascal Dupuis as he crossed the center line and went to work. He worked the puck to his backhand, slipped past New York's Andrew MacDonald and flipped the puck over Nilsson's glove.
''I saw for a few seconds they were a little flat-footed,'' Crosby said. ''I was able to get some good speed built up when I got it. I knew I had a chance to go wide.''
He was just getting started, later helping the Penguins go up 2-0 by feeding Orpik on the point and watching his defenseman rifle a slap shot by Nilsson.
Crosby earned a secondary assist on Malkin's power-play goal early in the second and Malkin later provided a highlight-worthy point of his own, threading a saucer pass to Sullivan as Pittsburgh pushed the lead to 4-0.
''I thought we had a decent start, it's just I think (Crosby's) goal gave them a big lift and they had some momentum from the power plays and they took it to us early in the second and we couldn't come out of that,'' New York center John Tavares said.
Crosby capped his brilliant debut with a backhand that fluttered by Nilsson in the third, turning the last 15 minutes of the game into a party worthy of late-spring not the week of Thanksgiving.
NOTES: New York D Mark Eaton left the game with a sprained left MCL and did not return. ... The announced crowd of 18,571 was the 219th consecutive sellout. ... Pittsburgh's James Neal did not score in a home game for the first time this season.
