PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby can see the finish line now. An even loftier place in this great game’s history is within reach.
A man who misses no detail, who possesses an iron will to match his God-given skill, is doing absolutely everything in his power to grab it.
You saw it on the opening shift of Game 5 when Crosby sliced the Nashville Predators defence right open. Only 33 seconds had expired. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain was ready.
"I had some speed and we had a pretty quick play, so I wasn’t sure if they were trying to get up and get their gap or if they were going to back up," Crosby said of the Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis pairing.
He sensed some indecision and barged straight through, hitting the right post behind Pekka Rinne with an off-balance shot. It resulted in a holding penalty to Ellis and, 41 seconds later, the opening goal after Crosby wheeled it out to Justin Schultz for a one-timer.
They were off. A defiant 6-0 victory followed.
"When he plays that way, it’s awfully easy to follow him," said veteran forward Matt Cullen. "There’s a lot of competitive guys, but I don’t think there are a lot of guys who can raise their level to where he gets to. When he senses the opportunity, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen, the way he steps up and raises his level."
In Canada, we know this intuitively. They called it the "Golden Goal" when Crosby scored in overtime at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and he followed it up with another big goal and another gold medal four years later in Sochi, Russia.
Now he is trying to captain his third Penguins team to a Stanley Cup and the second in as many years. Should that happen, Crosby will also figure prominently in the Conn Smythe Trophy discussion as playoff MVP.
He could become just the third man in history to win that award in consecutive springs, joining Flyers goalie Bernie Parent (1974-75) and his former landlord Mario Lemieux (1991-92).
You could go on and on about the accomplishments and the hardware, but it is on a night like Thursday where you see his greatness. We may not appreciate it to the level we should. The Penguins are down men and playing through injuries and couldn’t risk going back to Bridgestone Arena down 3-2 for Game 6 on Sunday.
He made sure they didn’t.
"I think Sid really understands the opportunity that this team has, and he’s not taking anything for granted," said coach Mike Sullivan. "He’s as driven an athlete as I’ve seen. He’s as hungry as I’ve seen a player, and I just think he understands it.
"He sees the opportunity in front of us, and he’s doing everything within his power to try to help us be successful."
His competitive streak brought he and P.K. Subban back together late in the first period. They were on the ice, tangled up, and Crosby says his legs were being locked by the Predators defenceman who earlier in the series falsely suggested he’d chirped him over bad breath.
Crosby responded by slapping Subban’s head into the ice repeatedly, as though as he was dribbling a basketball. It was about the only moment of the game where Nashville had him contained.
"He lost his stick," said Crosby, by way of explanation. "He was doing some UFC move on my foot, so I don’t know what he was trying to do. I was trying to get out of there."
They were given offsetting penalties, which angered Predators coach Peter Laviolette, especially when Evgeni Malkin made it 3-0 on the 4-on-4 that followed. That chased Rinne in favour of backup Juuse Saros for the second time this series.
The outcry in the Nashville dressing room about Crosby’s treatment of Subban was muted.
"It’s the playoffs," said James Neal. "Things happen."
"It’s hockey, man," Subban said when asked generally about his many exchanges with Crosby. "Just hockey."
When it comes to the hockey part there is still no one better than No. 87. He details you to death: Spinning off guys in the corner, finding linemate Jake Guentzel with a one-handed pass, knocking a puck out of midair and settling it in stride.
On Thursday, Crosby carved through the middle of the ice before placing a gorgeous backhanded tap-in on the stick of Conor Sheary. Minutes later, two Predators converged on him quickly and he got the puck safely up to Olli Maatta with a backhand bounce pass off the boards. Phil Kessel scored right after.
He was like a pool player in control of every angle.
When backed up by Malkin, who had some dangerous offensive moments, and a three-point game from Phil Kessel it was way too much for the Predators to handle. Next level.
"I think they’ve cracked the upper echelon," Wayne Gretzky was saying of Crosby and Malkin earlier this week. "What they’re doing now is adding onto it. In this day and age, it’s probably a lot tougher for them."
So, get this: Crosby’s three assists moved him past Lemieux for the franchise record in career points during the Stanley Cup Final.
This is a new chapter, and it is being written by the man from Cole Habour, N.S.
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