One of the largest media gatherings to show up at The Bank this
season was crowded around Sidney Crosby's stall, waiting for a word or
two from The Kid, after yesterday's morning skate.

Finally, nudging his way through the group and plopping down on the
hot seat, a ball cap pulled low over his eyes ..... was Colby Armstrong.

None of the shrewd reporters were fooled by the Pittsburgh winger's
attempt to pass himself off as Crosby.

"It's the first time I've tried it," Armstrong, who would later score
the Penguins' first goal of a game against the Senators, said of the
prank. "It's better in Canada, because everybody here is so hot to get
a piece of him."

When it comes to the game itself, few if any can, figures Bryan Murray.

"He's so powerful, when he gets his hip on you and starts to turn and
pivot, or gets position on the defenceman, it's not easy now to take
him off the puck," the Senators coach had said of Crosby just a few
minutes earlier. "I don't think that there's a defenceman in the
league right now that can handle him 1-on-1 when he gets position,
simply because you can't put your stick on people like you could before.

"But he's become a real outstanding player, he's made huge strides
this year alone, from the beginning of the year until now, and he's
obviously a great character for our game. He's going to be worth the
price of admission for the rest of his career."

And contrary to Armstrong's claim, not everybody is "hot" to get a
piece of Crosby.

A little later, as the Penguins were loading their team bus by the
arena's loading dock, a family was standing in the frigid weather, at
the imaginary boundary line that marked the restricted area.

The parents and small kids, hoping to get a glimpse or more of Crosby,
waved and held up their signs as he emerged from the building. Crosby
motioned them to walk the hundred or so yards to where the bus was
parked, but security wouldn't allow it.

So with water bottles in hands and no toque on his head, Crosby went
to them. While others might have shrugged and waved as the bus pulled
away, the NHL's leading scorer signed their jerseys and posed for
their pictures.

"If people are going to stand outside in minus-42-degree weather to
see me," he said. "Then I can sure go and see them."

As good as you may think this 19-year-old phenom is, you're probably
wrong. Sid The Kid is even better.

STARTS AND STOPS: They can play it down until the cows come home, but
after the limitations he had because of problems with that part of the
body about this time last season -- and the ensuing off-season surgery
-- Jason Spezza's missing last night's game with a sore back is reason
for very much concern in the Senators organization ... Crosby's seat
in the visitors' dressing room at Scotiabank Place is the same stall
Wayne Gretzky sat in for his last game here. Coincidence?