They were in Montreal, but there was a definite Pittsburgh vibe going at the 4 Nations Face-Off last night. It started with the introduction of hometown hero Mario Lemieux, who got the loudest ovation of the night and called Sidney Crosby over to share in the moment. Then Crosby went out and showed why he’s still the best playmaker in the world with three assists in a 4-3 overtime Team Canada win over Sweden.
Crosby helped open the scoring with a brilliant backhand power play assist to Nathan MacKinnon, and later set up Mark Stone for another goal, holding off a defender and hitting Stone with a pass right on the tape. He then assisted on Mitch Marner’s overtime game-winner.
Marner says Crosby was the key on the OT goal.
Teammate Connor McDavid says Crosby is ageless.
Team USA plays Finland tonight in the second game of the tournament.
