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PITTSBURGH — Wayne Gretzky needed four NHL seasons. Mario Lemieux required seven. But Sidney Crosby was swifter than both No. 99 and No. 66.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' sensational 20-year-old captain has steered his team to a Stanley Cup final in only his third season.
With an inspiring two-assist performance, Crosby guided the Penguins to a decisive 6-0 victory — their most lopsided win of the 2008 playoffs — against the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday to take the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series in five games.
The Penguins have played in concert this spring, with an explosive transition game and outstanding team defence, putting together an impressive 12-2 run. Pittsburgh will next face the winner of the Detroit Red Wings-Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup final series that is expected to start Saturday.
Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is congratulated on his team's win by Philadelphia Flyers goalie Martin Biron in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference final in Pittsburgh on Sunday. (Jason Cohn/Reuters)
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Did Crosby believe his Penguins, with all their young talent, would reach such an impressive level so early in his career?
"I don't think we had any expectations," Crosby said. "I think we did everything in our control as players to have the right attitude and to learn as much as we could, as quick as we could. We're lucky to have some mix of guys with veterans and younger guys that have really shown they can play even early on in their careers.
"So having that mix has helped us. And I think we've set some high standards for ourselves."
Crosby's high standards were evident on the play that put the game out of reach midway through the second period. Backchecking, he poked the puck away from Flyers nemesis Mike Richards inside the Pittsburgh blueline, and then turned the play up the ice to set up linemate Marian Hossa for the Penguins' third goal.
"I don't think [Richards] expected somebody to be coming back," Crosby said. "So I didn't have to put much weight on my stick. I was able to just poke it away."
The Penguins have advanced to their first NHL final since Lemieux directed the franchise to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 1991 and 1992. A grinning Super Mario, now the team owner, made his way to the Penguins dressing room after the game and congratulated each player with a handshake.
"He said 'good job,' " said Penguins forward Ryan Malone, who was raised in Pittsburgh. His father, Greg Malone, played for the team in 1970s and '80s and currently scouts for the organization.
When it came time for NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to present the Prince of Wales Trophy to the Eastern Conference champs, captain Crosby did not touch it, leaving the trophy on its perch. It's considered taboo for NHL players to touch the conference championship trophies because the Stanley Cup is the desired prize.
"Yeah, I was aware of [the superstition]," Crosby said. "I've watched a lot of Stanley Cup playoff games. You don't see too many guys touch it. It's a good feeling to go up there. But we all realized that's not the one we want to be holding."
The Penguins led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Malone and Evgeni Malkin, and 5-0 following 40 minutes when Hossa, Malone and Jordan Staal also scored. Pascal Dupuis, Crosby and Hossa's linemate, got the game's final goal early in the third period.
Netminder Marc-André Fleury made 21 saves for his third shutout this spring.
Afterwards in the dressing room celebration, Fleury was stripped down to a black T-shirt with the slogan "Demand More" on the front and "Keep Climbing" on the back. The 23-year-old goalie from Sorel, Que., is a big reason the Penguins have traversed successfully through three rounds of the playoffs.
He has climbed to new heights.
"I think everything is a lot more fun," said Fleury, who along with a few teammates remember the difficult, pre-Crosby days. "It's pretty cool that together we lived those tough days. I think everybody improved together. As a team we're winning, so it's big fun."
