Friday marks the 10-year anniversary of arguably the most iconic moment in Canadian sports history, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal in the 2010 Olympics.
In the gold medal game that year in Vancouver, Crosby scored in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 win over the United States, not that you needed a reminder.
Crosby was asked if that was the top moment of his accomplished career.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to really rank different things,” Crosby said Tuesday. “It was a pretty unique and special experience. It’s right up there definitely.”
On his gold-winning goal, Crosby cycled the puck with Jarome Iginla then yelled “Iggy!” as he darted to the net. Iginla slipped the pass through to him. Then Crosby snapped a quick shot between the legs of stunned U.S. goalie Ryan Miller.
He tossed his gloves and stick in celebration before getting mobbed in the corner by his teammates. Behind the glass, thrilled fans waved Canadian flags.
A decade later, the 32-year-old reflected on what he felt in that moment.
“Just happiness,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations. I think as a kid growing up, you dream of scoring goals like that. So for it to happen in Canada, and the way it kind of unfolded, probably happiness comes to mind.”
He added: “Regardless of where it was, scoring a big goal at the Olympics like that was pretty neat. … [But doing it] in your home country like that, it’s pretty special.”
Excuse me, that’s not Sid
There was an awkward but funny moment Tuesday when a confused television reporter thought Patrick Marleau was Crosby and started asking Marleau what it was like to score such a memorable Olympic goal for his country.
“I’m not taking credit for that goal,” he said with a laugh. “Sid scored the goal.”
The veteran forward, who did play on that Canadian national team with Crosby, deftly pivoted and pondered what that moment meant to his country.
“It was just amazing to win on home soil. When Sid got that goal, I think everybody flew off that bench. It was quite the celebration in Canada,” Marleau said. “It was very special. I’ll never forget going out [to dinner] in Vancouver after. The streets were just jammed. Everybody was celebrating.”
McCann sits out Wednesday
Jared McCann did not play Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center due to an upper-body injury, Mike Sullivan said. The coach added that McCann, who did not practice Tuesday but was spotted riding an exercise bike, is still being evaluated so he couldn’t say how long he will be out.
With McCann injured, the Penguins on Tuesday recalled on an emergency basis Sam Lafferty from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
Lafferty began Wednesday’s game on the fourth line with Evan Rodrigues and Dominik Simon. Marleau was with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev on the third. Connor Sheary played on the top line with Crosby and Jason Zucker. And Evgeni Malkin had Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist back on his wings.
On defense, Juuso Riikola replaced Zach Trotman in the lineup.
Crosby excited about additions
The captain said Tuesday that he expects the additions of Marleau, Sheary and Rodrigues — throw in Zucker, too — to give the Penguins a “big boost.”
“I think when you look at the division and how tight it is and the opportunity we have down the stretch, we need to find that next level for the rest of the season here,” he said. “Adding guys like that is going to help us do that.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: February 26, 2020, 7:43 p.m.
