Mike Sullivan was sitting at the Bell Centre on Friday afternoon ahead of his media availability when he turned to me and said, "Man, it's going to be weird seeing Sid tomorrow, the first time he skates past our bench ..."
When the puck drops for Saturday's 8 p.m. matchup between USA and Canada here in Montreal, it'll be the first time a Sullivan-led U.S. team faces off against Sidney Crosby since Sullivan has been Crosby's coach in Pittsburgh.
USA-Canada meetings are always intense, but this one at the 4 Nations Face-Off feels like it carries additional weight. It's the first opportunity for players to have best-on-best competition in nearly a decade, it's on Canadian soil, and the U.S. and Canada are the early front-runners in the tournament. Sullivan's U.S. squad is atop the standings after a huge 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday, and Canada sits in second place after a 4-3 overtime win over Sweden.
Crosby was the No. 1 star of that first Canadian win, picking up three primary assists, including one on a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal in the first minute and on Mitch Marner's overtime goal to seal the win.
Sullivan, of course, was wholly unsurprised to see Crosby step up the way he did.
"I think what stood out to me is probably the same thing that stood out to you and everybody else that watched, right? He's a big game player," Sullivan said. "You know, I've witnessed it firsthand for a decade now -- Sid tends to be at his best when the stakes are high, and that's what I witnessed the other night. I would anticipate he'll be at his best against us."
There's nobody at this tournament who knows Crosby better than Jake Guentzel, Sullivan told me. And Guentzel, like Sullivan, wasn't surprised to see a 37-year-old Crosby be the standout in this setting despite being surrounded by so much younger talent.
"That's just who he is," Guentzel said. "That's how he takes care of his body. I've seen it first-hand. He's this good for a reason. It's pretty remarkable what he's doing. ... He's obviously one of the best. He does it the right way. He takes care of himself. He says the right things at the right times, and he's been through a lot of situations where he's won a lot. He's done it the right way."
Shutting down Crosby will be no easy task for the Americans. Guentzel said that what they'll have to do is "try to take his time and space away as much as possible, don't give him too much and just try to stay above those guys because they can hurt you if you give them chances."
It sounds like a solid game plan. But knowing Crosby, he'll still find a way to rise to the occasion.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
9:41 pm - 02.14.2025MontrealSullivan, Guentzel looking forward to playing Sid
Mike Sullivan was sitting at the Bell Centre on Friday afternoon ahead of his media availability when he turned to me and said, "Man, it's going to be weird seeing Sid tomorrow, the first time he skates past our bench ..."
When the puck drops for Saturday's 8 p.m. matchup between USA and Canada here in Montreal, it'll be the first time a Sullivan-led U.S. team faces off against Sidney Crosby since Sullivan has been Crosby's coach in Pittsburgh.
USA-Canada meetings are always intense, but this one at the 4 Nations Face-Off feels like it carries additional weight. It's the first opportunity for players to have best-on-best competition in nearly a decade, it's on Canadian soil, and the U.S. and Canada are the early front-runners in the tournament. Sullivan's U.S. squad is atop the standings after a huge 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday, and Canada sits in second place after a 4-3 overtime win over Sweden.
Crosby was the No. 1 star of that first Canadian win, picking up three primary assists, including one on a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal in the first minute and on Mitch Marner's overtime goal to seal the win.
Sullivan, of course, was wholly unsurprised to see Crosby step up the way he did.
"I think what stood out to me is probably the same thing that stood out to you and everybody else that watched, right? He's a big game player," Sullivan said. "You know, I've witnessed it firsthand for a decade now -- Sid tends to be at his best when the stakes are high, and that's what I witnessed the other night. I would anticipate he'll be at his best against us."
There's nobody at this tournament who knows Crosby better than Jake Guentzel, Sullivan told me. And Guentzel, like Sullivan, wasn't surprised to see a 37-year-old Crosby be the standout in this setting despite being surrounded by so much younger talent.
"That's just who he is," Guentzel said. "That's how he takes care of his body. I've seen it first-hand. He's this good for a reason. It's pretty remarkable what he's doing. ... He's obviously one of the best. He does it the right way. He takes care of himself. He says the right things at the right times, and he's been through a lot of situations where he's won a lot. He's done it the right way."
Shutting down Crosby will be no easy task for the Americans. Guentzel said that what they'll have to do is "try to take his time and space away as much as possible, don't give him too much and just try to stay above those guys because they can hurt you if you give them chances."
It sounds like a solid game plan. But knowing Crosby, he'll still find a way to rise to the occasion.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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