Alter: Dominant Crosby does it again for Canada

It was 6-0 in the end, but it appeared things were going to be different only a few minutes into Canada’s opening-round World Cup match against the Czech Republic.

There was Sidney Crosby, the benefactor of a giveaway with a clear path of ice ahead of him as teammate Jay Bouwmeester delivered a stretch pass. On the breakaway, Crosby went high, glove side. But Czech goaltender Michal Neuvirth was there to flash the leather. The impressive save could have set the tone for a different result.

Instead, Crosby dominated the rest of the first period, bouncing a puck off Neuvirth from an impossible angle to open the scoring. The goal stood up as the game winner.

"It's all I had really," Crosby said of putting the puck in Neuvirth's direction. "It's never a bad play to throw it in front of the net and there were guys there laying in front. It was nice to see it go in, especially after missing that breakaway early."

Crosby proceeded to set up Canada’s second marker, winning the faceoff that led to Brad Marchand's redirection goal. His tremendous forecheck led to a turnover that resulted in Canada's third goal, on which he also provided a screen, with only a second left in the opening frame. He picked up his second assist and third point on Canada’s fourth goal of the night, after making a brilliant pass to Joe Thornton for a tap-in.

Par for the course

Crosby's now scored at least one goal in all seven international tournaments he's represented Canada. Hockey fans on this side of the pond may take his accomplishments for granted, but Crosby’s single-game performance can perhaps be best described by one question from a foreign journalist.

"Sidney, you had three points, five shots, three hits, (were) 86 percent from faceoffs, that's all for 12 minutes. How are you doing it? Are you human?” the reporter asked.

"It felt like more than 12 minutes," Crosby said with a smile. "The more you get into games, the more you get comfortable and the more you maintain that."

Crosby was right. He actually played 13:04, but as for whether he's human or not, he didn't answer the question.

"Let’s not get carried away. He was a star in Sochi, was a star in Vancouver," Canadian head coach Mike Babcock said. "What you saw (Saturday) though is he got points. Everyone likes to get points, Sid likes to get points, too. ... As the team gets better, he has to get better but it's a good start for his line. His line's good."

Formula for success

Led by Crosby, Canada played like a team that's been together for years. And in many respects, that's true. Hockey Canada wins championships, which means the formula doesn't need to be tinkered with.

"We have a lot of champions on this team that know how to play hockey the right way and it shows,” goaltender Carey Price - who extended his international shutout streak to 224 minutes - said. "Everybody plays gritty, everybody plays composed and everybody buys into what the game plan is and that's the reason that Hockey Canada is so successful at every tournament that we go to."

Chemistry

Crosby's found instant success with linemates Patrice Bergeron and Marchand, and No. 87 has prior experience playing with both. Marchand and Crosby won gold for Canada at the 2015 World Hockey Championship.

"He was amazing tonight," Marchand said of Crosby. "He gave us the energy and the jump that we needed as a team and we definitely fed off him."

The bottom line

The last time Crosby captained Canada was at the 2015 World Hockey Championship, which resulted in his entering the Triple Gold club, whose members own a Stanley Cup ring, Olympic, and World Championship gold.

Crosby’s team went 10-0-0-0 in that tournament, and were dominant in all but one game. It's clear that when Crosby is involved, Canada's game is full throttle.

There is absolutely no letting up.

It's only one game, but Crosby is a large reason why Canada is heavily favored to win the World Cup. This team hits another level when he wears the "C."

A new club may need to be created after the World Cup - Quadruple Gold.

Crosby's well-decorated trophy room may soon be adding more hardware.