"At least Miikka Kiprusoff came out on top during one head-to-head battle with Sidney Crosby.

You bet the Calgary Flames netminder takes a bit of pride in that.

After all, stopping Sid the Kid on the early penalty shot in Saturday's 4-1 Pittsburgh Penguins victory over the Flames was no small feat.

"He made some fakes and I was able to put my glove there," Kiprusoff said. "Pretty skilled guy, so it feels good to stop him."

Unfortunately for the Flames, that was about the only time Crosby was held in check.

The Olympic gold-medal overtime hero had his way with the Flames in their only meeting of the season and first-ever visit to the Consol Energy Center.

Crosby scored three times -- at even strength, on the powerplay and with a shorthanded goal into an empty net -- to pace the Penguins.

And if you want to know the truly scary part, it was considered a ho-hum day at the office.

"He's been outstanding, as we've come to expect of him," said Calgary product Craig Adams.

It sure makes you wonder what would actually excite them, since his sixth career hat-trick didn't do the trick.

After all, Crosby's second goal was the 200th of this already incredible career.

He moved ahead of Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos in the league's scoring race and now has a 12-game point streak in which he's netted 12 goals and 13 assists. He's scored at least two points in nine of the last 14 games.

Crosby is on pace for career highs of 131 points and 59 goals.

Not bad for somebody who said he doesn't have specific goals in mind."