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Sidney Crosby: Pittsburgh Penguins will 'play for the city' Tuesday
The Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up to play their next game with an entire city on their collective minds.
On Tuesday, The Pens will hit the ice for their first contest in Pittsburgh since a gunman walked into the local Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire, killing 11 innocent people before being apprehended by law enforcement.
Now, as Sidney Crosby told NHL.com on Monday, the Penguins will have a city in mourning in their hearts as they prepare for a sure-to-be emotional game.
“Try to play for the city, as we always do, but especially in times like this,” Crosby said. “It’s a terrible thing that happened and we’re thinking about everyone involved. Hopefully we can do all we can to help and support them right now.”
Sidney Crosby said the #Pens will play for the city tomorrow: "You see things happen like that, unfortunately, a lot. To have it happen where you live is something that’s hard to believe once it does happen. It’s a terrible feeling. … It’s terrible to see."
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) October 29, 2018
Pittsburgh’s captain is in his 14th NHL season and has lived almost full time in the area since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2005. It’s safe to say that Crosby has forged a special bond with the city he’s shared three Stanley Cups with as he spoke about just how special Pittsburgh, and the people who make it up, are to him.
“We woke up to that terrible news this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families affected by what happened this morning. Knowing Pittsburgh, I know that we’ll stick together, rally around them and help support them any way we can,” Crosby said, according to Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
“The biggest thing (Pittsburgh) means to me is just the people. Just a proud people. Proud of their city. Proud to help in any way they can. Whatever it is. It’s a great community. A great city. And a place I feel pretty fortunate to be able to live.”
On top of offering their thoughts, prayers and words of support for the victims and their families, the Penguins organization held a six-hour blood drive and cancelled its team Halloween party to instead host a benefit for all those affected by the tragedy.
The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation also made a pair of donations totalling $50,000, with half going to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and the other 25K going to help establish a fund to benefit the four police officers that were injured in the shooting, per NHL.com.
There will also be a moment of silence held before puck drop on Tuesday.
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