But after the Nashville Predators beat the Penguins, 4-3, yesterday afternoon in Pittsburgh, the only Olympian anyone wanted to talk about was the one who blocked a shot with his foot.

Team Canada and Penguins star Sidney Crosby tied Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead in goals with his 42d, but gave his nation a scare when he was wincing in pain after taking a Kevin Klein slap shot off his foot early in the second period.

Crosby did not, however, miss a shift the remainder of the game, and afterward downplayed the situation.

“I will be there,’’ Crosby said of Vancouver, where Team Canada was to practice today and open against Norway tomorrow. “I’m on the flight tonight.’’

Cal O’Reilly and Martin Erat scored during the shootout, Erat, Jordin Tootoo, and Shea Weber scored in regulation, and Dan Ellis made 30 saves and stopped Kris Letang and Crosby in the shootout for Nashville.

Matt Cooke and Brooks Orpik also scored for the Penguins.

Senators 4, Islanders 3 - Alex Kovalev, Jason Spezza, and Mike Fisher scored in a 6:59 span of the third period to propel Ottawa on the road.

Jarkko Ruutu also scored as the Senators won for the 14th time in their last 16 games.

Blake Comeau posted his first career two-goal game and Matt Moulson added his team-leading 22d goal for New York. The Islanders have lost nine of their last 11.

Fisher deflated the sparse Nassau Coliseum crowd when he moved behind Andy Sutton near the right post. Fisher then tipped Filip Kuba’s feed past Dwayne Roloson for the winner at 10:46.

Down two goals entering the final period, Ottawa killed off a 56-second five-on-three penalty to start the third. The lack of a knockout goal gave Ottawa hope when Kovalev scored his 17th at 3:47. Spezza’s power-play goal at 9:13 tied the score.

Blackhawks 5, Blue Jackets 4 - Troy Brouwer scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give visiting Chicago the victory.

Jake Dowell and Patrick Sharp each had a goal and an assist, and Bryan Bickell also had a goal for the Blackhawks, who won their fourth in a row. Patrick Kane, who bounced back to also score in the shootout after injuring a knee in the third period, had Chicago’s first goal. Jonathan Toews added two assists.

Kristian Huselius had a goal and an assist and scored in the shootout for Columbus, which dropped its second straight. Raffi Torres, Rick Nash, and Fedor Tyutin added goals.

Kane’s goal in the second round of the shootout was matched by Huselius in the third round. After Antoine Vermette failed to score for the Blue Jackets, Brouwer’s forehand shot went high over Mathieu Garon on the stick side for the clincher.

Rangers 5, Lightning 2 - Erik Christensen scored two goals and added an assist to lead New York to a win at Madison Square Garden.

Sean Avery, Vinny Prospal, and Chris Drury also scored for the Rangers. Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie tallied for the Lightning, who have lost three in a row following a season-high four-game winning streak.

Wild 6, Canucks 2 - Niklas Backstrom got his first win in three weeks, and Minnesota scored three power-play goals against goalie Roberto Luongo, sending him to the bench early in a victory over visiting Vancouver.

Ducks 7, Oilers 3 - Ryan Getzlaf scored twice and added two assists in his first game back from a sprained left ankle to help Anaheim roll at Edmonton.

Saku Koivu, Corey Perry, Scott Niedermayer, George Parros, and Bobby Ryan also lit the lamp for the Ducks.