Crosby lets fans behind curtain in Season 2 of ‘FACEOFF: Inside the NHL’ 

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Sidney Crosby is ready to let fans behind the curtain.

Normally reserved, the Pittsburgh Penguins center will star in Season 2 of “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL,” which premiered Friday on Prime Video.

“Just comfortable with what the ask was,” Crosby said on Thursday. “Got to spend some time with me in Halifax, see some skates and my training, stuff like that. Kind of a different thing with it being away from the rink.

“It was a good experience. They were great to work with and, hopefully, people enjoy the different look of not seeing me do interviews at my stall every day."

Consisting of six episodes, the season will also feature Florida Panthers forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand, Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, Los Angeles Kings forwards Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield, former Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Zach Hyman.

At age 38, Crosby is entering his 21st season. He had 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) in 80 games last season, reaching at least 90 points in a third straight NHL season for the first time.

Defenseman Kris Letang, Crosby’s teammate with Pittsburgh since 2006, said an unfiltered look into how the Penguins captain maintains that level would be invaluable.

"It's going to be incredible to see what he puts into his game,” Letang said. “If it's about what he does to prepare himself for a season or what he does in the (off)season, it's just going to show how dedicated, how much time and focus he puts into his craft to get better and better every day."

Crosby’s career is at an interesting point.

A few key milestones are within reach. With 1,687 points (625 goals, 1,062 assists), Crosby could become the ninth player in League history to reach 1,700. He is 36 points from tying Mario Lemieux (1,723 points; 690 goals, 1,033 assists) for the most in Penguins history.

At the same time, Pittsburgh will try to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the past three seasons.

Crosby, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, still leads that charge. It made sense to provide a look at how he prepared to do it, he said.

“It wasn't something I felt like was going to be in my face all of the time,” Crosby said. “I felt like I could still do what I needed to do while also, hopefully, giving people a closer look at my day-to-day in the offseason or getting involved a little bit more in deeper discussions than a comment about a game or that sort of thing.

“I've done this for a long time, so hopefully that experience and that insight is something people find interesting. If they do, great. And if not, there's not much I can do at this point. But it's something I thought would be a little bit different. And they were great to work with, like I said, so they made it pretty easy."