We’ll start with Sidney Crosby, unable to play today after being injured in the quarterfinals. The photo sums it up well, a heartbreaking end to his 2026 Olympics, and at 38 years old, he finds himself at what will most likely end up as his final moment on Olympic ice. It’s a tough ending to this chapter. He will still have the golden goal from 2010 and will lead his country to another gold medal in 2014, although that is not much consolation now.
Now the question is: what will happen with the Penguins? Pittsburgh plays Thursday, Saturday and next Sunday and so on. Crosby’s knee looked at least good enough to give it a try to see if he could play, but he didn’t make it. This is a worrying sign heading into what will be a bad stretch for the Pens and the big question will be how much longer Crosby will have to guard.
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At Wilkes, Avery Hayes was kept out of AHL roster for one game today and he is expected to be officially recalled to Pittsburgh when the NHL’s roster freeze ends tonight. This could be a troubling sign if Crosby’s next stop is IR, although he could return as soon as his health is restored. Speaking of the IR list, if Kris Letang is able to return for Thursday’s game as expected, that could be bad news for Ryan Graves’ spot on the roster until the trade deadline. With a few weeks left to get there, the Pens appear to have some roster juggling coming up for the period as they still have to register under the 23 player limit.
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The gold is instant validation for general manager Bill Guerin and Mike Sullivan. No one can say he didn’t do it his way, and his method worked in the end.
This quote must sting players like Jason Robertson, Cole Caufield, and Adam Fox (who plays on Sullivan’s NHL team), because while they were certainly talented enough to be among America’s best players, they ultimately didn’t get a role on that club for very specific reasons. The United States was focused on building a team capable of taking on Canada and the concept was proven by the color of the medal hanging around their neck. Sullivan is now the second coach (along with Mike Babcock) to win the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold.
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If the United States had missed a goal, the discourse would have turned against Guerin and Sullivan for their decisions. They were flexible enough to move a player like Kyle Conner (great in the NHL, often lost to the national team) and try Clayton Keller at that spot before finally finding the magic with Jack Hughes being the right fit for that line proved enough to work. Sullivan and especially Guerin can now look forward to bringing home the gold medal for the first time in 46 years.
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Then again, a great goalie can hide all sorts of things in front of him, and Connor Hellebuyck with his 41 saves today was absolutely incredible. The difference between the USA and Canada (who won a 3-2 overtime match last year at the 4 Nations) is so fine right now. The biggest turning point of the day was undoubtedly the superiority of the American Goalkeepers in a match where they were on their heels for most of the second and third periods. As Crosby said after the game (and Nathan MacKinnon responded with even more raw emotion), Canada did just about everything in this game except find one more goal to take the lead. Hellebuyck was clearly the reason.
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What a moment for the Hughes brothers, who left their mark on this event. Quinn Hughes is probably the best defenseman in the game right now, the control of the game and impact he has on the ice is arguably slightly better than Cale Makar. Jack Hughes is in his seventh season in the NHL and although he has a 99-point year under his belt, he has only made the playoffs once and has been overshadowed by other recent picks at No. 1 overall. I can’t say that anymore with his bloody mouth and toothless smile after the golden goal. Where the two go from here regarding their status in the hockey world will be worth watching. The Pens will get a first-hand look at that when Jack, the Devils and Penguins meet Thursday in Pittsburgh.
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Connor McDavid has been unfailingly loyal to the Edmonton Oilers, from the outside one might wonder if he made the right choice to extend his contract for two more seasons there. McDavid and Macklin Celebrini have something special, imagine a world where McDavid joins an up and coming San Jose team? That would be amazing. There’s something to be said for McDavid’s desire not to seek out a new situation and try to make it work where he’s at, but at this point of watching someone else celebrate once again, it’s hard not to wonder how he will react to this feeling of failing again. Matthew Tkachuk taunted Leon Draisaitl by saying that “always the bridesmaid’this dig is even more appropriate for McDavid. Credit to McDavid for not turning Hossa and seeking out competing teams, although at this point it would be hard to blame him for a change in mentality.
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With that thought always in mind, it was great for the NHL when Matthew Tkachuk left Calgary and found himself in a better situation for Florida or when Jack Eichel left Buffalo for Las Vegas. This could also happen if Quinn Hughes is now in a better position in Minnesota. Selfishly, wouldn’t it be great if that could happen for “Brother Brady” and Zach Werenski? Both have been contracted to their teams for some time and are also extremely loyal to their clubs – there’s no real reason to expect a change anytime soon – it would just be nice to have players like that in better positions. Ottawa and Columbus fans will be rightly offended by this idea, it’s just a passing thought.
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The lasting image of these games, for me anyway, will be the image in the header at the top. It was really nice for the American players to keep Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey in the locker room and keep his spirit close. When Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski went to the stands to pick up two of Gaudreau’s kids and include them in a team photo, man, how can you not get emotional about that? One of the children, Johnny Jr., celebrated his second birthday today, 2/22. For a family that has been through so much losing Johnny and Matthew, seeing them be included in this moment was simply the best and most perfect moment possible to conclude the competition for the Americans.
