Crosby on scoring tear for Penguins
Two-time MVP has seen a resurgence
PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby can’t seem to find the right word for what’s happening. If the Pittsburgh Penguins captain is being honest, he is not really interested in finding one. He would rather just enjoy a hot streak that is bordering on absurd even by his remarkably high standards.
The two-time MVP’s 17 goals lead the NHL just over a quarter of the way into the season, even though he missed the first six games while recovering from a concussion. Even though injuries have forced head coach Mike Sullivan to shake up his lines. Even though Crosby insists he hasn’t made some sort of conscious decision to pepper the opposing net.
“You can call it whatever you want,” Crosby said. Just don’t call it luck. “You don’t get puck luck (that many) times,” teammate Patric Hornqvist said. “I just think he’s in the right spot at the right time.”
Over and over and over again.
The game’s most creative player is in the midst of a rebirth at 29, a renaissance that coincided with Sullivan’s arrival last December. It’s a union that has propelled Crosby to some of the finest hockey of his career. He captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP last June after the Penguins won their fourth Stanley Cup title and he hardly looked weary from a shorter than usual summer while captaining Team Canada to a remarkably easy stroll to the gold medal in the World Cup of Hockey in September.
The player who appeared on the other side of his prime a year ago has reclaimed his spot as face of the sport and appears in no mood to give up the mantle anytime soon. Not that Crosby wants to talk about it. He figures he’s just doing what he’s always done.
“I’m in the same spots, the same areas,” said Crosby, who is putting the puck on net 3.5 times per game, just a slight uptick from with his usual average. “When you think it’s going in you tend to shoot a little bit more because you feel good, you believe it’s going in … When you’re struggling a little bit, you feel you need to bring it closer or pass up a shot and make a pass. I think that’s normal for everybody. That’s pretty common.”
Crosby never met a teammate he didn’t like to set up, but maybe he is finally getting a little selfish. It wasn’t always that way.
“Playing against him in the past, I would try to make sure I was taking away passing lanes from him,” said forward Eric Fehr, who spent nine years facing Crosby while skating for Washington before signing with Pittsburgh in 2015. “You don’t really expect him to pull up and shoot. You see him coming down in a 3 on 2 you’re expecting him to lay it in somewhere. I think that’s changed him a little bit and that makes him tough to defend.”
Tuesday’s games
FLYERS 3, PANTHERS 2: In Philadelphia, Jakub Voracek scored with 8.6 seconds left in overtime after Wayne Simmonds had two goals in regulation, leading the Flyers to their sixth straight victor.
Goalie Steve Mason made 42 saves.
“We weren’t clicking, we weren’t the team with more energy, but in the end we found a way,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “The biggest thing is the saves we got. It was one of those nights where (Mason) was our best player.” PREDATORS 4, AVALANCHE
3: In Nashville, Tenn., Roman Josi scored a power-play goal 1:04 into the third period to give the Predators a win.
Pekka Rinne made 25 saves, including a big one on countryman Mikko Rantanen.
“Can’t let the Finn score against me,” Rinne said with a laugh. ISLANDERS 4, RANGERS
2: In New York, Andrew Ladd scored in the second period and Jaroslav Halak stopped 36 shots to lead the Islanders over their crosstown-rival.
John Tavares, Jason Chimera and Scott Mayfield also scored at the Barclays Center to help the last-place Islanders improve to 4-0-1 in their last five games. BLACKHAWKS 4, COYOTES
0: In Chicago, Marian Hossa had two goals, Scott Darling made 22 saves and the Blackhawks beat Arizona to snap a two-game slide.
Artem Rasmussen Anisimov also and scored Dennisto help Chicago maintain a threepoint lead over St. Louis in the Central Division.
DEVILS 3, CANUCKS 2: In Newark, N.J., Taylor Hall scored a goal, set up a goahead tally by Kyle Palmieri and delivered a crushing check that knocked Vancouver defenseman Philip Larsen out of the game to lift New Jersey. SABRES 4, OILERS 3 (OT): In Buffalo, N.Y., Rasmus Ristolainen scored from the left circle 57 seconds into overtime and Buffalo beat Edmonton.
RED WINGS 4, JETS 3: In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Henrik Zetterberg backhanded in the deciding goal in the shootout and Detroit came back from a two-goal deficit.
BLUES 3, CANADIENS 2: In St. Louis, Jaden Schwartz got his second goal of the game in overtime, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal
FLAMES 2, STARS 1: In Dallas, Sean Monahan scored on a power play midway through the third period, lifting Calgary over Dallas.
Johnny Gaudreau passed to Monahan from behind the net into the slot, and he slid a wrist shot past goalie Kari Lehtonen.