4 Nations Focus: Sidney Crosby vs. SWE
The kid's still got it
Opening night of the 4 Nations Face-off offered us a reminder of how electrifying best-on-best international hockey can be—and how great Sidney Crosby still is in that setting.
While Team Canada’s 37-year-old captain didn’t quite dominate the proceedings, he delivered what he always has for his country: big moments. Fittingly, he did so on the strength of his hallmarks. Brilliance on the backhand, elite puck protection and three-zone smarts.
Crosby didn’t wait long to leave his mark on the contest either, setting up Nathan MacKinnon’s PP goal less than one minute in:
As Connor McDavid (CAN 97) and Crosby (CAN 87) exchange high-low passes on the perimeter, both Gustav Forsling (SWE 42) and Joel Eriksson Ek (SWE 20) flock to the sport’s preeminent bumper threat (Sam Reinhart, CAN 13). Sweden refuses to concede a Reinhart shot.
Crosby accepts those terms knowing there must be a vulnerability elsewhere. Ahead of McDavid’s return feed, he creeps a few feet inside to trigger a reaction from the weak-side defender (Mattias Ekholm, SWE 14). Ekholm slides over in an attempt to deny forehand access and a cross-slot pass all at once, but Crosby rolls onto the backhand with his reception and threads the needle to MacKinnon (CAN 29) at the back door.
This isn’t so much a structural breakdown as it is a display of Crosby’s natural feel for playmaking. Assuming Reinhart is priority #1, Sweden’s reads are fine here. Crosby’s execution is simply better. 1-0 Canada.
After goals by Brad Marchand and Jonas Brodin, he re-established his team’s two-goal lead late in the second frame:
If Crosby possesses one defining trait, it may very well be his puck protection (see this 9-minute video for reference). He showcased it again on this sequence:
Immediately clocks Forsling’s pace and aggressive line. Since he can’t gain the upper hand outside, he peeks into the heart of the ice for a target.
Goes one-handed in order to wield his free arm as a wedge block.
Leans in and loads his front leg in anticipation of contact. Once Forsling presents some pushback, Crosby leverages that momentum to spring onto his forehand.
Now that he’s bought himself an additional beat, he can play pitch and catch with the trailer he spotted on his earlier scan (Mark Stone, CAN 61).
Beyond his bully-ball ability, Crosby shifts the point of attack from a top-tier defender (Forsling) to one of the worst in the league (William Nylander, SWE 88). That…doesn’t go well for the Swedes. 3-1 Canada.
The Tre Konor weren’t done, though. They carried the action in the second half of the game and knotted things up thanks to Adrian Kempe and Eriksson Ek.
Fortunately for Team Canada, Crosby’s nose for minor advantages surfaced in overtime too:
With acres of space but a speed handicap at 3-on-3, Crosby inches forward nonetheless to capture the gaze of all three Swedes on the ice. He then drops the puck off to Mitch Marner (CAN 16) in the perfect location:
He’s deep enough to have commanded Jesper Bratt’s (SWE 63) respect, which grants Marner real estate as well as a head of steam into the OZ. Avoiding Sweden’s first defensive layer is thus a breeze.
He’s shallow enough to get back onside as the winger zooms in for a wrister.
Ballgame.
On a night when the opposition largely kept McDavid, MacKinnon and Cale Makar in check, Crosby ensured that his team prevailed anyway. There’s no telling whether this will last, but Canada’s captain kicking the tournament off with a bang could spell trouble for its three rivals.
Overall, Crosby posted 3 primary assists, 2 scoring chances and a 52.2 xGF%.
Here are the full highlights:
The article is noteworthy for its failure to recognize the best Swedish player last night, young Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings. He was just as good as Crosby.