The Latest Breaking News from Sidney Crosby

COLUMBUS, Ohio — How the Penguins started Saturday's game was hardly a blueprint for success.

MONTREAL — In the cathedral of the NHL and under the brightest lights in Canada, the Dallas Stars leaned on their leaders during a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Perhaps it's the start of something bigger, a season-long tour de force where the Penguins prove to the rest of the NHL that rumors of their demise were premature, that the old guys can keep up and the younger core can play a little, too.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Sullivan’s squad on Saturday aced its first true test of the young season.

PITTSBURGH — No, that was not another preseason game for the Penguins. It just felt like it.

When Mike Sullivan was hired to coach the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the summer of 2015, he remembers meeting a wide-eyed, speedy winger only a couple years removed from his college career at Notre Dame named Bryan Rust.

PITTSBURGH — When the dust finally settled on the Penguins' 2021-22 season, after a frustrating batch of injuries contributed to another first-round loss and questions persisted about whether the core of the team would remain intact, assistant coach Todd Reirden popped open the hood of Pittsburgh's power play to take…

The predominant theme for the Penguins this offseason was continuity. Sticking with the core despite Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang now closer to 40 than 30. Returning capable wings such as Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Bringing back Casey DeSmith instead of shopping for a snazzier complement to…

PITTSBURGH — Colby Armstrong only saw Sidney Crosby once this summer, but the interaction was a memorable one. And telling. It occurred at Brayden Schenn's wedding, as Armstrong and Crosby flew to Banff, Alberta, for the festivities set in the Canadian Rockies.

PITTSBURGH — As reporters gathered around Evgeni Malkin's dressing room stall at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex for the first time since pandemic restrictions were lifted, the Penguins center was clearly ready. Once he finished untying his skates following a morning workout and scrimmage, Malkin quickly started cracking off jokes.

PITTSBURGH — I'm pretty lucky to be working in an amazing sports town. I have covered some incredible coaches and managers, including six Hall of Famers. Chuck Tanner might be the nicest man I ever met in sports. Herb Brooks was a fascinating character, as are Eddie Johnston, Michel Therrien…