Lemieux Makes Appearance at 4 Nations; Crosby Stars

The pregame ceremony before the opening matchup of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Canada and Sweden was simply the best.

A hockey legend from each of the participating countries was welcomed onto the ice at Bell Centre. First was Teemu Selanne for Finland, followed by Mike Richter for the United States, then Daniel Alfredsson for Sweden, and finally, this introduction for someone who really needs no introduction:

“In the 1987 Canada Cup, he broke the tournament record with 11 goals in nine games... he captained Canada to their first Olympic gold in 50 years... Welcome back to Montreal, Mario Lemieux!”

The Quebec native walked out to a stirring reception from his hometown crowd, with the fans chanting “MARIO! MARIO! MARIO!” What an ovation, and what a moment to share with Sidney Crosby, who took a photo alongside his former teammate and landlord – and of course, mentor and friend – before getting introduced as Canada’s captain.

Crosby received a lot of love from the Bell Centre crowd as well, from that moment until the very end. When he took the ice for a shift in overtime, they began chanting “CROSBY! CROSBY! CROSBY!” ... right before he registered his third assist of the night on Mitch Marner’s winner in a 4-3 victory.

"You tell 8- or 10-year-old Mitch that he's scoring an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, a guy he's looked up to since Day 1... it's pretty crazy," Marner said.

They continued as the teams gathered on their respective blue lines to hear the Three Stars, and turned into roars as Crosby was named Player of the Game/First Star. It’s been years since we saw NHL players compete in a best-on-best tournament, but it was absolutely worth the wait to see Crosby share the ice with this next generation of stars – and shine the brightest.

"Tonight was special," Crosby said. "Just an unbelievable game and unbelievable skill and talent out there. It was some great hockey. Just grateful to be in this position, to play in these big games with this group, in front of this crowd. It's a special place and to get an ovation like that, you dream of playing in games like this. So, I appreciate it."

The boys were buzzing once the puck dropped, with Crosby playing left wing alongside fellow Cole Harbour native Nathan MacKinnon (Mark Stone was on the right).

“I’ve played the wing different times over the years, so just getting used to it,” Crosby said before the game. “I think you just find a way to contribute and do what you need to do in that position as best you can. That’s not going to happen overnight, but you just want to get better with it.”

Lemieux had read that starting lineup for Team Canada ahead of their matchup, ending by calling Crosby ‘Sid the Kid,’ which is what he’ll probably always be to Mario.

"He's a presence," Canada head coach Jon Cooper said. "I think the way that game started, he was a big part of it. What he did, came to our team prior... and then, I don't know, I remember some roars in my life - and actually a couple of them have been in this building - but I don't know if I've heard anything like I heard when he was marched out at center ice. In total Mario style, he was kind of trying to wave Sid over, like I'm getting embarrassed (laughs) like, that thing would have gone on forever. To sit there and watch Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby stand at center ice together was pretty special."

Canada got an early power play, and we were immediately treated to an unbelievable highlight. Connor McDavid fed the puck over to Crosby, who made a beautiful spinning backhand pass to MacKinnon. He fired it home.

"Really impressed," McDavid said. "It obviously started right from the start with a great play on the power play there. Just great all night. Amazing to watch."

Crosby produced another magnificent setup in the second period, managing to protect the puck before finding Stone in the slot. He buried it to give Canada a 3-1 lead.

"This is the first time I've actually been able to get to play on a team with him, and it's special, man," said Stone, captain of the Vegas Golden Knights. "The way he goes about his business, the way he can calm a bench down... still playing at a crazy high level at his age, he's been doing it for what, 20 years? God, I don't see him slowing down any time soon."

Sweden did a tremendous job of battling back, with the Penguins on that team playing a key role. Rickard Rakell made a nice screen on their first goal, while being hard to play against all night. Erik Karlsson had a terrific effort to set up the second goal, and his skating and skill made him a factor all night.

But Canada improved to 26-0 with Crosby in the lineup dating back to 2010. Since then, in addition to all of his other accolades, Crosby has won two Olympic gold medals, (2010, ’14) along with gold medals in the World Cup of Hockey (2016) and World Championship (2015).

"It's no coincidence, his record of when he's wearing a Canadian jersey," Cooper said. "That's not a fluke. He will go down as the greatest player to ever represent his country."