NEW YORK -- It has been nearly a week since Sidney Crosby scored the overtime goal that gave Canada a 3-2 victory against the United States in the gold-medal game at the Vancouver Olympics.

That's long enough for him to absorb at least some of the impact of what he did and also, one might suspect, to no longer be riding the adrenaline rush that accompanied his moment of triumph.

But a few hours before the Penguins faced the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden Thursday night, Crosby said he really hasn't experienced a letdown, physically or emotionally, since returning to his regular job.

"You definitely have to push yourself and make sure, mentally, that you're sharp, and that you're working on things and that you stay as fresh as you can," he said.

"It's a challenge, but [there's] not a letdown. It's something that's a little more challenging than a typical season at this point."

Left winger Alexei Ponikarovsky, acquired Tuesday from Toronto for defenseman Martin Skoula and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Luca Caputi, is scheduled to participate in the Penguins' practice today.

He was unable to join them in New York because he didn't have the visa needed to work for a team based in the United States, but that issue was taken care of yesterday.

Ponikarovsky had 19 goals and 22 assists in 61 games with the Maple Leafs and is expected to claim a spot alongside Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko on the Penguins' No. 2 line.

Thursday night, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik faced two New York Rangers forwards, Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan, who had played with him on Team USA at the Olympics in Vancouver.

And while competing hard against guys who were teammates less than a week earlier might sound tough, Penguins right winger Bill Guerin, a veteran of three U.S. Olympic squads, said it isn't a problem.

"I think it's pretty cut and dried," he said. "But you're playing the game. You play hard. You're playing to win. You're not trying to kill anybody out there, but you play to win."

Paul Steigerwald, the Penguins' TV play-by-play man, came up with a contender for the best one-liner of the 2009-10 season:

"The three biggest goals in the history of Canadian hockey were scored by Paul Henderson and two guys who live in the same house in Pittsburgh."

For those who might not completely understand that reference, the goals he referred were:

1. Henderson's series-winner as time wound down in Game 8of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.

2. Mario Lemieux's series-winner in Game 3 of the 1987 Canada Cup tournament, again against the Soviets.

3. Crosby's overtime winner in the gold-medal game against the U.S.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma's primary objective for Thursday night's game was to take two points out of it.

Almost as important was taking another step toward re-establishing the Penguins as a team that is tough to play against on a regular basis.

"We haven't been able to establish our m.o. as a team, about how we're going to play, night in and night out," he said. "I think we're respected for our skill level ... but I don't know if we've given [opponents] a game where we've worn teams down, put them back on their heels, where teams know they're going to be dealing with that for 60 minutes.

"When you see those shifts where [an opposing] defenseman can't get off the ice and you keep them on there and the next line goes out and does it, those are the types of shifts we need to see often."

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