The weather was awful.
The hero was improbable.
The outcome, for most of the 68,111 in attendance, was disappointing.
Didn’t matter.
All of it — every last detail of Washington’s 3-1 victory against the Penguins Jan. 1, 2011, in the first NHL game played at Heinz Field — was overshadowed, if not overwhelmed, by the fallout from an incident in the waning seconds of the second period.
As Penguins center Sidney Crosby curled near the right faceoff dot in the Capitals’ defensive zone, Washington’s David Steckel delivered a blow to his head that felled Crosby.