Crosby fails to score as an All-Star

Washington capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin and Penguins center Sidney Crosby break up ice together last night during the 55th NHL All-Star Game in Dallas.

Penguins' 19-year-old center Sidney Crosby took the spotlight for three days in Dallas, but came up empty on the score sheet last night, even though there were 21 goals

Thursday, January 25, 2007

By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

DALLAS -- He didn't dominate on this night.

He didn't win the game MVP and the 2007 Dodge Nitro that goes with it.

Didn't make it his coming-out party.

Didn't register a point, something fairly unthinkable in such a wide-open affair.

But Penguins center Sidney Crosby got to experience his first NHL All-Star Game last night at American Airlines Center, a game won by the Western Conference, 12-9, against the Eastern Conference.

All those goals -- the All-Star Game record is 26, set in 2001 -- and Crosby wasn't a factor.

"Twenty-one goals," Crosby said, disappointed but smiling. "It would have been nice to get one, but it wasn't to be."

Buffalo's Daniel Briere, who had a goal and four assists, was named the MVP despite playing for the losing team. For the Western Conference, Columbus' Rich Nash had two goals and two assists, Colorado's Joe Sakic had four assists and Minnesota's Brian Rolston had two goals and two assists.

Crosby had three shots and was minus-2.

"There wasn't too much strategy," Western Conference coach Randy Carlyle of the Anaheim Ducks said of thwarting Crosby. "I thought some of the older players in the league showed their talent."

Crosby, 19, who leads the league in scoring with 72 points in 43 games, was presented by the league and greeted by fans and the media as the game's premier player -- the game being hockey, not just the All-Star celebration.

More and more, he has been compared with all-time great Wayne Gretzky. The two are the only players who have led the league in scoring as teenagers, and their numbers at a similar stage of their careers are comparable.

And Gretzky was held without a point in his first NHL All-Star Game, also at age 19.

"That makes me feel a little better," Crosby said.

Through three days of activities, though, Crosby insisted he would be the richer for his chance to be an All-Star. He said afterward that the hectic schedule might have affected him, but he didn't change his mind about the experience.

"I know how important this game is," he said. "It's an enjoyable experience. I'm not going to stand here and complain about anything.

"I think the best part was being able to meet the guys and get to share the ice with them."

Crosby, who received 875,783 votes on online balloting to become the game's youngest fan-elected starter, played with Washington winger Alex Ovechkin, the young player he is most often grouped with when there is talk of players to watch for years to come, and New York Rangers veteran Brendan Shanahan.

Shanahan turned 38 Tuesday, making him twice as old as Crosby.

Which only made Shanahan a sage to Crosby, who grew up watching him play.

"He's a great guy," Crosby said of Shanahan. "We sit pretty close in the [All-Star locker] room, and I just sit there and listen to his stories. I don't have as many as he does, so I just sit there and listen to him."

It's likely Crosby's personal story log will grow substantially before he is finished playing.

The 2007 All-Star Game probably will be just the first of many, although it won't be the most memorable for what happened on the ice.

Crosby and Ovechkin -- who beat out Crosby last season to win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year -- had two good chances in the first period.

At 12:00, Crosby was stopped on the doorstep by Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo after taking a pass from Ovechkin.

On the same shift, the two linemates had a 2-on-1 breakaway against a backpedaling San Jose forward Joe Thornton, who was able to break up the play.

In the second period, Ovechkin got his first All-Star goal, on a rush to the net, but it came on one of the rare times that he was on the ice without Crosby. Ovechkin's goal brought the Eastern Conference to within 8-6 after the Western Conference had gone on a 4-0 run in 4:13 to climb from a 5-4 deficit to an 8-5 lead. Until that run, the teams had not been more than a goal apart.

In the first shift of the third period, Crosby and Ovechkin cruised down the ice on a 2-on-1, but Dallas goaltender Marty Turco made a pad save on Ovechkin. That line had a more than two-minute shift near the end of the third period, but Crosby couldn't set up Ovechkin.

"It would have been nice to get one, especially with the guys I was playing with, but it wasn't to be," Crosby said.

"I tried to help him," Ovechkin said. "I tried to score goals.

"Next All-Star [Game]."

The NHL certainly gave Crosby every chance to make this his showcase. He and Ovechkin were the only players put at a podium with a microphone for player interviews Monday while all the other All-Stars held informal gatherings with reporters.

The league made sure Crosby got plenty of photo opportunities, including a news conference for the new, sleeker Reebok uniforms the NHL debuted and will use next season, and a presentation before the game of the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

Crosby smiled and gave interview after interview.

A night before the game, Crosby's teammate, Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins' second-leading scorer and the NHL's top rookie scorer, had a disappointing night when he failed to get a point in the YoungStars game.

Crosby and Malkin will get another crack at the American Airlines Center tomorrow night. The Penguins' first game after the break is tomorrow against the Dallas Stars.



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(Shelly Anderson can be reached at shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721. )