One shot for gold.
 
That is what an absolutely compelling and thrilling Olympic gold-medal game came down to on Sunday afternoon.
 
One shot for gold.

"We talked as a coaching staff about do we want to be careful or do we want to play?" said Team Canada coach Mike Babcock. "We agreed we had to have our best players out there as much as we could."

That is why, on a day when he was having by his lofty standards an average game, Sidney Crosby was on the ice in the eighth minute of 4-on-4 overtime. It is also a measure of his greatness that on a day when he wasn't dominant, he was still a difference maker of the tallest order.
 
And if he wasn't a hero in this country before Sunday, then Sidney Crosby definitely is now. What Paul Henderson was to Canada in 1972, and Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were in 1987, Crosby now is for 2010.
 
The pride of Cole Harbour, N.S., became the most popular person in Canada on Sunday afternoon, scoring the winning goal in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States and its second gold medal in eight years.

"It's a dream come true to win a gold medal," said Crosby, who just eight months ago won his first Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. "To score in overtime, here in Canada, what's better than that? I've dreamed of that moment a thousand times."

And that moment, quite literally, was a shot that was heard across the country. It was a goal that was only heard by Crosby, too.

"I didn't see it go in," he said. "I  just heard everyone scream."

The roar that went up in Canada Hockey Place was deafening, as you would expect. The release of emotion in the stands, but especially on the ice, was incredible. But afterward, despite allowing a two-goal lead to slip away, forcing themselves to win in a so-typically Canadian way, the hard way, the players insisted there was more joy than relief.
 
This was a game that won't soon be forgotten, either. It was a classic, one that will be remembered for a long while, though the Americans will undoubtedly like to forget it soon.
 
It was on the eve of the tournament that Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said if everyone lived up to their potential we might witness one of the great hockey events of all time. He was right.
 
The pace of this game, the speed and skill, was incredible. Add this one to several days in which Canada has stood still, absolutely consumed by our hockey.

"It was a classic game," said American coach Ron Wilson. "That's the way the game should be played." 

Give the Americans credit in this game. They went undefeated through the tournament until Sunday and battled back from a two-goal deficit to force the overtime.

Had they won it would not have been a miracle, but rather Miller's time.

Because their team had gotten cautious again, like they had two nights earlier against the Slovaks, and tried to protect the lead, the Canadian coaches decided to play the best players and give themselves the best chance at winning.

And in pressure situations like that, it is when big-game players step up. Like we said, Crosby hadn't had an exceptional game, but he seized the moment when Iginla gave him the puck at the side of the American goal.

"Before the overtime, we told ourselves one guy in this room is going to be hero," said centre Jonathan Toews, who, along with Rick Nash were Canada's best forwards in this game. "We didn't care who it was going to be, but we were confident we were going to get it done."

On the winning goal, the puck got caught up along the boards in an official's skate, Crosby then pushed it past defenceman Brian Rafalski to Iginla down low. Now to Iginla for the play by play.

"He chipped it down to me, then he was yelling for it. He was going to the net, so I just tried to lay it in. He was really screaming "Iggy, here." I knew he knew he had a step. I fell down and didn't see him finish it, but I heard the cheers.

"It was awesome to see him get it. Guys are trying to stop him all the time and he had missed a chance..."

That was a breakaway with about three minutes left in regulation time, the Canadians still clinging to their 2-1 lead. Crosby used his great speed to break in alone, but the bouncing puck got stripped away by Patrick Kane.

"When they tied it up, sitting on the bench, that breakaway was obviously going through my mind," said Crosby, whose winning goal he simply tried to put on net but managed to squeeze it through the pads of Ryan Miller.

Roberto Luongo can now call declare himself a winner, though some will still no doubt question if he is a big-game player as well. The big goaltender looked like he was fighting it for much of the game, but he made a good save early in the game to avoid a deficit and he made game-saving save just seconds before Crosby scored for the winner.

He refused to declare any big-game status, either, leaving that to the media wretches.

"I've got a gold medal around my neck and no one can take it away," said Luongo, who entered the tournament after the Americans had hung a 5-3 loss on Canada a week earlier. "I have a gold medal around my neck and I really don't care what people think.

"I just want to spend some time with the guys now. We're going to have a bond for the rest of our lives."

Just like the late Fred Shero said: Win today and walk together forever.

Luongo was the first to receive gold, as the players lined up numerically to be presented with their medals, before locking arms for an absolutely chilling rendition of 0'Canada with a choir that was more than 16,000 strong.

This, of course, was a game Canada had to win. Home ice. All-star roster. Our game. Well, it isn't our game any longer, though Canada can proudly assert it is number one in the world for the next four years. But as we all know and this tournament drove home that point with how close the competition was, especially the Americans, that the game is being shared.

"We proved it's not just Canada's game," said American centre Ryan Kesler, one of the best players on the ice Sunday, who also scored their first goal, tipping a Kane pass by Luongo. "It took overtime to beat us and we beat them once."
 
Canada opened the scoring in the first period and that was significant for a number of reasons. First, it was the first time in the tournament the Americans had trailed. Second, unlike their previous meeting in which the Americans scored first, this kept the raucous crowd in the game.
 
And they beat Ryan Miller, who was voted the tournament's most valuable player, period.
 
The goal came after the Americans iced the puck. After the faceoff, defenceman Erik Johnson made a misguided short pass to partner Brian Rafalski alongside the goal, but Mike Richards stripped it away and fired at Miller. As usual, he made the save but Jonathan Toews, voted top forward in the tourney, deposited the rebound.
 
And then it got even more deafening in Canada Hockey Place.
 
Good first period for Canada
 
Canada was able to expand its lead early in the second period when a near Keith turnover at the Canadian blue-line turned into a goal at the other end. Ryan Getzlaf, who was amongst the best Canadian forwards (imagine if that ankle injury hadn't allowed him to play), scooped up the puck and carried it into the American zone, drifting a pass in front.
 
Fittingly, when Miller was presented with his silver medal a huge roar went up in the rink. He deserved it. He was that good again.

Anyway, the Americans refused to quit and actually brought the heat as a couple of Canadian penalties turned the momentum their way. Finally, midway through the second period Kesler scored and all across the country and throughout the rink palms became sweaty.
 
The fates were starting to conspire against the Canadians late in the second and early in the third when Eric Staal shot wide on a breakaway, then Shea Weber and Chris Pronger both hit posts half a minute apart. Then there was the Crosby breakaway.
 
Canada played a good, disciplined third period but sat back just a little too much and there was a sense the Americans would somehow muster the tying goal. You could be forgiven, too, if you even wanted them to score just to kept the brilliant spectacle going a little longer.

With an extra attacker on the ice, Zach Parise tapped a rebound past a fallen Luongo with just 24.4 seconds remaining to force the overtime and make the Canadians dig a little deeper to find gold.

But that's the way it was throughout this tournament for them. They took the long road to get to the medal round, but that earlier loss to the Americans and the qualifier with Germany are when they discovered their game and the lines that worked for them on Sunday afternoon, ultimately officially making these Winter Games an overall success.

"We didn't take the easy way," said Crosby. "We worked real hard to get this. It's a dream come true."

Crosby has scored for Canada...memorable words for another generation.