Dream becomes reality for Crosby

VANCOUVER -- Sidney Crosby lifted the Stanley Cup as captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins eight months ago. He lifted his entire country Sunday afternoon, scoring the goal 7:40 into overtime that gave Canada a thrilling 3-2 victory over the United States in the gold medal game of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Moments after receiving his gold medal and taking his turn waving a huge Canadian flag around the Canada Hockey Place ice in a scene reminiscent of the passing of the Stanley Cup from player to player upon its being won, Crosby stopped to discuss his golden moments with NHL.com.

NHL.com: Sidney, you won the Stanley Cup last June. Can you compare the two?

Crosby: I don't know. They're really similar. They're both really hard to win.

NHL.com: What was the moment like when you saw that puck go in the net?

Crosby: It's just really special and to be able to do it here in Canada and share it with all the Canadians. It's a dream come true is what it is.

NHL.com: What does it feel like to score the overtime goal that wins an Olympic gold medal? Can you describe the winning play?

Crosby: It's an unbelievable feeling. I barely remember what happened on the play. I just threw it at the net and then our guys were jumping on me. It was everything and more than I could imagine.

NHL.com: Do you even dream about things like this or are they too far-fetched?

Crosby: Yeah, I did dream about it -- probably a thousand times. But you never know if it's going to come true. You never know if you’re going to be in this position. And that's the thing. You get in these situations and you never know when they're going to come again.

You see how hard it was just for us to get in the finals here. The Olympics are only once every four years – you don't get a crack at them every year. And it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play here in Canada.

They spoiled our hopes at the end of the third there a little bit. But we came out in overtime and went after it.

NHL.com: Is it fitting that, with everybody looking to you to do something spectacular, you were the man who scored the goal?

Crosby: Oh, I don't know. I guess that's for you guys to say. But I'm happy. I'm just like every other guy on the team who grew up a proud Canadian and dreamed about playing for Team Canada one day. And we all dreamed about scoring this goal. It could easily have been someone else. I'm happy I had the chance to do it.