"That was spectacular," said defenseman Jack Johnson, who had an up-close look of the play on the ice. "Special players do special things. He took it into his own hands in overtime and won it for us."
Crosby has always had a flair for the dramatic in his career, and a way of elevating his play in big situations. When asked if he was motived to outplay McDavid, in typical fashion Crosby shrugged.
"There are always challenges. They're different," he said. "We just came from Toronto. You're playing against (Auston) Matthews, (Mitch) Marner, (John) Tavares. There are matchups every night. Everybody understands, players especially, when there are more eyes on the game and when there are big challenges ahead.
"You understand that and try to be at your best, whether it's a rival, opposing center, opposing defensemen, you get up for those."
Crosby is already the most self-driven player in the game. But he does seem to find that extra gear in situations like this. As soon as he stepped onto the ice in overtime and took the faceoff against McDavid, there was a feeling that one of those two players would decide the game.
As it happened, that guy was Crosby.
"(Crosby) doesn't really get caught up in a lot of the storylines from game-to-game regardless of who we play," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's just a real good player that tries to be the best that he can be. I thought he had a great game tonight. Obviously he gets two goals, the overtime goal is one of the prettiest goals that I've seen."
The fans were treated to a show as the game featured 11 goals, seven lead changes and a thrilling finish. Crosby bookended the affair by scoring the opening goal and the knockout blow.
"It's fun to be in those 6-5 games and be on the right side of them," Crosby said. "It's not the way you're going to consistently win. We understand that. … You have to be able to win these ones too. Sometimes it isn't always pretty and you have to find a way to come through, and we did that."
Crosby and the Penguins have always found a way against McDavid and the Oilers. Pittsburgh improved to 5-0 when the two generational centers go head-to-head.
McDavid, for his part, chipped in a goal and two points, and now has nine points (3G-6A) in those five career games against Pittsburgh. But zero wins.
Once again it was the Penguins that prevailed.
"(Crosby) always shows up when (the media) says he isn't the best anymore," Hornqvist said. "Then he comes in and does that, the nicest goal in his whole career. It says a lot."
Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey has played and won Stanley Cups in his career with both the Penguins and Edmonton franchises. And he made his opinion clear.
As Coffey stated: "You talk about Connor (McDavid), you talk about Auston (Matthews). They still have to go through one door. And that's Sid's door. Sid's the best player in the game until knocked off."
The Pens have now won back-to-back games against McDavid's Oilers and Matthew's Maple Leafs. The debate is over.
Crosby didn't just close the door on both of them, he slammed it.
