Crosby plays for Canada at 4 Nations Face-off

“I’ve never really been in doubt about being honest,” Mackinnon said. “He’s so tough.”

That said, Crosby said it wasn’t an easy way to get hit last week.

“It’s a long process,” he said. “I met with a couple of different doctors and we obviously played a few games before the break. I was excluded for them. And then a few days here later I spoke with documents here and had a good dialogue with the coaches and just watch, Where I was at.

“It was clear that today was the first time I was skating with the group. I was skating on my own before that. Everything went well. I’m doing well from that point of view.”

And when Crosby is doing well, especially while wearing a Canadian jersey, the results are usually too.

He has won gold medals with Canada at IIHF World Junior Championship in 2005, the 2010 Olympics Vancouver, as he scored the golden goal of overtime against the United States, 2014 Sochi -ol and 2015 IIHF World Hockey Championship, and also captained his country to the title at the World Cup in Hockey in 2016.

In the process, Canada has won 25 straight matches in tournament games with Crosby in the lineup, as he has not lost since a 5-3 loss to the United States in the preliminary rounds of Vancouver Games on February 21, 2010.

“This is a great opportunity, something I haven’t done for a long time,” Crosby said. “I wanted to be part of this group and of course also wanted to make sure I can play at the level you need to compete here.

“Everyone seemed comfortable with it, and I’m comfortable with it.”

So also Mackinnon, especially as he plays on the same line with Crosby. The two studies against each other in the Halifax area during the summer, but usually set up opposite pages. Stone will be the third member of this line.

“Obviously, it’s incredible,” Mackinnon said of playing with Crosby. “He’s one of the best players ever.

“Being close to him, it’s not too weird to me. It’s easy communication. We spend so much time together. If I didn’t know him I would probably be really, really frightened. Wouldn’t know what to say to him.

“He is one of the smartest players who have ever played.”

You don’t have to sell Mike Sullivan on it. He already knows.

Sullivan is the coach of Penguins and was behind the bench when Crosby and his teammates won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. In the next two weeks, however, they will be on opposite pages with Sullivan that coached the US.

“It gets a little awkward for me that I don’t have him on the same bench,” Sullivan admitted.

When we talk about awkward, it was exactly how Canada’s Seth Jarvis felt as he walked into the dressing room and found out his cubicle was directly next to Crosby’s.

“Surrealistic,” said 23-year-old Carolina orcher. “I mean when he scored the golden goal that won the Canada Gold Medal against the United States at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, I was 8 years old and attended a friend’s birthday party in Winnipeg.

“Now I’m sitting next to him playing on the same team. Incredible. Just so glad to see him out there.”

He is not the only one.