When issues with quality of the ice at then-Consol Energy Center reached their apex _ think 2013 _ word around the team was that Sidney Crosby, fed up as much as anyone, had taken an active role in fixing the problem.
Now, as the problem has gone league-wide, one of his former teammates is confirming that, yes, Crosby had a series of sitdowns with the ice crew _ and it paid off. That's what Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, who played in Pittsburgh until 2014, told ESPN.com.
"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a place that has good ice," Orpik told Scott Burnside. "I think Pittsburgh actually has good ice, after years of Sidney (Crosby) going over ... it started with all of us (complaining) about it. It finally got to the point where Sid would go every day and constructively sit down with the guys who ran the rink and tell them exactly what he felt was wrong with it.
"It was good dialogue between them, and the ice started getting better and better. That's the one place I think is consistently pretty good."
A decent rule of thumb: the colder it is in arena, the more concerned you should be about the quality of its ice. That's why it typically felt like you could hang meat in then-Consol Energy Center during the playoffs; they were out of ideas, so they blasted the air conditioning. Anecdotally, that was less of an issue last summer.
At the moment, it's enough of an issue that the NHL and its players' association on Feb. 1 started a joint subcommittee to identify and resolve ice-condition issues throughout the league. The prevailing thought is that, as arenas get busier with concerts and NBA games, the quality of ice has declined.
The most obvious source is Barclays Center in Brooklyn; the Islanders play at one of the busiest arenas in the country (which wasn't originally designed for hockey) on a sheet kept cold with plastic pipes rather than steel. If _ or when _ the Islanders change homes again, the ice will be a factor, according to an October report by the New York Post.
And despite whatever improvement Orpik has seen at PPG Paints Arena, a January game against the Bruins was delayed when a slush-filled crater erupted in one of the corners. So, "pretty good" doesn't mean "always good."
It's also ironic, since the Penguins are getting set to play outdoors on Saturday; the ice at Heinz Field is expected to be ready in time for Friday's Penguins and Flyers practices, despite temperatures in Pittsburgh hitting the mid-60s all week long.
