The first time Sidney Crosby visited the Castle Shannon home of longtime Penguins fan Alice Kilgore, he left a bit upset.

Crosby, the Penguins' captain and star center, was one of several players on a promotional outing that day two years ago. They were hand-delivering season tickets. When someone asked Kilgore how she thought the team would do for the upcoming season, her honesty was jarring.

"I don't think you'll win the Cup this year. Not yet. Maybe next year," she told him.

Kilgore took some grief on talk shows and blogs, but it turns out she was right.

The Penguins advanced to the 2008 Stanley Cup final the following spring, then won the 2009 title in June, ushering in a new era in which the team revolves around a host of young players.

So when Crosby made a surprise return visit yesterday, he brought not only Kilgore's 2009-10 season tickets, but also the Stanley Cup -- and a better feeling about Kilgore.

"I wasn't happy at all," Crosby said of Kilgore's earlier prediction, which stuck with him. "I wanted to win.

"But we were just happy we were able to do it [this] year. It's pretty great that she was able to predict it. If she keeps predicting good things like that, we'll be here every year delivering her tickets."

Kilgore, a season-ticket holder since the 1971-72 season, knew only that the Penguins asked her to be home yesterday. Because of a steady light rain, the event took place in her living room.

She beamed when Crosby walked in.

"It's so good to see you again," Kilgore told him.

"We brought a little something extra for you," Crosby said, and the trophy was revealed.

"The Stanley Cup! Isn't that wonderful? I'm so proud of you guys," she said.

"I'm afraid to ask what you think we'll do next year," he said, with a big grin.

Kilgore then explained that while she thinks the team will win the Stanley Cup again, she doesn't want to frame it by saying the Penguins are going to win two Cups in a row until it happens next June.

"We can't think about what we did last year," she said.

"That's right," Crosby said. "Turn the page."

The Cup was hoisted onto a table so Kilgore and Crosby could pose with it for pictures. She then kissed both trophies -- the Cup, and Crosby's cheek.

"Do you like older women?" she asked him, and they both laughed and blushed a little.

Crosby gave Kilgore the opportunity to personalize her visit with the Cup.

"You want to get creative with it? You've got a pool out back, I see," he said, a reference to the fact the Cup ended up in the Mt. Lebanon pool of then-captain Mario Lemieux the first time the Penguins won it in 1991 and then again went for a dip this year in the now-co-owner's Sewickley pool. Other than the rain, though, the Cup stayed dry.

"It's more exciting than it was the last time," Kilgore said of Crosby's visit.

Crosby stopped on his way out for pictures with neighbors who had gathered.

Because of NHL obligations today, Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin did their ticket deliveries yesterday. Several other players will be making the rounds today.

In early August, Crosby had the Cup for two days, including his 22nd birthday, in and around his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Two weeks ago, he was in Calgary for the Team Canada Olympic orientation camp.

"It was great," Crosby said of the camp. "It was so much fun. I hadn't really gotten a chance to meet a lot of those guys.

"The hockey itself was great for late August. ... The pace was pretty quick. A good little tuneup for camp."

The Penguins will travel Thursday to Washington to visit the White House and President Barack Obama.

That comes two days before players report for training camp and three days before the first on-ice practices, so for Crosby, the stop at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. will mark the end of summer.

"That will kind of be our last hurrah with the Cup, I think, and once that's done, we'll move on and start again, but that will be an experience," Crosby said.

Just another in a line of experiences this championship offseason, including the one that Kilgore won't forget.