Crosby, McDavid show 'they are going to be a handful' at 4 Nations

PITTSBURGH -- After Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid combined for six points as opponents at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, imagine what they’ll do as teammates for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off next month?

“A lot of talent out on the ice tonight,” Crosby said, stating the obvious after his Pittsburgh Penguins defeated McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers 5-3.

Starting with Crosby and McDavid, of course.

This was the final time they would play against each other prior to the tournament, which runs Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston. And at times, it looked like the two stars were locked in a matchup of “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

In the end, Crosby had a goal and two assists while McDavid had three assists. The next time they’ll see each other will be in Montreal for a couple of practices before Canada’s opener against Sweden at Bell Centre on Feb. 12.

At least Sweden coach Sam Hallam will know what he can expect that night. After all, he was in the press box Thursday and witnessed the carnage both Crosby and McDavid produced firsthand.

“They are going to be a handful, that’s for sure,” Hallam said.

Good luck finding a way to stop them.

“With some of the elite players like them who will be in the tournament for all the teams, I’m not sure you can,” he said. “You just have to find a way to slow them down.”

Hallam isn’t the only one assigned with that task. Mike Sullivan will have to do the same.

The Penguins coach will have that same role with the United States at 4 Nations. As such, he’ll also be faced with the task of game planning against McDavid and Crosby when the U.S. meets Canada on Feb. 15.

“McDavid, just the pace he plays the game at, he presents a huge challenge,” he said.

So does Crosby, who at age 37 continues to hold off Father Time.

Thanks to his performance against the Oilers, he moved up to ninth in NHL history with 1,643 points (604 goals, 1,309 assists), passing another Canadian icon, Joe Sakic (1,641 points). Next up for Crosby is Mario Lemieux (1,723) in eighth place.

“I’ve run out of superlatives about him,” Sullivan said of Crosby.

“First off, his body of work and the legacy he’s built for himself to this point speaks for itself. He’s the consummate pro. He represents our sport, the League, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in such a great way. He just carries himself with so much grace and humility and integrity. And he’s such a fierce competitor.

“I think some of these milestones he’s reaching, it’s hard for me to articulate what that means. For me the obvious thing is that he’s one of the greatest players of all time, because there aren’t too many people in that conversation.”

McDavid will be one day, if he isn’t already.

Then again, it’s not a topic the Oilers captain had a lot of time to think about after the loss to the Penguins. While his teammates left the arena for a flight to Chicago where they’ll play the Blackhawks on Saturday, McDavid and a small entourage made the 130-mile drive north to Erie, where the Otters of the Ontario Hockey League will retire his No. 97 on Friday.

“It will be fun to see Erie again,” he said. “It’ll be fun to see that arena, those fans. I’m really, really excited about it.”

In 200 regular-season and playoff games with Erie from 2012-15, McDavid had 353 points (122 goals, 231 assists) and proved to be a handful to stop.

Much in the same way it will be for opponents when it comes to he and Crosby at the 4 Nations.