The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com
March 2, 2010
PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby will find out quickly if being an “adopted son” of Pittsburgh means he is forgiven.
Just two days after scoring the gold-medal-winning goal for Canada against the United States, Crosby will take the ice Tuesday night for the Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres.
Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Canada's Sidney Crosby, right, battling Brooks Orpik — his Pittsburgh Penguins teammate — in the preliminary round of the 2010 Olympics.
The game will not produce near the passion of the Olympic final, but Buffalo and Pittsburgh, the defending Stanley Cup champion, are battling for home-ice advantage in the playoffs over the final 20-plus games of the season.
Crosby’s team expects nothing less than a rousing ovation for him and the rest of the Penguins’ Olympians: Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin of Russia, Brooks Orpik of the United States, and Marc-Andre Fleury of Canada.
“Aww, they’ll be happy; it was Sid,” said Penguins wing Max Talbot, who was the star of the Penguins’ Game 7 victory in the Stanley Cup finals last year. Referring to the Sharks’ Dany Heatley, another Canadian Olympian, he added: “It’s not like if Heatley had scored; no one would have cared. They would just have been mad the United States lost.”
The gold medal game was such a transcendent contest that Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma said he even expected ovations for the Sabres’ five Olympians, including goaltender Ryan Miller, the tournament’s most valuable player. Between the two teams’ various players, 7 of the 12 teams that played in the Olympics will be represented here Tuesday.
“I’m not going to be surprised when they give a standing O to Sid,” Bylsma said. “And I’m not going to be surprised when they give a standing O to Brooks Orpik. And I would almost expect them to give one to Ryan Miller. I would if I was an American fan in the stands tomorrow night. You cheer for Ryan Miller and you hopefully score on him.”
Crosby and the Penguins will not have that chance. Despite the possibility of more high drama between Crosby and Miller, whom Crosby beat in overtime for the winner, the Sabres have decided to give Miller some more rest and start Patrick Lalime.
The Penguins may have their own goalie to wonder about. Fleury was the third-string goalie the last two weeks for Canada, but did not play.
“I’m sure he got a lot of work in practice,” Penguins wing Bill Guerin said. “You take a lot of shots in that position. I’m sure he’ll be ready.”
Crosby and Orpik were not expected to return to Pittsburgh until late Monday, but they are expected to play Tuesday despite having opposed each other in Sunday’s game.
“For Brooks Orpik and Sidney Crosby to be on the same flight back here today and one’s wearing gold, one’s wearing silver and they’ll be playing tomorrow, it is kind of a unique situation,” Bylsma said. “Both those guys are going to be putting on a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey and meaning it tomorrow night — I’m confident of that.”
Miller and all other non-Canadians may be coming back to the N.H.L. regular season a little depressed for not winning the gold, but there is a bright side. Ray Shero, the Penguins’ general manager and an adviser to the United States team, noted that since Russia was knocked out in the quarterfinals, Gonchar and Malkin did not have the opportunity to be worn out.
“To me, I’m sure they’re disappointed, but they got four or five more days of rest,” Shero said, “so as the manager of the team, that’s important too.”
But Gonchar, who had won silver and bronze medals for Russian in previous Games, the emotions will be hard to forget.
“It’s my fourth Olympics,” said Gonchar, who wants to make his country’s team in 2014, when the Olympics will be played in Sochi, Russia. “This time I was not going for the experience; I had before. So now everything was about getting a gold medal, and we didn’t get it, so it’s probably one of the biggest disappointments so far in my career.”
On the other side, the Penguins hope to ride the emotional high of Crosby, their captain, to etch their name yet again on the Stanley Cup. “It’s a great thing for him and great for his confidence, another thing on his résumé,” Shero said, “as if he needs something else, right?”
Though Pittsburgh fans can be brutal to opposing teams and players, Guerin, who played on the United States team that won the silver medal at the 2002 Games and in numerous other international competitions, said he thought local loyalties would transcend national allegiances when it came to Crosby.
“You know what?” Guerin said. “He’s Pittsburgh’s adopted son, and I think everyone should be extremely proud of Sidney.”
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