Pens’ Sidney Crosby hungry, dominant in Game 6 win
The Penguins’ center wasn’t only the best player on the ice Sunday night but he also wanted Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals more than anyone else.
“I loved it,” Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole said on the ice after the 3-1 win, with Crosby holding the trophy behind him.
Crosby’s line dominated its time on the ice, with Crosby assisting on the last two goals and firing up four tough shots.
Crosby also had four blocked shots Sunday night, and his two-way play and leadership earned him his first Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
Sid the Kid is not a kid anymore, and he said he thought he would have won five Stanley Cups by now after reaching the Finals in his third and fourth seasons and winning it all in 2009.
[...] there were surprising losses and concussions that cost him 1½ seasons.
The Sharks tied the game at 1-1 in the second period and Crosby let San Jose fans have all of 79 seconds to enjoy it.
Late in the third period, Crosby blocked a shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic to set up Patric Hornqvist’s empty-net goal with 1:02 left.
The Sharks had done a good job containing Crosby in the first five games, thanks to a spirited effort from Crosby’s old foe from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League,
Crosby wasn’t going to be denied Sunday, and he and the Penguins held the Sharks to two shots in the third period.