Crosby spots things others don’t; just ask Devils
NEWARK, N.J. — Penguins players and coaches routinely talk at length about how captain Sidney Crosby sees the game differently than most. Yeah, no kidding. The majority of players competing in the NHL — OK, 100 percent of them — do not have eyes in the back of their head. Crosby, apparently, does. Early in the second period of the Penguins’ 7-4 win Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center, Crosby picked up a puck in the slot and slid a pass backward, between his legs, to Conor Sheary for an easy goal at 3:05.
No need to look or anything.
“I just kind of knew he was over there,” Crosby recalled afterward. “It was kind of a play that took a while to develop. Had some time to see where everybody was.”
Sheary did not call for the puck; however, he was ready, aware that, when playing on a line with Crosby, pretty much anything can happen.
The highlight was one of many this season for Crosby, although his best to this point have been goals — banking a puck off Martin Jones in San Jose or clanking another off Henrik Lundqvist’s helmet in Manhattan, for example.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is continually impressed by Crosby’s wizardry, but he’s not surprised.
“He just sees the game on another level,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes we marvel at what he does on a nightly basis. He’s an elite player. He makes elite plays that most guys can’t make. I think that’s an example of one of them. I think most guys would not have seen that play. Obviously, he has the vision, the wherewithal and the skill level to make that play.”
The genius here is how Crosby, who had two assists against the Devils, saw the play develop and knew where everyone was on the ice, like a quarterback knowing what the 10 other guys are supposed to do on a given play.
Sheary started the sequence with a quick pass up to Jake Guentzel. Crosby flashed some initial awareness once the Penguins gained the zone by sliding a pass back to Sheary, who onetimed a puck over to Guentzel.
As Crosby explained afterward, it might not have been a play he would have tried at the blue line. But here, in this part of the rink, picking up the puck almost at the bottom of the right circle and maneuvering into the slot presents considerably less risk.
“In that area, I’m probably more confident than at the blue line,” Crosby said. “It’s a little bit more risky further up by the blue line if you turn it over. Down there, it’s a play that can work out to your favor if it works well. [Sheary] happened to be in the right spot. It was a nice play.”
Devils goaltender Cory Schneider likely would agree — if only he had seen it. Schneider expected Crosby to continue with the grain, not reverse back, and how aggressively Schneider followed that flow gave Sheary a wide-open net to finish into.
“Sid has a special eye,” Guentzel said. “You have to be ready to find it.”