Crosby right back to work with Penguins after 4 Nations Face-Off championship

PITTSBURGH -- To Sidney Crosby, there was never a doubt in his mind that he was going to play against the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain was riding a high after helping Canada defeat the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday and wanted to get back and help his NHL team.

So, though there were some conversations about Crosby sitting out, particularly because he is still recovering from an upper-body injury that predated the tournament, he was in the Penguins’ starting lineup against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.

“It was definitely discussed as far as how I felt and that sort of thing, but I want to play and if I can play, I’m going to play,” Crosby said. “It’s pretty clear cut. Either you can or you can’t. And I can.”

Crosby did his part, scoring a goal that was one of the few highlights for the Penguins in an 8-3 loss. It’s been a long season for the Penguins (23-26-9), who are seven points out of the second wild into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and will have some difficult decisions to make before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

Crosby continues to be a bright spot, though, leading Pittsburgh with 59 points (18 goals, 41 assists) in 56 games. The 37-year-old seemed to still be energized by the emotions of winning the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he tied Connor McDavid for Canada’s lead with five points (one goal, four assists) in four games.

Crosby’s goal was vintage Crosby. It came on his trademark backhand on a rush that slipped through Capitals goalie Logan Thompson to tie the score at 2-2 at 6:36 of the second period.

It was the kind of goal that likely would’ve produced a “Slap me silly, Sidney” from Mike Lange, the Penguins longtime play-by-play announcer known for his colorful phrases who was honored in a pregame ceremony Saturday after dying Wednesday at age 76.

“I thought he played well,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought he brought the momentum that he gained during that 4 Nations tournament to the Penguins tonight.”

Crosby missed Pittsburgh’s final two games before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off because of the upper-body injury he sustained against the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 4. He played through it in the tournament, but it seemed to limit him from shooting – he had only three shots on goal in the four games – and on face-offs – he took only 12, winning 6.

The injury didn’t seem to hamper Crosby as much on Saturday, though. He had two shots on goal, five shot attempts and went 8-7 on face-offs.

“I would say that I was happy with the way it’s gone here and there hasn’t been any setbacks and that sort of thing,” Crosby said of his injury. “So, I’ve been happy about that.”

Sullivan watched Crosby from the opposing bench as the U.S. coach at the 4 Nations Face-Off and was impressed, as always, by his play. But Sullivan wanted to be sure Crosby didn’t need some time off after such a demanding tournament, especially with Pittsburgh playing back-to-back matinees against rivals coming out of the break, hosting the New York Rangers on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS) after playing Washington on Saturday.

“Sid wanted to play,” Sullivan said. “I talked to him about it yesterday. He felt good about it. He felt like he had good energy. His body feels good. We’re obviously a way better team when he’s in the lineup.”

The Penguins looked like the better team for much of the first 30 minutes on Saturday. Crosby’s goal erased their second one-goal deficit of the game, and they had a 19-9 advantage in shots on goal until Jakob Chychrun’s goal that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 10:38 of the second period.

Chychrun scored again at 14:17 to make it 4-2 and things unraveled quickly from there for Pittsburgh. Aliaksei Protas scored eight seconds later to make it 5-2 and Tom Wilson scored on a deflection at 18:05 to make it 6-2 and complete a surge in which Washington scored four times on six shots.

“Up until about six minutes left in the second there, we did a really good job,” Crosby said. “Didn’t give up a ton, had a lot of zone time and then I think we beat ourselves. We made some mistakes that were Grade A opportunities for them, and it changed the momentum of the game.”

By the time it was over, somehow Ovechkin, who remained with 879 goals — 16 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894— was one of only three Capitals skaters who did not have a point in the game, along with fellow forwards Nic Dowd and Lars Eller.

“It was a 3-2 game … and the shots were 19-9,” Sullivan said. “We had twice as much offensive zone time as we did in the defensive zone. We felt pretty good about where the game was at, even though we were down a goal. And then we chased offense, and when you chase offense and you don’t have a recognition of risk-reward, you end up giving your opponent easy offense, and as a result that’s what we get.

“We beat ourselves so many different ways. That’s the most disappointing part of it.”