PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby celebrates his third-period goal against the Senators at Scotiabank Place in Game 3 of first-round Stanley Cup action, April 14, 2008. The Penguins won, 4-1, and took a 3-0 series lead.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
OTTAWA: Sidney Crosby, secret weapon.
In case you'd forgotten that Crosby deserves a prominent spot -- maybe right at the top -- in any rational ranking of the world's best hockey players, he delivered a stark reminder 12 seconds into the third period Monday night.
Imagine the terror Ottawa Senators forward Antoine Vermette must have felt.
Vermette was covering for a defenseman, trying to corral a bouncing puck near the Senators' blue line, as Crosby bore down on him at roughly 200 mph.
Crosby poked the puck past Vermette without breaking stride to set up a 2-on-1 with Marian Hossa. It looked as if The Kid would pass, but at the last moment, he snapped a shot past goaltender Martin Gerber on the short side.
"What a goal," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.
Crosby made it sound easy.
"I just had a good bounce, good luck," he said. "Marian was coming up on the right side, and I just had a chance to shoot. I found my spot. Chances are few and far between, especially in the playoffs.
"It was nice to convert."
It was more than nice.
It snapped a 1-1 tie and sent a jolt of electricity through the Penguins' bench (it also was the fastest goal at the start of a period in Penguins playoff history).
"You could feel the jump on our bench," defenseman Brooks Orpik said.
A little more than a minute later, Jordan Staal deflected a puck past Gerber to make the score 3-1. The Senators were toast.
The Penguins had absorbed Ottawa's best shot and would survive with a 4-1 victory and a three-games-to-none lead in the series.
Crosby's goal changed everything. It also made Marc-Andre Fleury's terrific goaltending stand up.
In a way, it's understandable that Crosby had become something of a sidebar lately. He did, after all, miss 28 games with an ankle injury.
But if you listened long enough to some of the warped minds out there, you would have thought he was a has-been at age 20.
Never mind that when he sustained his high-ankle sprain three months ago, Crosby was tied for the NHL scoring lead and was just heating up.
Never mind that he still finished second in the league in points per game (1.36), a fraction behind Alexander Ovechkin.
Never mind that Crosby was coming off a Game 2 performance in which he recorded four assists and started the winning play.
Was that the least-heralded four-assist playoff game on record, or what?
"I don't know if people forget (how good Crosby is)," defenseman Ryan Whitney said, "but he just turned it on at the end there."
These Penguins grow up a little every day.
Last night's lesson was titled How to Kick a Team When It's Down. Wednesday in Game 4, it will be How to Finish The Job.
You knew the Penguins would have to weather a storm, with Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson making a dramatic return from a knee injury that had kept him out of the first two games.
To compound matters, the Penguins learned prior to the game that they would be without Gary Roberts, who had been a major factor.
Sure enough, the Senators played with renewed fervor in the first period.
Fleury (33 saves) held up strong. His best stop was a ridiculous toe save on Dany Heatley in the second period.
By the end of that frame, the Senators had begun to lose some steam. The Penguins liked where they stood.
"We felt comfortable with a tie game," Therrien said. "We always play really good in the third period. That's what I told the players. I said, 'I'm comfortable with where we are right now -- and we really could hurt them.' "
Crosby, who has six points in the series, delivered the lethal blow.
Therrien laughed when he was asked if the goal reminded some people that Crosby might be the best player on the planet.
"He's right there," the coach said. "He's right there."
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com.
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