CAN SIDNEY SCORE 50? WHY NOT
Penguins captain offers his views on coach, Olympics and concussions
When Sidney Crosby says reaching the 50-goal mark is a realistic target, history suggests you believe him.
After all, given the run he’s been on the past 12 months, it would be foolish to doubt the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar.
“Yeah, I think 50 is obtainable,” Crosby said when asked by Postmedia to assess the possibility. “You need some bounces to go your way to get 50, but I still think it’s an obtainable number.
“Over the past year I’ve played in some pretty big games, so I think that helps as far as getting ready, getting prepared and playing the right way,” he added.
With two Stanley Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup crown to his credit, Crosby has nothing left to prove. Yet he keeps on doing it, thanks to the motivational fire that continues to burn deep in his gut.
After missing the first six games of the season with concussionlike symptoms, Crosby has been on a torrid pace, having scored 21 goals in 24 games entering the Penguins’ contest against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. Twentyfour hours later, he’ll step onto the Air Canada Centre ice for the first time since hoisting the World Cup trophy two months ago as his Penguins meet the Maple Leafs Saturday in front of a national television audience.
Crosby downplays his goalscoring touch, saying: “I think I’ve just been in the right places and pucks have just kind of found me. I don’t think I’ve really done anything different.”
Still, here’s the scary part: He thinks he’s performed better than this.
“When I look back, I feel like the best I’ve probably ever felt or played was prior to my concussion in 2010,” he said.
“It’s hard looking back. Things are different. Things change. Right now I feel pretty good.”
In this, the Holiday Edition of Sidney Crosby Unplugged, we quizzed the NHL’s hottest goal-scorer on a number of other pressing issues.
ON PENGUINS BENCH BOSS MIKE SULLIVAN
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of Sullivan’s promotion to the role of Pens head coach.
Sullivan’s impact on Crosby’s performance is underscored by the numbers. Prior to Sullivan’s hiring on Dec. 12, 2015, the captain had accrued just 19 points in the first 28 games of
the 2015-16 NHL season, causing him to repeatedly hear the question: “What’s wrong with Sidney Crosby?”
We now know the answer: nothing.
In the 78 regular-season games Crosby has played since Sullivan stepped behind the Penguins’ bench prior to Friday, he collected 51 goals and 48 assists for 99 points — an average of 1.27 points per game. There’s a Stanley Cup title and a Conn Smythe Trophy in that span for Sid as well.
“I think he’s just really demanding,” Crosby said of Sullivan. “He expects a lot out of the guys. I think he tried to get the best out of every individual player. Personally, I feel as if he doesn’t overlook any little details in the game because of that. I think that makes us better as a group and better individually.”
ON THE NHL’S NEW CONCUSSION PROTOCOL
When league-appointed concussion spotters two weeks ago ordered Oilers star Connor McDavid out of a game against the Winnipeg Jets to be examined,
the Edmonton captain was critical of the process. But Crosby has no issue with such protocol, especially given his own history of concussions.
“I’m OK with it,” he said. “I think the whole goal is to protect players and sometimes in the heat of a game it’s difficult to make those kinds of decisions as a player. When you’re competitive you want to keep playing. That’s why there are people in place to look after that and take those decisions out of your hands.
“I think it’s all about protecting the players and I don’t have a problem with that.”
ON BEING A TARGET
Earlier this month, a frustrated Connor McDavid lashed out at Brandon Manning, claiming the Philadelphia Flyer now admits injuring the Oilers superstar on purpose with a controversial check last season.
For Crosby, being a target is part of being an elite player in the NHL, right or wrong.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to change,” Crosby said.
“I mean, I think there’s a lot of attention on guys and on the game itself. There are cameras everywhere so they’re usually good at catching things. There are not a lot of things that go unseen.
“I think you just have to trust that guys will be punished accordingly or penalized accordingly depending on what they do. When you are a player who the other team is trying to make sure doesn’t produce, sometimes it gets extra physical, more intense and that’s just part of the game.”
ON NHL’S PARTICIPATION IN THE 2018 OLYMPICS
“I’d love to be part of it. I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of two great experiences in Vancouver and Sochi so, yeah, it would be nice to go. But it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Let’s Go!’ “There are a lot of things that go into it as far as the league is concerned. We’ll have to see what happens. But I’ve had a great experience there and would love to be part of it again.”