Statistically, Crosby remains brightest star

89 POINTS IN 2016

Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are duking it out for NHL supremacy.

The race, which will likely include the Art Ross and Hart trophies by season’s end, is too close to call, even if it likely favours the Pittsburgh captain.

McDavid, for starters, has met the sky-high expectations for his sophomore NHL season, first in NHL scoring with 39 points in his first 31 games. He’s gone from 1.07 points per-game as a rookie to 1.26 per-game for the Oilers, his even-strength production (assists and points) spiking on a per-minute basis alongside his individual puck possession numbers (55 per cent).

But Crosby is still tops, putting together a 2016 that’s without compare. Since Jan. 1, Crosby has a league-best 89 points in only 66 games (1.35 per-game). He’s also No. 1 with 47 goals in that span, including a league-leading 20 in 22 games this season, heading into Monday’s play.

ALL-STAR ALERT They didn’t crack the topfive in the first count of allstar voting, but these players (two from each division) deserve some votes: Devan Dubnyk (Central): The Minnesota Wild netminder

tops the NHL with a .946 overall save percentage.

Mark Scheifele (Central): The Jets forward is on pace for a 15-point bump this year, currently with 28 points in 29 games for Winnipeg. Nikita Kucherov (Atlantic): The Lightning winger has mustered 13 goals and 30 points in 28 games. David Pastrnak (Atlantic): The Boston forward has already set a new career-high with 18 goals in 24 games. Brandon Saad (Metropolitan): The 24-year-old is on pace to break the career-high 53 points he had last year. Wayne Simmonds (Metropolitan): His eight power play goals for the Flyers top the NHL and since 2011, only Alex Ovechkin has more.

Chad Johnson (Pacific): The goalie boasts a 13-4-1 record and .932 save percentage. Leon Draisaitl (Pacific): Draisaitl already has a career-best 11 points and 26 total points in 31 games.