The Rookie
Nov 5, 2005 13:01:21 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Nov 5, 2005 13:01:21 GMT -5
The Rookie
By SHAWNA RICHER
Friday, November 4, 2005 Posted at 7:37 AM EST
Globe and Mail Update
Sid's big three-point night on the Island
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - - Sidney Crosby played his best game of the year so far last night, and showed everyone those rookie of the month honours from October are no fluke.
He scored two goals - - one especially worthy of the highlight reel - - and had one assist to lead the Penguins to a dominant 5-1 win over the New York Islanders.
For the first time all season, this 3-5-5 team looked the way everyone expected it would before the season even began, as Crosby enjoyed his first multi-goal effort of his NHL career.
Afterwards in the visitors' dressing room he seemed the happiest and most relaxed he has been following any game so far, but he was humble about his production.
"I was just happy to have been able to put a few in," he said.
Crosby's first goal at 4:30 of the first period against Rick DiPietro was just the second time this season the Penguins have scored first.
Later, during a rush on a 5-on-3 power play in the third period, Crosby guided a mid-air cross-ice pass from Mario Lemieux under the crossbar for the Penguins fifth-goal. After he scored, he didn't smile the way he did after the first goal, but gave Lemieux a lengthy and serious stare of admiration that held even after he congratulated his teammates and skated to the bench.
The kid is really starting to make his transition to the NHL look easy, but he's a tough one to get talking about his own accomplishments.
"It's nice to know that when we do this we give ourselves a really good chance to win," Crosby said. "We can make a lot happen. I think that is the most important part: seeing the result. There were times when we did that for a lot of the time but the result was different. To see this brings a lot of encouragement to the guys and a lot of confidence."
Confidence they badly needed, winning just one game through October. The Crosby-Lemieux-Mark Recchi line, playing together in their third full game, is clearly finding its groove. They combined for seven points last night, with Sidney leading the way.
He's got 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points; tied for sixth overall in the league and 3 ahead of the closest rookie, Blackhawks winger Pavel Vorobiev.
Now the Penguins take the Crosby show to Boston, where they face the Bruins Saturday night.
- Updated Friday, November 4 at 7:39 a.m.
Another point in big Penguins win
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - The Penguins looked infinitely better last night at the Swamp, recording their second victory of the season (2-5-5) with a pretty dominant 4-3 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils.
Too bad not many people got to see it. The announced attendance at Continental Airlines Arena was 10,134, but it seemed like no more than 6,000 could possibly have been there. The crowd was so sparse entire sections were nearly empty and the rink temperature was especially frosty from the lack of bodies.
But the Penguins would have taken this win in private. It was desperately important for the struggling squad to start this road trip with a win. It's their longest of the season - - 5 games in 9 days - - taking them to Jersey, Long Island, Boston, New York and Atlanta.
Martin Brodeur is nursing a sprained knee, so Scott Clemmensen filled the goal for the Devils. And although New Jersey scored first, the Penguins pressed from early on, and for the most part stayed out of the penalty box, which has been one of their problems lately.
Sidney Crosby got an assist on the Penguins first goal of the night, a power play effort just as a 5-on-3 was expiring. He was parked at Clemmensen's left corner and chipped the puck out in front where teammate Mark Recchi scored to tie the game 1-1.
Lasse Pirjeta and Maxime Talbot also had pretty goals for the Penguins, but they surrendered another two-goal third period lead, and for a few minutes it looked as though this game would end as so many others have this season. But it did not. They displayed a confidence that has been largely lacking, and perhaps now their fortunes will turn.
The real hero of the night emerged in overtime. Sergei Gonchar, the $5-million defenceman who has had a slow start to the season, picked up a drop pass at his blue line from Steve Poapst, raced up the left side through the neutral zone and then, zipped across the ice, crashing with the puck through three Devils defenders to score between Clemmensen's pads.
It was a terrific athletic display that had players on both teams on their feet along the benches.
"I was just trying to create offence and get down there to score," Gonchar, who had been in the penalty box during one of the Devils' third period goals, said after the game. "I don't know if I caught those guys flat-footed. I just skated around them.
"Everything happened so quickly. They scored those two goals and we didn't have a chance to worry about what was going to happen. We just continued to play."
And he made it look easy.
"It was definitely our most complete game," said Crosby, who has likely played in front of bigger crowds in junior hockey. "There was no panic out there."
Crosby now has 2 goals and 13 assists for 15 points, leading all Penguins and all rookie skaters. And he's tied for 3rd in the league in assists.
Now with his first NHL overtime win on the books, it is on to Long Island, finally with a start to something the whole team is happy with.
- Updated Wednesday, November 2 at 9:18 a.m.
Pens hope line-up changes get road trip off to good start
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - The Penguins will look a little different tonight when they face the New Jersey Devils at Continental Airlines Arena in an effort to turn this team around before it is too late.
October was a cruel month for this squad that looks so good on paper but has failed so far to deliver. They have a 1-5-5 record and just seven points. So centre Erik Christensen and defenceman Ryan Whitney have both been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre. In a bitter irony, the Baby Penguins are 9-0 this season.
"They are getting thrown in headfirst," Coach Eddie Olczyk says. "Both guys are going to get an opportunity to play, and play a lot."
Today marks the start of the Penguins longest road trip of the year, a nine-day, five-game journey they desperately hope will seem them pick their way through the standings and regain ground. They visit the Devils, Islanders, Bruins, Rangers and Thrashers before returning home to face the Canadiens next Thursday.
In the past week, Olczyk has received public assurances from player-owner Mario Lemieux and general manager Craig Patrick that his job is safe. But who knows what could happen if the team doesn't start performing to its ability on this trip. This is without a doubt the important stretch of the month-old season for the Penguins.
Adding Christensen and Whitney, who are making their NHL debuts, are the first significant moves for the Penguins this season. (Dick Tarnstrom and Andre Roy are on injured reserve.)
Both call-ups add size and skill. Christensen, 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, is third in the AHL with 9 goals and 19 points. Whitney, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, is tops among AHL defencemen with 5 goals and 14 points.
"They bring some energy for their first NHL game and we'll take whatever we can to get some wins," said Ryan Malone, who will play with Christensen and Ziggy Palffy.
Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby continues to excel, leading his team and all rookie skaters with 2 goals and 12 assists for 14 points.
- Updated Tuesday, November 1 at 10:28 a.m.
A loss, a more complete game, and a leader in the locker room
PITTSBURGH - - The luckless Penguins lost again last night, falling 4-3 to the Florida Panthers in sudden death overtime. Stephen Weiss scored 53 seconds into the period, and as the slap shot sailed past goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, captain and owner Mario Lemieux was in the penalty box, serving an interference minor.
From my view in the press box, Lemieux's transgression was questionable; it may have been incidental contact, or Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik might have been a better candidate for the call. No matter, Lemieux was hot about it, and boiling over by the time the game ended abruptly.
After Weiss scored, Mario, still voicing his displeasure, stormed out of the penalty box shouting towards referee Stephane Auger as linesman Pat Dapuzzo held him off.
Then, to make things worse, at least in the eyes of more a dozen reporters and broadcasters waiting to talk to him after the game about what happened, Lemieux sent word from the medical room that he didn't feel like talking.
He is the captain, the owner and was the guy in the penalty box when the winning goal was scored. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby stayed for 20 minutes to talk to reporters. The rookie has become the go-to guy in the Penguins locker room after games, not just because he is by far and away the team's best player but also because there often isn't anyone else to talk to, although Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi did talk to reporters after treatment and showers.
Sidney, who has been as frustrated as anyone else with this dismal, and given the team's on-paper talent embarrassing 0-4-5 start to the season, continued to show maturity and a sense of responsibility to his profession by staying as long as anyone needed him. And while he was seriously bummed out about the loss, he was also philosophical beyond his 18 years.
"We did everything we could to win," he said. "We can tell ourselves we put in an honest effort and unfortunately, we haven't been able to say that until this game. Sure it's important, every game is important. But I think we should be happy with our effort. No one in here accepts losing, but this is not a failure. We're not hurting over this one. It is what it is. I think we did everything right tonight. We deserved to win this, out of all the ones we played so far.
"But it's a challenge, a mountain we have to climb, and it'll be all that much sweeter when we do."
The Penguins are the only NHL team without a win and off to the worst start in franchise history. It was the eighth time in nine games they failed to score the first goal. And they squandered a 3-2 lead with 2:30 left in the game.
But as sure as they are struggling, the Penguins have also quickly become Crosby's team. He does everything - - sets up pretty goals and makes teammates better every game. He crashes the net, never slows down and is constantly and consistently involved in making things happen. And now he has become the team's spokesman in the dressing room.
It is perhaps unfair, given his rookie status, to leave him front and centre after every single game. He has only 9 NHL games under his skates, but he has grabbed the mantle with grace and has run away with it like hockey's ambassador-in-the-making.
- Updated Wednesday, October 26 at 8:04 a.m.
A wonderful but winless season
PITTSBURGH - - It took just one game for Sidney to register his first NHL assist, and just three to score his first goal. But he and the Penguins are still searching for their first win, and it's getting frustrating.
They are the only team in the NHL without a victory and at 0-3-4 are off to the worst start in the franchise's 38-year history.
They dropped another game Thursday night, this time 6-3 to the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins fell behind 2—0 in the first period and stormed back with two quick goals 29 seconds apart by defenceman Dick Tarnstrom and centre Mario Lemieux to tie the game. But then they fell flat, and the Devils cruised to an easy win.
The Penguins are loaded with offensive talent in Crosby, Lemieux, Mark Recchi, Ziggy Palffy and John LeClair, and they show flashes of brilliance more than a few times each game.
But something is out of sync and it's been tough to put a finger on. Defence has been shaky, goaltending inconsistent and they find themselves on the penalty kill too often. The Penguins have only scored the first goal once in seven games, and are always playing catch-up.
"It seems like we have to get down a couple of goals before we start playing and by then it's too late," Lemieux said after the game.
Afterwards Sidney, who has excelled with 2 goals and 7 assists and who saw his point streak snapped at six games, sat at this stall in the dressing room in full equipment, the last guy still there. His lip was cut and bloody after Devils' defenceman Richard Matvichuk got his stick under the Penguins' visor in the third period. He said he never envisioned it would be so difficult to get a win.
"We have to play with the lead and we're hardly ever in that position," he said. "It's nice to get that two-goal spurt like we had but we immediately let them go on the power play and wasted it. We haven't played 60 minutes of hockey yet. Once we do that, we're going to be fine."
The players held a closed door meeting after the game, in which Lemieux, Recchi and LeClair addressed their teammates. They travelled to Boston on Friday for a game against the Bruins Saturday night.
- Updated Friday, October 20 at 3:06 p.m.
A little independence and a sweet ride
Yesterday after the Penguins practiced, a serious looking man in a suit was waiting for Sidney in the dressing room. Turns out he was a representative for Mellon Bank, wanting to set the rookie up with a chequing account, debit and credit card. The players got their first cheques on the 15th and Sidney had no where to deposit his.
A boy needs a bank account, especially one with plans to buy a new car. Sidney is hoping to do just that on Monday. Now Mario won't have to wait around for him if he has other things to do.
The rookie's ride of choice is a boxy, unpretentious Range Rover in blue. The Sport model starts at $56,750 (U.S.) and the top Range Rover goes from $74,950.
And it comes in "Buckingham blue." It's a rich, not nearly navy that almost perfectly matches one of the hues Sidney selected for his Reebok line of clothing - - T-shirts and lifestyle wear coming out in the next few months. The kid has vision on the ice and an eye for style too.
- Updated Thursday, October 20 at 9:09 a.m.
Football makes for a perfect day off
PITTSBURGH -- I apologize for going on a bit about football in this blog space devoted to hockey, but here in Pittsburgh we are deep in the heart of the NFL season and even if you peeked out your window, past the television and the newspaper sports sections, you still would not know there was much else going on in the world.
With the Penguins winless in six starts (0-2-4) and a knee injury to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and pathetic performance by his backup Tommy Maddox dominating front page headlines for days on end, it's difficult to get away from football in this city.
After a difficult loss to the Stanley Cup defending Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk gave his team the following day off to rest and rejuvenate. How did young Sidney spend his Sunday?
Laying on the sofa at Mario's house, watching football of course. He took in the Steelers-Jaguars game and then the Patriots-Broncos game.
"I was a couch potato. I watched football all day, from noon to 7 o'clock at night," he said. "It was great."
Any friendly wagers made across the living room?
"No comment," he said playfully.
- Updated Tuesday, October 18 at 11:57 a.m.
Football a fixture in the hockey press box
Nittany Lions fever has been rampant lately in Pennsylvania, what with legend Joe Paterno and Penn State getting off to a rousing 6-0 start in the Big 10 this year.
The past few Saturday nights at Mellon Arena, the hockey press has been glued to college football on all the available televisions in the press box before the Penguins broadcast begins. Sometimes it's not easy for people to switch over the hockey game. During intermissions, the channel is quickly turned back to football.
Even though the Stanley Cup defending Tampa Bay Lightning are in town, it was a sad day for those with a rooting interest in the Nittany Lions. When Michigan scored a touchdown on the game's final play to win 27-25 in an upset, groans of anguish and shrieks of disbelief could be heard from one end of the press box to the other.
My condolences to Dave Molinari, the fine Penguins beat writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a Penn State alumnus. His frustration and heartbreak as the game ended was as intense as those of Maple Leafs fans watching their team bow out in the early rounds, all the years combined.
The Penguins were well into their third shifts on the ice before the television closest to my seat was tuned in from the nail-biting USC-Notre Dame game, which also ended in last-second touchdown, for the Trojans.
Back to watching how rookie phenom Sidney Crosby matches up against former No. 1 draft pick Vincent Lecavalier. Speaking of alumnus, they both played their junior hockey with the Rimouski Oceanic. Sidney tallied 120 goals and 183 assists in 127 regular season games; Vincent 86 goals and 132 assists in 122 regular season games.
- Updated Saturday, October 15 at 8:16 p.m.
Shower sandals? So yesterday
PITTSBURGH -- For years, professional athletes from all corners have schlepped around the dressing room or clubhouse in those comfy rubber shower sandals, making them so popular regular folks started wearing them as street shoes, sadly, often with white tube socks.
But something a bit more fashion forward made their debut at the Igloo today.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were sporting brand new Crocs after practice. Not just for gardening or the beach anymore, these brightly coloured, plastic, vented, slip-on clogs have made what might be their first NHL dressing room appearance.
Penguins' equipment manager Steve Latin has been wearing them since the first day of training camp. He loves them so much he ordered a giant carton for the players. Most picked a pair in either bright yellow or black - - Sid's got a yellow pair - - but outgoing, French Canadian forward Maxime Talbot sported a hot pink pair yesterday.
"It doesn't surprise me," Crosby quipped about his former world junior team mate. "Maxie's always been a trendsetter. He looks good in them."
"I think someone thought they suited my personality," the impish Talbot said. Defenceman Brooks Orpik has a pink pair, too.
- Updated Wednesday, October 12 at 3:06 p.m.
Hockey in the South
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Perhaps it was just an isolated incident starring a clueless chap, but an eye-rolling moment after the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C. might give a glimpse into how off the radar hockey is in most of the southern U.S.
After the game, reporters were interviewing Penguins captain and owner Mario Lemieux in the visiting locker room. A local scribe wandered into the room, glanced at the hockey legend and puzzled, said not quietly and to no one in particular: "Who's that guy?"
Er, just likely the second most recognizable hockey player ever. Wonder if he'd recognize Gretzky if he saw him?
The Penguins lost the game 3-2 in an overtime shoot out - - Mario, Ziggy Palffy and Sidney Crosby all failed to score on Hurricanes rookie goaltender Cam Ward of Sherwood Park, Alta., who probably moves about unbothered quite easily on the streets of Raleigh.
- Updated Saturday, October 8 at 2:12 p.m.
By SHAWNA RICHER
Friday, November 4, 2005 Posted at 7:37 AM EST
Globe and Mail Update
Sid's big three-point night on the Island
UNIONDALE, N.Y. - - Sidney Crosby played his best game of the year so far last night, and showed everyone those rookie of the month honours from October are no fluke.
He scored two goals - - one especially worthy of the highlight reel - - and had one assist to lead the Penguins to a dominant 5-1 win over the New York Islanders.
For the first time all season, this 3-5-5 team looked the way everyone expected it would before the season even began, as Crosby enjoyed his first multi-goal effort of his NHL career.
Afterwards in the visitors' dressing room he seemed the happiest and most relaxed he has been following any game so far, but he was humble about his production.
"I was just happy to have been able to put a few in," he said.
Crosby's first goal at 4:30 of the first period against Rick DiPietro was just the second time this season the Penguins have scored first.
Later, during a rush on a 5-on-3 power play in the third period, Crosby guided a mid-air cross-ice pass from Mario Lemieux under the crossbar for the Penguins fifth-goal. After he scored, he didn't smile the way he did after the first goal, but gave Lemieux a lengthy and serious stare of admiration that held even after he congratulated his teammates and skated to the bench.
The kid is really starting to make his transition to the NHL look easy, but he's a tough one to get talking about his own accomplishments.
"It's nice to know that when we do this we give ourselves a really good chance to win," Crosby said. "We can make a lot happen. I think that is the most important part: seeing the result. There were times when we did that for a lot of the time but the result was different. To see this brings a lot of encouragement to the guys and a lot of confidence."
Confidence they badly needed, winning just one game through October. The Crosby-Lemieux-Mark Recchi line, playing together in their third full game, is clearly finding its groove. They combined for seven points last night, with Sidney leading the way.
He's got 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points; tied for sixth overall in the league and 3 ahead of the closest rookie, Blackhawks winger Pavel Vorobiev.
Now the Penguins take the Crosby show to Boston, where they face the Bruins Saturday night.
- Updated Friday, November 4 at 7:39 a.m.
Another point in big Penguins win
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - The Penguins looked infinitely better last night at the Swamp, recording their second victory of the season (2-5-5) with a pretty dominant 4-3 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils.
Too bad not many people got to see it. The announced attendance at Continental Airlines Arena was 10,134, but it seemed like no more than 6,000 could possibly have been there. The crowd was so sparse entire sections were nearly empty and the rink temperature was especially frosty from the lack of bodies.
But the Penguins would have taken this win in private. It was desperately important for the struggling squad to start this road trip with a win. It's their longest of the season - - 5 games in 9 days - - taking them to Jersey, Long Island, Boston, New York and Atlanta.
Martin Brodeur is nursing a sprained knee, so Scott Clemmensen filled the goal for the Devils. And although New Jersey scored first, the Penguins pressed from early on, and for the most part stayed out of the penalty box, which has been one of their problems lately.
Sidney Crosby got an assist on the Penguins first goal of the night, a power play effort just as a 5-on-3 was expiring. He was parked at Clemmensen's left corner and chipped the puck out in front where teammate Mark Recchi scored to tie the game 1-1.
Lasse Pirjeta and Maxime Talbot also had pretty goals for the Penguins, but they surrendered another two-goal third period lead, and for a few minutes it looked as though this game would end as so many others have this season. But it did not. They displayed a confidence that has been largely lacking, and perhaps now their fortunes will turn.
The real hero of the night emerged in overtime. Sergei Gonchar, the $5-million defenceman who has had a slow start to the season, picked up a drop pass at his blue line from Steve Poapst, raced up the left side through the neutral zone and then, zipped across the ice, crashing with the puck through three Devils defenders to score between Clemmensen's pads.
It was a terrific athletic display that had players on both teams on their feet along the benches.
"I was just trying to create offence and get down there to score," Gonchar, who had been in the penalty box during one of the Devils' third period goals, said after the game. "I don't know if I caught those guys flat-footed. I just skated around them.
"Everything happened so quickly. They scored those two goals and we didn't have a chance to worry about what was going to happen. We just continued to play."
And he made it look easy.
"It was definitely our most complete game," said Crosby, who has likely played in front of bigger crowds in junior hockey. "There was no panic out there."
Crosby now has 2 goals and 13 assists for 15 points, leading all Penguins and all rookie skaters. And he's tied for 3rd in the league in assists.
Now with his first NHL overtime win on the books, it is on to Long Island, finally with a start to something the whole team is happy with.
- Updated Wednesday, November 2 at 9:18 a.m.
Pens hope line-up changes get road trip off to good start
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - The Penguins will look a little different tonight when they face the New Jersey Devils at Continental Airlines Arena in an effort to turn this team around before it is too late.
October was a cruel month for this squad that looks so good on paper but has failed so far to deliver. They have a 1-5-5 record and just seven points. So centre Erik Christensen and defenceman Ryan Whitney have both been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre. In a bitter irony, the Baby Penguins are 9-0 this season.
"They are getting thrown in headfirst," Coach Eddie Olczyk says. "Both guys are going to get an opportunity to play, and play a lot."
Today marks the start of the Penguins longest road trip of the year, a nine-day, five-game journey they desperately hope will seem them pick their way through the standings and regain ground. They visit the Devils, Islanders, Bruins, Rangers and Thrashers before returning home to face the Canadiens next Thursday.
In the past week, Olczyk has received public assurances from player-owner Mario Lemieux and general manager Craig Patrick that his job is safe. But who knows what could happen if the team doesn't start performing to its ability on this trip. This is without a doubt the important stretch of the month-old season for the Penguins.
Adding Christensen and Whitney, who are making their NHL debuts, are the first significant moves for the Penguins this season. (Dick Tarnstrom and Andre Roy are on injured reserve.)
Both call-ups add size and skill. Christensen, 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, is third in the AHL with 9 goals and 19 points. Whitney, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, is tops among AHL defencemen with 5 goals and 14 points.
"They bring some energy for their first NHL game and we'll take whatever we can to get some wins," said Ryan Malone, who will play with Christensen and Ziggy Palffy.
Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby continues to excel, leading his team and all rookie skaters with 2 goals and 12 assists for 14 points.
- Updated Tuesday, November 1 at 10:28 a.m.
A loss, a more complete game, and a leader in the locker room
PITTSBURGH - - The luckless Penguins lost again last night, falling 4-3 to the Florida Panthers in sudden death overtime. Stephen Weiss scored 53 seconds into the period, and as the slap shot sailed past goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, captain and owner Mario Lemieux was in the penalty box, serving an interference minor.
From my view in the press box, Lemieux's transgression was questionable; it may have been incidental contact, or Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik might have been a better candidate for the call. No matter, Lemieux was hot about it, and boiling over by the time the game ended abruptly.
After Weiss scored, Mario, still voicing his displeasure, stormed out of the penalty box shouting towards referee Stephane Auger as linesman Pat Dapuzzo held him off.
Then, to make things worse, at least in the eyes of more a dozen reporters and broadcasters waiting to talk to him after the game about what happened, Lemieux sent word from the medical room that he didn't feel like talking.
He is the captain, the owner and was the guy in the penalty box when the winning goal was scored. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby stayed for 20 minutes to talk to reporters. The rookie has become the go-to guy in the Penguins locker room after games, not just because he is by far and away the team's best player but also because there often isn't anyone else to talk to, although Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi did talk to reporters after treatment and showers.
Sidney, who has been as frustrated as anyone else with this dismal, and given the team's on-paper talent embarrassing 0-4-5 start to the season, continued to show maturity and a sense of responsibility to his profession by staying as long as anyone needed him. And while he was seriously bummed out about the loss, he was also philosophical beyond his 18 years.
"We did everything we could to win," he said. "We can tell ourselves we put in an honest effort and unfortunately, we haven't been able to say that until this game. Sure it's important, every game is important. But I think we should be happy with our effort. No one in here accepts losing, but this is not a failure. We're not hurting over this one. It is what it is. I think we did everything right tonight. We deserved to win this, out of all the ones we played so far.
"But it's a challenge, a mountain we have to climb, and it'll be all that much sweeter when we do."
The Penguins are the only NHL team without a win and off to the worst start in franchise history. It was the eighth time in nine games they failed to score the first goal. And they squandered a 3-2 lead with 2:30 left in the game.
But as sure as they are struggling, the Penguins have also quickly become Crosby's team. He does everything - - sets up pretty goals and makes teammates better every game. He crashes the net, never slows down and is constantly and consistently involved in making things happen. And now he has become the team's spokesman in the dressing room.
It is perhaps unfair, given his rookie status, to leave him front and centre after every single game. He has only 9 NHL games under his skates, but he has grabbed the mantle with grace and has run away with it like hockey's ambassador-in-the-making.
- Updated Wednesday, October 26 at 8:04 a.m.
A wonderful but winless season
PITTSBURGH - - It took just one game for Sidney to register his first NHL assist, and just three to score his first goal. But he and the Penguins are still searching for their first win, and it's getting frustrating.
They are the only team in the NHL without a victory and at 0-3-4 are off to the worst start in the franchise's 38-year history.
They dropped another game Thursday night, this time 6-3 to the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins fell behind 2—0 in the first period and stormed back with two quick goals 29 seconds apart by defenceman Dick Tarnstrom and centre Mario Lemieux to tie the game. But then they fell flat, and the Devils cruised to an easy win.
The Penguins are loaded with offensive talent in Crosby, Lemieux, Mark Recchi, Ziggy Palffy and John LeClair, and they show flashes of brilliance more than a few times each game.
But something is out of sync and it's been tough to put a finger on. Defence has been shaky, goaltending inconsistent and they find themselves on the penalty kill too often. The Penguins have only scored the first goal once in seven games, and are always playing catch-up.
"It seems like we have to get down a couple of goals before we start playing and by then it's too late," Lemieux said after the game.
Afterwards Sidney, who has excelled with 2 goals and 7 assists and who saw his point streak snapped at six games, sat at this stall in the dressing room in full equipment, the last guy still there. His lip was cut and bloody after Devils' defenceman Richard Matvichuk got his stick under the Penguins' visor in the third period. He said he never envisioned it would be so difficult to get a win.
"We have to play with the lead and we're hardly ever in that position," he said. "It's nice to get that two-goal spurt like we had but we immediately let them go on the power play and wasted it. We haven't played 60 minutes of hockey yet. Once we do that, we're going to be fine."
The players held a closed door meeting after the game, in which Lemieux, Recchi and LeClair addressed their teammates. They travelled to Boston on Friday for a game against the Bruins Saturday night.
- Updated Friday, October 20 at 3:06 p.m.
A little independence and a sweet ride
Yesterday after the Penguins practiced, a serious looking man in a suit was waiting for Sidney in the dressing room. Turns out he was a representative for Mellon Bank, wanting to set the rookie up with a chequing account, debit and credit card. The players got their first cheques on the 15th and Sidney had no where to deposit his.
A boy needs a bank account, especially one with plans to buy a new car. Sidney is hoping to do just that on Monday. Now Mario won't have to wait around for him if he has other things to do.
The rookie's ride of choice is a boxy, unpretentious Range Rover in blue. The Sport model starts at $56,750 (U.S.) and the top Range Rover goes from $74,950.
And it comes in "Buckingham blue." It's a rich, not nearly navy that almost perfectly matches one of the hues Sidney selected for his Reebok line of clothing - - T-shirts and lifestyle wear coming out in the next few months. The kid has vision on the ice and an eye for style too.
- Updated Thursday, October 20 at 9:09 a.m.
Football makes for a perfect day off
PITTSBURGH -- I apologize for going on a bit about football in this blog space devoted to hockey, but here in Pittsburgh we are deep in the heart of the NFL season and even if you peeked out your window, past the television and the newspaper sports sections, you still would not know there was much else going on in the world.
With the Penguins winless in six starts (0-2-4) and a knee injury to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and pathetic performance by his backup Tommy Maddox dominating front page headlines for days on end, it's difficult to get away from football in this city.
After a difficult loss to the Stanley Cup defending Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk gave his team the following day off to rest and rejuvenate. How did young Sidney spend his Sunday?
Laying on the sofa at Mario's house, watching football of course. He took in the Steelers-Jaguars game and then the Patriots-Broncos game.
"I was a couch potato. I watched football all day, from noon to 7 o'clock at night," he said. "It was great."
Any friendly wagers made across the living room?
"No comment," he said playfully.
- Updated Tuesday, October 18 at 11:57 a.m.
Football a fixture in the hockey press box
Nittany Lions fever has been rampant lately in Pennsylvania, what with legend Joe Paterno and Penn State getting off to a rousing 6-0 start in the Big 10 this year.
The past few Saturday nights at Mellon Arena, the hockey press has been glued to college football on all the available televisions in the press box before the Penguins broadcast begins. Sometimes it's not easy for people to switch over the hockey game. During intermissions, the channel is quickly turned back to football.
Even though the Stanley Cup defending Tampa Bay Lightning are in town, it was a sad day for those with a rooting interest in the Nittany Lions. When Michigan scored a touchdown on the game's final play to win 27-25 in an upset, groans of anguish and shrieks of disbelief could be heard from one end of the press box to the other.
My condolences to Dave Molinari, the fine Penguins beat writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a Penn State alumnus. His frustration and heartbreak as the game ended was as intense as those of Maple Leafs fans watching their team bow out in the early rounds, all the years combined.
The Penguins were well into their third shifts on the ice before the television closest to my seat was tuned in from the nail-biting USC-Notre Dame game, which also ended in last-second touchdown, for the Trojans.
Back to watching how rookie phenom Sidney Crosby matches up against former No. 1 draft pick Vincent Lecavalier. Speaking of alumnus, they both played their junior hockey with the Rimouski Oceanic. Sidney tallied 120 goals and 183 assists in 127 regular season games; Vincent 86 goals and 132 assists in 122 regular season games.
- Updated Saturday, October 15 at 8:16 p.m.
Shower sandals? So yesterday
PITTSBURGH -- For years, professional athletes from all corners have schlepped around the dressing room or clubhouse in those comfy rubber shower sandals, making them so popular regular folks started wearing them as street shoes, sadly, often with white tube socks.
But something a bit more fashion forward made their debut at the Igloo today.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were sporting brand new Crocs after practice. Not just for gardening or the beach anymore, these brightly coloured, plastic, vented, slip-on clogs have made what might be their first NHL dressing room appearance.
Penguins' equipment manager Steve Latin has been wearing them since the first day of training camp. He loves them so much he ordered a giant carton for the players. Most picked a pair in either bright yellow or black - - Sid's got a yellow pair - - but outgoing, French Canadian forward Maxime Talbot sported a hot pink pair yesterday.
"It doesn't surprise me," Crosby quipped about his former world junior team mate. "Maxie's always been a trendsetter. He looks good in them."
"I think someone thought they suited my personality," the impish Talbot said. Defenceman Brooks Orpik has a pink pair, too.
- Updated Wednesday, October 12 at 3:06 p.m.
Hockey in the South
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Perhaps it was just an isolated incident starring a clueless chap, but an eye-rolling moment after the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C. might give a glimpse into how off the radar hockey is in most of the southern U.S.
After the game, reporters were interviewing Penguins captain and owner Mario Lemieux in the visiting locker room. A local scribe wandered into the room, glanced at the hockey legend and puzzled, said not quietly and to no one in particular: "Who's that guy?"
Er, just likely the second most recognizable hockey player ever. Wonder if he'd recognize Gretzky if he saw him?
The Penguins lost the game 3-2 in an overtime shoot out - - Mario, Ziggy Palffy and Sidney Crosby all failed to score on Hurricanes rookie goaltender Cam Ward of Sherwood Park, Alta., who probably moves about unbothered quite easily on the streets of Raleigh.
- Updated Saturday, October 8 at 2:12 p.m.