Jay Baruchel on hockey, Sidney Crosby and Canadian tattoo

 Jay Baruchel says he left his heart in Pittsburgh -- but not the maple leaf tattoo over it.

The native Canadian and star of "She's Out of My League" told me in a phone call last week that he has three tattoos, including the maple leaf on his chest. All three were covered with makeup or digitally removed for the movie, in which he plays a Pittsburgher and Pens hockey fan.

Talking by phone from Philadelphia on Thursday, he said he had been catching snippets of the Olympics during his publicity tour (he was headed to New York for a weekend round of interviews).

"Last night was obviously a huge night for Canada," he said of his country's 7-3 win over Russia on Wednesday. "I wore my Team Canada jersey all day because I knew I wouldn't be able to watch it."

He said he could appreciate the quandary of Pittsburghers torn between rooting for the U.S. team and Penguins star Sidney Crosby, playing for Canada. "I don't have that problem. It's easy when the best players in the world come from your country."

Talking about Crosby and Mario Lemieux and others, he said, "They're incredible ambassadors for the sport. ... It's a given that people will watch hockey in our country but specifically in your country, what Sid has done for hockey in America is kind of unparalleled."

Canadians love him for the same reason Pittsburghers do. "He's so humble and quiet but not a pushover. That's what we like to think of ourselves as -- I think a lot of yinzers do, as well. You're quiet and you keep your mouth shut but when push comes to shove, you can push back."

(In above photo, by Darren Michaels for DreamWorks, Baruchel and T.J. Miller attend a Pens game at Mellon Arena.)