PITTSBURGH — It might seem hard to believe, but Feb. 28 will mark the 10th anniversary of Sidney Crosby’s “Golden Goal” to give Canada a 3-2 overtime win over the United States in the gold-medal hockey game at the Vancouver Olympics.
“Just an unbelievable memory,” Crosby said after the Penguins practised Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex ahead of Friday night’s game against the Canadiens. “When I think back it’s crazy and scary to think that it’s been 10 years. I can’t believe it’s been that already. When I think back, just an amazing experience at the Olympics, being Canadian in Canada. To have it finish off that way was special.”
Canada was leading the game 2-1 and the country was getting ready to celebrate before Zach Parise scored with only 24 seconds left in the third period to send it into OT.
“Being in Canada and 30 seconds away from winning it in regulation and have them tie it up,” Crosby recalled. “As a kid growing up watching the Olympics and dreaming of playing for Team Canada and being part of that whole experience, just the way it all worked out was really special. … Regardless of the outcome, it would have been special in it’s own right. But to finish that way, I think that’s every kid’s dream.”
Just over seven minutes into overtime, Crosby broke into the U.S. zone with the puck and took a shot that goalie Ryan Miller stopped and directed into the corner. Crosby picked up his own rebound, carried the puck up the boards toward the blue line and then dropped it back to Jarome Iginla in the corner. That’s when Crosby screamed “Iggy!” as he broke to the net and took a return pass from Iginla before beating Miller with a quick shot from in close and Canada celebrated.
Crosby was asked what it was like in the Team Canada locker room after the third period when they had blown the 2-1 lead.
“It was really calm,” he said. “Calm and confident. Scott Niedermayer was a great leader and probably a big part of that. We had a lot of veteran guys. I remember they seemed really poised and I think as a young guy you could really feed off of that. Obviously, it happened quick. We kind of lost the lead there with 30 seconds left, so it’s a quick turnaround. But I thought we turned the page pretty quick and you learn a lot from those situations. Just to see that veteran experience kind of take over and bring that sense of calm that it brought to a young player like myself, a lot of confidence.”
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