Sidney Crosby gets the NHL playoffs started in style

The rest of the NHL may have been put on notice Wednesday night as Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby went off in Game 1.

For pretty much the entire season, the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed like they were either stuck in mud or possibly in coast mode. They were back-to-back Stanley Cup champions; maybe they just didn’t have another run in them. Some people around the league thought the Pens might just be lying in wait, biding their time before they flipped the switch to playoff intensity.

At least for one night, that’s exactly what they did. They completely destroyed the Philadelphia Flyers, with captain Sidney Crosby netting a natural hat trick. Of course, Crosby couldn’t just score his goals like a normal hockey player. The first one was incredible enough.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/984226295788834816

He got a little lucky on the second one, as the puck got deflected multiple times on its way to the net before falling right onto Crosby’s stick. The third one was another thing of beauty from Crosby with a fantastic deflection from the high slot.

He just makes those two incredibly hard plays look so simple and easy. The funniest thing is neither goal was the goal of the game. That arguable came from the stick of Evgeni Malkin.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/984214301429858304

Needless to say, if the two superstars are pulling off feats like this every night, the rest of the NHL is in big trouble. The Penguins are not without their weaknesses but Crosby and Malkin can cover up a whole lot of warts. It will go unnoticed in a game that was decided by seven goals but net minder Matt Murray also played pretty well, which is a huge key for the Penguins.

Next: Each NHL Team's Biggest 'What if

It’s going to take a major effort from the whole Pittsburgh squad to realize their dream of a three-peat. They’re off to a great start, and the stars certainly came to play tonight.