Less than three years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the NHLDraft lottery.

They hit the lottery shortly thereafter.

Care to imagine where the Penguins would be had they not won the right to select Sidney Crosby with the league's first overall draft pick on July 30, 2005?

Besides the possibility that the team likely would be playing in a different city right now, they probably would resemble the team that was here in 2003-04, the final year before the NHLlockout.

Let's go back in time, shall we?

• The Penguins finished 23-47-8 and in last place in the Atlantic Division.

• Dick Tarnstrom was voted the team's MVPand was its leading scorer with 52 points.

• Ryan Malone was the team's lone 20-goal scorer with 22.

• Marc-Andre Fleury's record as a goalie for the Penguins was 4-14-2.

• The team's average attendance that season was 11,877 and sold out only one home game.

Enter Crosby.

The Penguins won only 22 games during his rookie season of 2005-06, but averaged 15,804 fans per game and had 12 sellouts. Crosby scored 39 goals and 102 points, doubling the production of the team's second-best scoring forward. John LeClair had 22 goals and 51 points.

Last year, of course, the Penguins broke through, winning 47 games and reaching the playoffs. They had 12 players score 12 goals or more in 2006-07.

The 2003-04 team had only five players do that. The only one still here is Malone. The other four were Tarnstrom, Aleksey Morozov, Milan Kraft and Rico Fata.

The Penguins sold out 30 home games last season.

This season, they've sold out all 41 home games for the first time in franchise history. They overcame numerous injuries, including missing Crosby for 24 games, to win their first division title in 10 years.

If the Penguins win at Philadelphia in their regular season finale this weekend, they will finish first in the NHL's Eastern Conference and earn the No. 1 seeding that goes with it.

Can the importance of Crosby coming to Pittsburgh possibly be overstated?

Not even remotely. Evgeni Malkin has scored 106 points this season and is the team's MVP. Without Crosby, Malkin's not even here.

Crosby's career seems to be running parallel to that of Mario Lemieux's, in fact.

Lemieux was drafted No. 1 overall by a woeful Penguins team fighting for survival in Pittsburgh.

So was Crosby.

Lemieux scored 100 points in his rookie season for a Penguin team that finished last in its division.

So did Crosby.

Lemieux's electric performances revitalized the franchise and produced a stunning turnaround in home attendance.

So has Crosby's.

Lemieux led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups and forever cemented his name among the greatest athletes ever to ply his craft in the city of Pittsburgh.

As for Crosby?

Time will tell.