Crosby Quiet in Team Canada Opener; Fleury Watches

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, filling the same role for Team Canada, was relatively quiet early Saturday morning (Pittsburgh time) in a 4-0 win over Slovenia at the IIHF World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden.

It was the tournament opener for Canada, which seems stacked.

Crosby had no points. His best scoring chance came in the first period when he went to one knee near the right post but could not convert on a deflection play.

Crosby’s hometown buddy, Nathan MacKinnon, had a goal and two assists, Bo Horvat had two power-play goals and Noah Dobson scored for Canada, which outshot Slovenia 44-11. Goalie Lukas Horak was easily Slovenia’s best player.

This is Crosby’s first time playing in the worlds since 2015. He was free to join his native country after the Penguins failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

One role that has changed for Crosby is his deployment. He skated as the second-line center — not a member of the top line — with young NHL stars Macklin Celebrini and Adam Fantilli. MacKinnon centered the top line.

Somewhat curiously, Canada went with Dylan Garand in goal, with former longtime Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury as the backup. Fleury just retired from the NHL after 21 seasons. Garand, a New York Rangers draft pick, has no NHL experience but picked up the shutout Saturday.

Jordan Binnington, who just joined Canada, did not dress for this opener. It could be interesting to see how Canada uses its goalies going forward, as Binnington might assume the No. 1 role. This is Fleury’s first time at the worlds.

Canada next faces Latvia on Sunday.