Winning ways
Crosby on brink of another title, another MVP award
TORONTO — Sidney Crosby has been pretty busy for the past year and a half.
Winning, it seems, takes a lot of time.
It began in the spring of 2015 when, not long after the New York Rangers ended the Penguins’ season in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Crosby helped Canada claim the world championship in the Czech Republic.
About 3½ months ago, he led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup and was named playoff MVP for his trouble.
And now he is a major reason Canada is on the cusp of winning the World Cup of Hockey. And he might well get another MVP award for his collection.
“I’d like to have that resume,” Canada forward Steven Stamkos said.
Lots of guys would. Few ever will, and not only because the World Cup isn’t an annual event.
“There’s really not much more than can be said about the player he is,” Stamkos said. “Guys in our room feel that he’s the best player in the world, and we’re glad he’s on our team.”
Canada can secure the World Cup title with a victory against Team Europe at 8 p.m. today in Game 2 of the final round at Air Canada Centre.
If Europe forces a Game 3, it will be in the same building at 7 p.m. Saturday.
But if Europe doesn’t — and that probably is the way to wager — there’s a pretty good chance that Crosby will be recognized as the tournament’s top performer.
Oh, Canada goalie Carey Price merits some consideration for that honor — he’s 40, with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage — but no one has been more of a force in the World Cup than Crosby.
“He’s on top of his game and he’s making some great plays,” linemate Patrice Bergeron said.
Crosby has the numbers to back that up.
He leads the tournament in points [nine], assists [six] and plus-minus [plus-8] and centers what has been, by far, the most productive line in the World Cup.
Linemates Brad Marchand [seven points] and Bergeron [six] are the Nos. 2 and 3 scorers in the tournament and, with Crosby, have combined to score 10 of Canada’s 22 goals through the first five games.
“It’s been a line that’s been dominant all tournament,” Stamkos said.
“A big reason we’re one game away from winning this.”
Certainly, Crosby’s line, along with Price, helped Canada avoid being upset in Game 1, when it sputtered through much of the first 40 minutes.
Crosby’s breakout pass to Bergeron sparked the sequence that led to Marchand’s first-period goal, and his work behind the Europe goal line to set up Bergeron’s goal in the third allowed Canada to put the game out of reach.
“Sid’s a great player who shows up at big times,” Canada forward Ryan Getzlaf said.
“Sid’s everything I expect him to be.”
That’s mostly because Crosby, in addition to his shooting and passing abilities, possesses weaponsgrade competitive instincts.
“He competes so hard,” Bergeron said. “He wants to be at his best at all times, and always gets better.
“From one tournament to another, he’s always getting better, always improving.”
Team Europe figures to be reminded of that again tonight and, in a matter of weeks, so will the guys with whom he has shared a locker room for most of this month.
That includes Canada defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who faced Crosby in the Stanley Cup final in the spring as a San Jose defenseman.
“He’s one of the best players in the world,” Vlasic said. “He was in the final. He is in this tournament.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.