Zizing 'Em Up: Canada teammates eager to play with Crosby at 4 ...

MONTREAL -- The Sidney Crosby watch for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off reached peak level before the Pittsburgh Penguins center practiced with Canada on Monday and was deemed ready to play the best-on-best tournament beginning against Sweden at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

Anthony Cirelli was a testament to that.

"It would mean the world to us if he can play," the Tampa Bay Lightning forward said Sunday.

"The world."

It's now a reality. Crosby said after practice he's good to go. He was the center on the second line between Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), and on the first power play with Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers), MacKinnon, Cale Makar (Avalanche) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) at CN Sportsplex in Brossard, Quebec.

Cirelli was standing in the dressing room just minutes after the Lightning's 5-3 victory at the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday when his thoughts turned to Crosby, who was named as Canada's captain less than two weeks ago. Crosby was reportedly on a plane to Montreal on Sunday and skated Monday to prepare for 4 Nations, which features Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland in a round-robin tournament in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20.

The 37-year-old missed two games with an upper-body injury, although he did skate at length Saturday morning prior to a 3-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers.

"I mean, obviously, Sid, growing up, watching him and what he means to be a Canadian hockey player, it meant and means everything," Cirelli said. "He's just such a big part when you think of Hockey Canada. Look what he's done playing for the country. Look what he's done since he's gotten into the League. He's a Hall of Famer. Look at all the awards he's won."

Forward Brayden Point, one of three Lightning players who will represent Canada (Cirelli and forward Brandon Hagel) couldn't agree more.

"He is such a big part of our Canadian team," Point said. "His accomplishments for Canada speak for themselves."

To that end: The native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, won a gold medal at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship in North Dakota and Minnesota, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2015 IIHF World Championship in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. He also captained his country to the title at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

In the process, Canada has won 25 straight games in tournament play with Crosby in the lineup, having not lost since a 5-3 defeat to the U.S. in the preliminary rounds of the Vancouver Olympics on Feb. 21, 2010.

Although such an accomplishment is indeed eye-popping, his leadership extends far beyond the ice.

On Jan. 12, after Tampa Bay's 5-2 victory at Pittsburgh, Crosby, still frustrated with the loss, asked Lightning coach Jon Cooper to send out Cirelli, Point and Hagel to talk 4 Nations.

"They couldn't believe it," said Cooper, Canada's coach at 4 Nations. "They were like kids in a candy store talking with Sid."

Just imagine what it would be like for them to play with Crosby.