PITTSBURGH — The headline in one of the Pittsburgh papers Thursday declared the town “Sid’s City.” The city of Pittsburgh’s motto is benigno numine — “With the Benevolent Deity.”
Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been worshipping at the altar of Sidney Crosby since he came out of junior hockey in 2005 as the most hyped new prospect since Mario Lemieux with those same Penguins.
So, too, has the NHL. Every chance the league gets, it puts Crosby on the media podium at these Stanley Cup Finals to say a few words. Wednesday night’s Game 3 on NBC could have been called “The Crosby Show” for as much camera time as he got.
Ratings increase
As far as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is concerned, Crosby can’t be seen and heard often enough. Nielsen overnight ratings for Wednesday’s game showed an 87 percent increase from last year’s Ottawa-Anaheim Game 3 on NBC. Casual fans who might not normally watch hockey got a chance to see the hype surrounding Crosby was warranted, as he scored two goals in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory over Detroit.
The pressure on Crosby is enormous. The NHL is counting on the 20-year-old to be the face of its post-lockout world, and the Penguins are depending on him, as captain, to lead them back from a two-game deficit to win the Cup.
But the soft-spoken Nova Scotia native seems specially bred for these roles. He started skating at age 3, and by 7 he gave his first newspaper interview. But the hockey prodigy who could have grown arrogant and spoiled has earned the respect of his older teammates for his hard work.
“What impresses me the most about Sid, you look at him, (and) every morning he’s going to bring skills. He’s probably one of the most talented guys in the league,” Penguins forward Maxime Talbot said. “But when you come to practice or just optional skate and you look at him, you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, that guy, he’s working, and the respect for the game, the love for the game and the passion.’ And what he did (Wednesday) night was just a great example. You have no choice but to follow. I think that’s the reason why we came out like that.”
When Penguins players came into the dressing room before Game 3, Crosby already was there. What they encountered was a silent captain, and, they say, the look on Crosby’s face said it all.
“He was very intense looking, very focused,” Talbot said. “You knew he was going to have a big game.”
Crosby prefers the strong, silent style of leadership. It is why he grew up a big admirer of former Red Wings center Steve Yzerman.
Crosby leads the way
“I wanted to make sure personally I had a good game. You want to be quiet, but you have to have a sense of confidence in the room, too,” Crosby said. “I think we all believed that if we put our best game out there, we gave ourselves a good chance. But personally, you just want to make sure you’re leading by example and doing your job out there.”
Hockey culture has a dichotomous nature toward its stars on the ice. Off the ice, players pay their respects to the Crosbys of the world with flowing praise. But on the ice, they want to take their heads off. Crosby has been subject to countless shots, some of them clean, a lot of them cheap. He took a huge, open-ice hip check from Detroit’s Kris Draper in Game 3 but came away unhurt.
Crosby does not want the special treatment Lemieux used to not-so-subtly demand from the referees.
“We have to take hits to make plays,” Crosby said. “You see Tyler Kennedy gets hammered right before we score that (third) goal. Adam Hall scores, and that’s part of the playoffs. You have to be ready for that. But when you’re initiating, it’s a lot better for sure.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
