The 50-in-50 pursuit is back
Crosby is trying to reach a milestone we haven’t seen in the last two decades
Sidney Crosby is playing the best hockey of his career, a force at both ends of the ice, and he arrives in Toronto on Saturday night on an exceptional pace that is making the hockey world and its historians take notice.
“He might be at the highest level he’s ever been at,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after a team meeting Friday.
Babcock has coached Crosby at two gold-medal-winning Olympics, and faced him when Detroit and Pittsburgh met in the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup finals, with the coach’s Red Wings winning in 2008 and the Crosby-led Penguins getting their revenge the following year.
“I know it’s the best I’ve ever seen him,” Babcock said. “He’s a way better player than before, and that comes with experience too . . . And he has a great team behind him, it may be the best team they’ve had since the (2009) Cup.”
Crosby has an impact in all zones, doing the little things in tight spaces that change the course of games. But what everyone is talking about is his scoring.
The 29-year-old entered a home game against the Kings on Friday with 21 goals in 24 games. That has ignited talk about 50 goals in 50 games, a feat that has been managed by just nine players in NHL history, and none in the last 20 years.
Wayne Gretzky’s 50 in 39 games during the 1981-82 season remains one of hockey’s most treasured records, and one that most likely never gets broken. But simply being close to a 50-in-50 pace is an accomplishment at a time defensive play is central to success in the NHL. The majority of the 50-in-50 seasons came during the high-scoring 1980s and early ’90s.
Crosby’s 50th game of the season, barring any injury setbacks, should fall on Feb. 16. He will need 29 goals in 26 games, counting Friday.
So how do the Leafs stop him? It will be a challenge.
Pittsburgh headed into the weekend with the highest shots-per-game average in the NHL, with the Leafs second. But you do not want to get into trading chances with the Penguins.
“(Crosby is) so strong down low, he’s great on his edges, so he can shake you off pretty good, so you have to jockey him pretty good,” Leafs centre Nazem Kadri said.
Kadri, of course, will likely be assigned to Crosby much of Saturday night; he has already proven himself a formidable defensive foe, having blanketed, roughed up, and won a battle with Connor McDavid earlier this season.
Crosby, arguably, dominates in more areas of the ice than McDavid, along with playing for a much better, more-rounded club than McDavid’s Oilers.
Leafs centre Ben Smith is familiar with Crosby and how the game’s No.1 player handles the faceoff circle. And, more than ever in recent memory, the Leafs are focusing on faceoff success to augment their overall plan to win puck possession battles with the opposition.
“Faceoff wise, he’s pretty strong, and he’s pretty quick,” said Smith, who handles most of the Leafs’ defensive zone draws on penalty kills.
“Like all good faceoff men, he gets away with a lot, and that’s just how it goes in the game. He always does a good job there, he sweeps the (faceoff dot) hard, and wins a lot. That’s going to be a real challenge for us.”
But not any bigger than Crosby’s 50-in-50 quest. Even Alex Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer of the last decade, has never hit 50 goals quicker than 70 games. And, in the last five seasons, only Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and Crosby teammate Evgeni Malkin have scored 50 in a single season.
Crosby himself has reached 50 goals only once in his career, when he had 51 in the 2009-10 season. His pace this season is the result of 26 per cent shooting percentage, almost double his career average. He’s also seeing far more high quality opportunities.
“He’s just the complete player,” Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen said. “There’s no point on the ice where he’s not the best in the league at everything. He has a good team around him. We have to minimize our giveaways against a team like that.”