"You can see the talent is there," Devils coach Larry Robinson says. "I don't know if you got a true vision of him tonight. It's tough to play your first NHL game."

That talent was more visible two nights later. In the final minutes of a game in Carolina, Crosby put the puck on the tape for Ziggy Palffy, who converted the pass into a goal and sent the game into overtime. Not quite a breakout game, but the flashes of brilliance were there.

Crosby, showing a flair for the dramatic, saved his breakout moment for the home opener one night later. The press box was standing room only, of course. The arena was filled to the bubble and ready to burst. Crosby responded with a goal and two assists in a 7-6 overtime loss.

After his goal — a banged-in rebound — Crosby threw himself backfirst into the end boards, a move the Penguins and NHL hope will become an oft-seen signature celebration by their new star. When Crosby woke up Sunday morning, he found himself tied for third in league scoring with five points in his first three games.

He has arrived.

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There will be more lessons, more struggles and plenty more press coverage as he carries the hopes of a city and a league on his back. You can watch and guess what it's like to be Sidney Crosby, but only he knows the truth. Only he knows what it's like to sit next to Mario Lemieux and listen to him talk about how you — you — turned around an NHL franchise before you even played a game. Only he knows what it's like to have a Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, move a reporter to Pittsburgh to cover his first NHL season — her sole assignment for the year. Only he knows what it's like to be Sidney Crosby.

Don't expect him to open up and publicly share that feeling any time soon, but that doesn't matter. What matters is what he does on the ice, and after only three games in the books, he's already authoring a pretty good story. No colorful quotes required.