Sidney Crosby Ends 12-Year Olympic Goal Drought as Team Canada Rolls Past Switzerland
Sidney Crosby doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. He’s a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the author of one of the most iconic goals in Canadian hockey history. But on Friday in Milan, he added another chapter to his Olympic legacy-scoring his first Olympic goal in 12 years as Team Canada cruised to a 5-1 win over Switzerland in preliminary round action.
It was vintage Crosby in the third period-finding space, reading the play a step ahead, and finishing with the kind of poise that’s defined his career. The goal was his sixth in Olympic competition, and it helped Canada improve to 2-0 in group play following a dominant 5-0 win over Czechia on Thursday.
Through two games in the 2026 Olympic tournament, Crosby has already tallied three points-two assists in the opener and Friday’s goal. Not bad for a 38-year-old captain still leading by example on international ice.
Crosby’s Olympic résumé is already the stuff of legend. In 2010 in Vancouver, he racked up four goals and three assists in seven games, including the golden goal in overtime against Team USA-one of the defining moments in Canadian sports history. Four years later in Sochi, he added a goal and two assists in six games, his lone tally coming in a 5-0 win over Finland in the bronze medal game.
Now in his third Olympic appearance, Crosby is showing he’s still got the touch-and still has the ability to impact games at the highest level. His leadership and production have been key to Canada’s strong start, and with France on deck Sunday morning (10:40 a.m. ET), the Canadians are looking every bit like a team with gold medal ambitions.
Crosby, notably, is the only Pittsburgh Penguins player to find the back of the net so far in the tournament. A couple of his NHL teammates have also made early contributions for their respective countries-Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell each picked up an assist for Sweden, who sit at 1-1 after two games.
Sweden faced Slovakia early Saturday morning (6:10 a.m. ET) as they look to build momentum.
Meanwhile, over in Latvia’s crease, Arturs Silovs made his Olympic debut on Thursday, stepping in for Elvis Merzlikins during a tough 5-1 loss to Team USA. Silovs faced six shots in relief and turned aside five of them against a loaded American roster. Latvia was back on the ice early Saturday morning for a matchup with Germany, looking to bounce back and find their footing in the tournament.
But the headline belongs to Crosby. A dozen years after his last Olympic goal, he’s still delivering when it counts. And if this is the start of another deep run for Canada, you can bet No. 87 will be right in the middle of it.