Penguins 3 - Panthers 0: Clampdown

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins won with some steller goaltending and just a touch of offense as they defeated the clawless Florida Panthers 3-0.
On the night, Sidney finished with 1 assist, EVEN, and 3 shots on goal in 20:38 of ice time.

Not a memorable game, but a big victory nonetheless.
From NHL.com:

These Pittsburgh Penguins must be for real. They're even beating the Florida Panthers.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots, and the Penguins ended a nearly five-year home losing streak against the Panthers by winning 3-0 Tuesday night.

And they did it without any goals from Sidney Crosby or Mark Recchi.

Michel Ouellet, Dominic Moore and Ryan Whitney scored as Pittsburgh won its fourth in a row and sixth in seventh games. Crosby and Recchi combined for eight goals and 19 points in three games, with Recchi getting six goals and 10 points before being shut out by Florida.

"We got some big saves, especially in the third when they were pressing pretty hard," Crosby said, pointing to Florida's 13-4 shots advantage during the final period. "That's what your goalie needs to do, buy you time and make it tough on teams to get back when you have a lead."

Crosby did extend his point streak to seven games (4 goals, 10 assists) by helping set up Whitney's ninth goal of the season. The power-play goal came midway through the second period after Florida held off Pittsburgh during a pair of 5-on-3 advantages that lasted two minutes. Crosby has an NHL-leading 79 points in 46 games.

"It was kind of disappointing that we gave them a goal after working so hard and doing a good job with the 5-on-3," Florida coach Jacques Martin said.

Fleury got his third shutout of the season and fifth of his career, and against an opponent that had won seven in a row in Pittsburgh since March 5, 2002. The Panthers had won 14 of 15 overall against Pittsburgh.

"We said before the game it was about time - we were all sick of hearing, 'Why can't you beat these teams from Florida?"' Whitney said. "It was a huge game in that aspect and in the standings, too."

With a 24-17-8 record, the Penguins are an NHL-best 25 points ahead of their pace of last season, when they were 11-29-9 en route to winning only 22 games. They are in playoff contention for the first time since Mario Lemieux's comeback season six years ago.

"With that personnel over there, it was only a matter of time before they got going," Florida's Bryan Allen said. "Fleury played well, especially in the third period, and sometimes that's the biggest factor."

The Penguins returned from one of their best road trips in years, beating Dallas 4-3 in a shootout Friday and Phoenix 7-2 on Saturday, but didn't experience the letdown some teams have in the first game at home following a western swing.

"We wanted to make sure we come back here focused," Crosby said. "We didn't come back overconfident. We came back with a strong work ethic and tried to play the way we did in those two games on the road."

Hmm, I had no idea the Penguins have had that much trouble with the Panthers.

Penguins 7 - Coyotes 2: Coyote Ugly, Sidney Pretty

Last season, Alexander Ovechkin scored 'The Goal' during a game in Phoenix.

This season? Sidney Crosby returns to the scene of the crime and records a beautiful goal of his own. Check it out!



Beauty!!

It was that kind of night for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins as they routed the Coyotes 7-2. Sidney finished with 1 goal, 3 assists, and +1 in just 18:33 of ice time. Make that 6 points in 2 games since the big ZERO at the All-Star Game.

Crosby's 78 points now put him 10 ahead of Alexander Ovechkin (and in 2 less games). W00t!!

More importantly, the win gives the Pens an important two points as they try and keep their playoff spot for the rest of the season.

From NHL.com:

Another game, another highlight for Sidney Crosby.

Crosby scored on a backhand shot as he fell to the ice and added three assists, and Mark Recchi also had a goal and three assist, to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night.

With the Penguins holding a two-goal lead early in the third, Crosby gained control of the puck near the inside of the edge of the right circle but tripped backward over Fredrik Sjostrom's stick. As he left his skates, Crosby muscled a backhand shot over goalie Mikael Tellqvist to make it 5-2.

"I tried to pull the puck in and fell back," Crosby said. "I just tried to get a shot off. I just tried to stay with it. You can't go out there and try to do things like that. You just have to react. I was lucky enough to get my stick there."

Pittsburgh coach Michel Terrien added, "the guys on the bench couldn't believe it. That was another highlight goal."

The goal was Crosby's second point from a more-or-less horizontal position. He left his skates to lunge forward from behind the net and pass the puck to Ryan Malone in front of the crease for the game's first goal 24 seconds in.

Crosby said having such a performance in front of Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky was an added bonus.

"It's a unique experience for all of us," Crosby said. "We grew up watching him. I don't think you come up here with something to prove but it's a unique experience to play against a team coached by one of the best players of all time."

Gretzky said Crosby is an "exceptional hockey player and a great athlete."

"You can't stop people making comparisons," Gretzky said. "That's always going to be there and that's the good thing about the game. I was telling people today that it's pretty amazing how quickly the time goes. Here he is, he's 19 and he's going to be compared to guys for a few years. Before you turn around a new guy comes in and everybody says he's the new Crosby. It definitely happens quickly."

Yeah, well until the next Crosby comes along, we'll enjoy the current one.

Sidney Crosby's TimBits TV Ad

Here's the clip of Sidney Crosby's TimBits hockey ad played up here in Canada, which shows his dedication to the sport and gives you subconscious thoughts of buying donut products.



"Just a couple more minutes..."

Penguins 4 - Stars 3(SO): 49...50!

Two nights after stinking up Dallas and the All-Star Game, Sidney was back to his normal self as he helped the Penguins eek out a shootout win over the Dallas Stars.

The damage? 2 assists, +1, and 2 shots on goal in 21:34 of ice time.
With the 2 assists, Sidney now has 50 on the season.

From NHL.com:

Erik Christensen scored the only goal in the shootout and Sidney Crosby had two assists in his first game since going scoreless in the All-Star game as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 Friday night.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all three shots in the shootout, preserving the win by holding off Dallas' Sergei Zubov, Jussi Jokinen and Mike Ribeiro. Fleury finished with 32 saves to help Pittsburgh improve to 2-5 in shootouts and drop Dallas to 5-2.

Mark Recchi scored two goals for the Penguins, including the 500th of his career that tied the score at 3 with 8:01 left. He has five goals in his last two games. Crosby had assists on both of Recchi's goals.

The 19-year-old superstar was originally credited with a goal that gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 12:08 of the second. However, the official scorers later ruled that Recchi deflected Crosby's wrister into the net.

Crosby was playing his first regular-season game in Dallas, two nights after not scoring in the All-Star game on the Stars' home ice. The Penguins have won four of their last five.

Patrick Stefan's goal gave Dallas a 3-2 lead midway through the third. Zubov and Jokinen also had goals for the Stars, who snapped their three-game winning streak.

Zubov, who missed three games with an elbow injury, blasted a shot from the left point past Fleury to give Dallas a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 11:58 of the first.

Jordan Staal's shot from the left circle beat Marty Turco to tie the score at 8:42 of the second. fter Recchi's first goal gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead, Jokinen tied the score again with 5:17 left in the period.

Stefan put Dallas ahead at 9:19 of the third before Recchi evened things up again when he chipped in a loose puck over Turco's glove.

Several players returned from injury for Dallas. Defenseman Steve Ott had missed 37 games with a fractured ankle. All-Star defenseman Philippe Boucher was out two games last week with a facial injury, and center Jeff Halpern returned after sitting out three contests because of a bad groin.

Sidney Crosby: Victim of Draconian Drinking Laws

Robert over at "Eyes on the Prize", who had fantasies of Sidney Crosby in a Habs sweater, translated a story about Sidney Crosby being booted out, yet BOOTED OUT, of a Texas bar for being 'underage'.

Well, congrats on Sidney for achieving another FIRST, because he has to be the FIRST underage celeb ever kicked out of a drinking hole for being underage. Sheesh.

From Robocop:

Sometimes youth and noteriety has it's downside.

Sidney Crosby learned all about this Wednesday evening while attending a private party with all of the NHL's elite.

According to Martin Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal, Crosby tagged along with the NHL All-Stars entourage to "The Ghost", a Dallas nightclub atop the chic W hotel.

While the NHL's leading scorer was enjoying the evening in the company of other players, some "good samiritan" pointed out to the establishments owners that Crosby was only 19.

The legal drinking age in the state of Texas is 21.

Shortly after 12:30 a.m., Crosby was asked to leave the club, even though it had been booked for the purpose of a post ASG celebration, and he is seen as the biggest star amongst the gathering.

Seemingly in Texas, the law is the law.

Unperturbed, Crosby simply hit another club in downtown Dallas, where some other players had gotten together.

Earth to Texas, you may want to join the 21st century some time. 21? From a state that promotes environmentally damaging SUV's as a size of one's manhood?

Don't expect Crosby to sign with the STARS any decade soon.

Sidney Crosby: All-Star Dud

For all of the hype surrounding Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, they delivered about as much OOMPH as Michael Jackson's last release.

0 points. ZERO!!!! How does Sidney get ZERO??

Did he purposely slowfoot it to lower expectations? Did Alexander Ovechkin conspire to make El Cros look bad?

From the Forth Worth Star-Telegram:

Two of the NHL's most prolific players played on the same line Wednesday.

However, the pairing didn't result in that much offense.

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, who were both Eastern Conference starters, made their All-Star Game debuts Wednesday. Ovechkin scored a goal, but Crosby was held scoreless. Crosby had three shots, Ovechkin five.

"We had a few chances, but it just didn't work out," said the 19-year-old Crosby. "Ovechkin has a great shot. The game was fast. It's a little more intense, and I guess it will take some time to get used to it. It was a great experience, and it was fun to meet the guys."

Crosby ended up having something in common with the Great One in his debut.

Wayne Gretzky made his All-Star debut at age 19 in 1980, and like Crosby, Gretzky was held scoreless.

"I guess that makes me feel a little bit better," Crosby said. "I might sleep better tonight."

The game started out promising for the duo, who entered with a combined 53 goals this season. Crosby and Ovechkin skated in alone with 7:30 left in the first period. But the play didn't exactly unfold like they wanted. Ovechkin's cross-ice pass hit Crosby in the skate, forcing Crosby to hit a hurried backhand shot.

Honestly, I just didn't see much jump out of Crosby last night and he didn't seem all that interested in scoring or winning.

Well, back to the REAL action.

Sidney Crosby has mad All-Star Skillz

Thanks to Sidney Crosby's awesomeness, and no thanks to Alexander "slowfoot" Ovechkin, the (l)Eastern Conference beat the Western Conferece in the Skills Competition.

From Townhall.com:

About the only part of the game in which Sidney Crosby has struggled this season is shootouts _ until the teenage superstar was on the same ice with the rest of the NHL's best players.

Crosby, the 19-year-old forward from Pittsburgh, scored on two of his three shots in the final individual shootout to deliver a victory for the Eastern Conference in the NHL All-Star skills competition Tuesday night.

The NHL's leading scorer, whose 72 points are five more than anybody else, is 0-for-5 in shootouts during the regular season.

"It was fun to be in that situation. I didn't ask for it, but I liked it," Crosby said. "Especially with all the ones that I missed this season, it was nice."

Crosby also scored on his only shootout attempt in the team competition, midway through the nine-event competition to tie the score 7-7.

The competition was tied 10-10 after Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo stopped all four shots in the final team shootout. Meanwhile, Colorado's Joe Sakic and Edmonton's Ryan Smyth scored against Ryan Miller of Buffalo to get even going into the final event.

But Luongo couldn't stop Crosby, the top All-Star vote-getter. Crosby made his first two shots and that gave the East squad a 15-11 victory over the West.

"Going against Luongo, you're going against the best, so if you don't score you've got an excuse," Crosby said. "I'm competitive. I want to win with the game on the line like that."

Anaheim's Teemu Selanne scored on his first attempt for the West, but missed his next two _ the last a glove save by Miller to end the event.

Selanne, who will play in his 10th All-Star game on Wednesday night, was impressed by Crosby.

"I've only seen him on highlights. It's great to watch a kid like that," Selanne said. "He's got the full package."

Now, it's time for Sidney to rack up 10 assists as he makes great plays for the cherry-picking Ovechkin.

All-Star Game: Crosby is 'Soaking' in it.

Sidney Crosby is taking full advantage of his first All-Star opportunity, and is obviously excited. 10 years from now, he'll be so bored of the whole charade that he'll ask his body double to go in his place.

From Evan Grossman of NHL.com:

Sidney Crosby will get the red carpet treatment when he arrives in Dallas for his first NHL All-Star Game this week. Well, all of the players involved will get the Oscar-type treatment, but there’s no denying Crosby’s first appearance in the game is one of the major storylines of the week.

“I’m excited for sure,” Crosby said. “There’re a lot of guys there that I grew up watching and to be able to get the opportunity to meet them and play with them is definitely going to be enjoyable.”

If there’s one thing we’ve already learned about the 19-year- old playmaker it’s that when there’s hype surrounding his hockey games, Crosby generally lives up to it. The major buzz heading into Wednesday’s game (8 p.m. ET, Versus, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio) will be Crosby and Alex Ovechkin joining forces for the first time. The two will skate on the Eastern Conference’s starting forward line in the greatest pairing of young superstars this side of the Justice League of America.

“Playing with Ovechkin is going to be a lot of fun,” Crosby said. “To be able to play with a guy that shoots the puck like that, you want to get it to him. So I’ll be doing my best to try to feed him the puck and let him rip it.”

Read the entire article HERE.

Sidney Crosby: Impressed with the new 'Duds'

While most of the hardcore fans moan the crappy conceptual design and the wonder why the NHL is bother changing the uniforms, one of the best things about the game, Sidney Crosby and many of the players seem to be happy with the improvements.

From Canoe.ca:

The NHL's new look doesn't seem that different, at first glance.

But Sidney Crosby, for one, says the time is right for the uniform overhaul. "It's a new era, a new game," the Pittsburgh Penguins star told a news conference Monday. "We have all this new equipment, skates, sticks and everything, but we were wearing the same jerseys for how long? I think it was just time to have something new."

The Reebok uniforms are made of more modern material that makes the new uniforms lighter, cooler, slightly tighter, more stretchable, and more water-resistant.

The players will wear the new gear at Wednesday's all-star game and all the league's players will follow suit next season.

The new uniforms have been three years in development and got plenty of feedback from the players. Crosby, who is sponsored by Reebok, spent countless hours on the project last summer.

Crosby, whose legs are like tree trunks, was particularly interested in the new pants.

"With me, a lot of times I have problems with pants like on the inside of the leg because they're a bit tighter," the 19-year-old said. "With these ones, it was trial and error, we made it so that it doesn't matter how big your legs are they wrap right around your leg and conforms right to it. That's really nice."

Penguins 8 - Leafs 2: SLAUGHTER!!!

Sidney Crosby and the boys had a little biznaz to take care off before the All-Star Break as they faced the Maple Leafs.

Sidney and the boys went wild and raked the Leafs by an 8-2 score, humiliating The Centre of the Universe(tm) in front of a national audience on Hockey Night in Canada. It was quite enjoyable.

The star of the night was Mark Recchi with his natural hat-trick, but Sidney wasn't a wallflower with his goal and two assists. Sidney also had 3 blocked shots in 17:47 of rather easy ice time.

The goal? A total fluke. Still, who's complaining?


It's certainly nice for the Pens to enter the All-Star break on a high and clinging to the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

Game recap from NHL.com:

The Pittsburgh Penguins had made it a goal to hold one of the Eastern Conference's eight playoff spots by the All-Star break.

With an emphatic win in their final game before the five-day league layoff, the Penguins achieved just that.

Mark Recchi scored three consecutive power-play goals and Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to lead the Penguins to an 8-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

Evgeni Malkin had five assists, Sergei Gonchar had three assists and Jarkko Ruutu scored on a penalty shot goal for the Penguins, who moved into a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

"I'm not going to lie to you; we wanted to get there before the break," Recchi said. "And we got to that goal. Guys were talking about it and paying attention to it. Now we can enjoy our break."

Recchi, who also added an assist, recorded the seventh hat trick of his career in a span of 16:57, starting late in the first period. His most recent was March 4 against Carolina, where he was traded five days later before re-signing with Pittsburgh as a free agent in the offseason.

The Penguins, who enter the All-Star break 3-0-1 in their last four games, were 5-for-10 on the power play.

"We were really into it starting the game and the execution was there with the puck," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "The guys stuck to the plan and it was a great team effort."

Toronto's Jeff O'Neill scored the first goal 3:19 into the game on a power play.

But from there it was all Pittsburgh as Jordan Staal scored the first of seven straight goals 1:31 later. He tipped in a pass from Malkin while going hard to the net. Malkin has five goals and seven assists during a five-game point streak.

"I'm feeling much more comfortable right now," said Malkin through a translator. "I feel the size of the ice much better and I'm feeling much more comfortable now."

The Penguins took the lead for good with 11:30 left in the first on Ruutu's penalty shot.

Ruutu, who hadn't scored since the season opener, was pulled off his skates by Carlo Colaiacovo on a breakway against Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft. On the penalty shot, Ruutu faked a forehand shot to freeze Raycroft before tucking the puck into the net with the backhand.

Recchi made it 3-1 with 2:32 to play in the opening period when Ryan Whitney's centering pass deflected off his skate and into the net.

"It doesn't matter who you play, if you're out there moving your feet and keeping the puck moving forward and not making mistakes," Crosby said, "you're going to get your chances and (tonight) we did a great job putting them in when we got them."

Recchi's second of the game and 13th of the season came midway through the second off a pass from Crosby. His third came at 14:25 of the second from Crosby and Gonchar. That was Recchi's 498th career goal and his 1,306th point in his 1,302nd NHL game.

"I feel great out there," Recchi said. "And obviously when you're getting great passes like that out there, it makes it a little bit easier."

Crosby added a 5-on-3 goal 4:02 into the third against backup goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin, an ex-Penguin, and Michel Ouellet added a power-play goal with 8:52 to play.

Video of the Day - Sidney vs. Alex

Here's today video of the day, Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin.

The soundtrack? Crappy. The video, a'yite!

Penguins 4 - Bruins 5(SO): Shootout Woes Continue

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins lost a toughie 5-4 to the Bruins in the bonus-point shootout.

Sidney, once again, was stuffed and seems to be having an awful time in shootouts this season. He's now 0-4 after missing tonight. I know shootouts are a bit 'random', but it's strange that Crosby continues to get denied during shootouts while a guy like Josh Green scores on his only try!

On the night, Crosby finished with a lone assist, EVEN, 4 shots on goal, and 10 for 20 on faceoffs in 23:00 of ice time.

Game recap from NHL.com:

Phil Kessel stole the spotlight from Sidney Crosby's first game in Boston this season.

In his sixth game back after missing nearly a month following surgery for testicular cancer, Kessel scored a winning goal in the shootout to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-4 victory over Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

"He is a great player - fast and has a great shot," Crosby said. "I know he's been through a lot of adversity, so that says a lot about his character."

Hannu Toivonen recovered from a shaky first two periods to record his first win in three months for the Bruins. Toivonen, whose last win came on Oct. 19 against Calgary, allowed four goals on 21 shots through two periods before saving 12 shots in the third to force overtime.

After allowing Erik Christensen to score on Pittsburgh's first shootout attempt, Toivonen turned back Evgeni Malkin, Crosby and Sergei Gonchar to make way for Kessel.

"I thought it was the right moment, the stage was set," Boston coach Dave Lewis said. "I had a lot of choices, so I can't take credit."

Kessel faked left and went right to beat Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and lead the Bruins to just their third win in 10 games.

Kessel, the fifth pick of the 2006 NHL draft, also scored the game-winner in a 4-3 shootout win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 30. He also had two goals in Boston's 6-3 loss at Buffalo on Wednesday night.

The Bruins overcame a two-goal game from Malkin, who leads NHL rookies in goals and points, to climb back from deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 and beat the Penguins for the ninth straight time. Pittsburgh's last win against Boston came on Nov. 1, 2003, and its last win in Boston was Feb. 8, 2003.

Sidney Dons the New Duds

What better model for the new 'duds' than Sidney Crosby?


They don't look that bad to me, but that picture is extremely airbrushed. I've seen some other concept designs and they look bad.

Mr. Reality Check is already set to burn these things in a big bonfire:

I'll be frank, downright, and straight to the point: These new NHL streamlined jersey are butt ugly!

Why in the world does anyone at the NHL level feel they are even needed. They're a joke!

These tight fitting atrocities fit to the form of the players, making them look more muscular. I don't believe that it is worth sacrificing the games sacred emblems and logo's for these vertical streamed disasters. Hockey jerseys are the most treasured jersey in sport. This is not some baseball shirt or flabby basketball muscleshirt the NHL is tampering with, it is the most unique and beautiful paraphernalia in all of sport.

Doesn't anyone get that tradition is important to hockey fans. Buffalo's new Sabreslug pyjama's don't look any better when Buffalo's winning. They still look out of place. Hockey fans, the game's die hards that are the sports foundation, will be reviled.

We know the NHL doesn't do things for the diehards. Die-hard fans will not jump ship because Sidney dons a sleeker uniform with uglier designs.

Obviously, this is a big marketing initiative and it just MAY improve performance. My only beef is that they are messing with good clean designs and seem hell-bent on using too many lines and too much 'noise'. Keep it simple, stupid!

Kukla's Korner also has more on the new duds.

Penguins 5 - Islanders 2: Deuce!

Sidney Crosby scored the game winner, one of two goals on the night, in a 5-2 trouncing of the New York Islanders.

Overall, Sir Sidney finished with two goals and EVEN in 20:47 of ice time. On the down side, he took two more minors and is letting his discpline slip as of late.

From NHL.com:

-Sidney Crosby and Erik Christensen each scored two goals to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Christensen added an assist, and Michel Ouellet had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, who passed the Islanders and moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with their second straight win.

Richard Park and Aaron Asham scored for New York.

Crosby, who had no shots and a minus-1 rating through two periods, had two goals in the third period on rebounds. His power-play goal with 16:32 left off Ouellet's shot gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead. Crosby's second on a rebound of Mark Recchi's shot with 6:15 left put the game away.

Christensen scored the game's first goal 2:32 in with a nifty backhand move from the slot on a pass from Maxime Talbot.

The second period was all New York. Not only did the Islanders kill two 5-on-3 Pittsburgh power plays - totaling 2:24 in the second period - they actually outscored the Penguins during the disadvantage.

Richard Park scored a rare 3-on-5 goal less than two minutes into the period. With Alexei Yashin and Brendan Witt in the penalty box, Park blocked a shot and skated up ice. He beat Pittsburgh Marc-Andre Fleury to the high stick side to tie it 1-1.

It was the first goal the Islanders had scored while down two men since March 9, 1993, when Benoit Hogue did it against Philadelphia.

The Penguins took a 2-1 lead on Ouellet's power-play goal 11:35 into the period, but Asham beat Fleury to tie it at 2 with 2:16 to play in the second off a pass from Chris Simon.

New York controlled play for much of the first two periods. After posting six shots during the first 3:54, the Penguins went 18:15 without a shot and totaled only four during the next 39-plus minutes - despite an abundance of power-play time.

But Pittsburgh got the better of the play in the third period, firing 12 shots and scoring all three goals.

Christensen's second came with 11:15 to play when he fired a shot from just inside the blue line, using two Islanders as a screen. That gave the Penguins a 4-2 lead.

Crosby Apparently Meeting Expectations

According to one Scott Lauber, Sidney Crosby is meeting his expectations.

I don't know about you, but I expected Sidney Crosby to have 34 goals and 112 assists by now. Still, I'll forgive Sidney since he's forced to play with crappy linemates like Colby Armstrong and the 72-year old Mark Recchi.

From Delaware Online:

Here's the thing about being branded the second coming of Wayne Gretzky: Expectations are so lofty, so unreachable, that they're virtually impossible to fulfill.

Still, Sidney Crosby is off to a great start.

In his second season, Crosby has emerged as the NHL's best player, leading the league with 66 points (21 goals, 45 assists) in 40 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins after Saturday's victory over the Flyers.

He scores goals worthy of the highlight reels, like his recent sprawling, stick-first redirection against Tampa Bay, and he sets up teammates with precision passes. He's even adept at shutting down an opponent's top player, and he has the plus-14 rating to prove it.

All that, and Crosby doesn't turn 20 until August.

"He's probably the best player in our league now," Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Van Ryn told the Palm Beach Post. "He wants to take it to you. He wants to beat you one-on-one. He wants to make you look bad. He's just a phenomenal player."

Sidney has a +14 because he scores a lot and plays often against checking lines. Sidney is not out there defending the likes of Saku Koivu and Jaromir Jagr on a regular basis. Sheesh!

You can read the full article HERE.

Photo of the Day: Sidney Crosby, The Timbit Years

Mr. Reality Check dug into his proverbial shoe box and came up with an old treasure.

Meet Sidney Crosby, the Timbit!

Awww, how cute ;)

Penguins 5 - Flyers 3: Flying High

Another day, another victory over the Flyers. If the Penguins DO make the playoffs, it will be thanks to the generous donations of the Flyers to the Penguins Victory Fund.

Sidney and the Pens played a solid game in getting themselves a 5-3 win, despite the fact that Sidney didn't do a whole lot.

Sidney finished with just 1 assist, -1 and took 2 minor penalties in 19:32 of ice time.

From NHL.com:

Not even slowing down Sidney Crosby could help Philadelphia.

Crosby had enough help from Evgeni Malkin and rest of the Penguins to keep them perfect against the worst team in the league.

Malkin scored twice, Jordan Staal got the go-ahead goal in the third period and Pittsburgh beat the Flyers 5-3 on Saturday for its sixth victory this season against its cross-state rival.

"I don't know. Part of it is just confidence," Staal said. "Once you get a couple going on them, you're more confident playing a team like that. I can't really say why we beat them every time."

At least this one was close, with the Flyers rallying from a two-goal deficit to tie the score, unlike some of the previous meetings. The Penguins have twice scored eight goals against the NHL-worst Flyers, and shut them out in the season opener.

"We try to make a stand against a team and they still found a way to win the game and we found a way to lose it," Flyers right wing Mike Knuble said. "We've got to make some sort of progress. We've got to win one of those for once."

Philadelphia held Crosby to one assist and got a goal from Peter Forsberg, but it still wasn't enough. With an Eagles playoff game only hours away, the surprisingly strong crowd got more enjoyment out of shouting "E-A-G-L-E-S!" for several stretches in this one. And why not? After all, the Flyers gave them little reason to cheer.

"We don't take that step forward," Knuble said. "All of us are struggling to find a reason why."

The Flyers showed a spark when Simon Gagne and Forsberg scored 1:24 apart in the second period to tie the score at 3. But Staal slipped one by Antero Niittymaki midway through the third for his 13th goal of the season, helping the Penguins snap a three-game losing streak.

Malkin had an assist on that one.

"I just jumped in. It was a picture-perfect pass," Staal said. "I just had to tap it in."

Maybe it's the kind of play the two can use in the NHL YoungStars game during All-Star weekend. Staal and Ryan Whitney also were selected from the Penguins to represent the Eastern Conference.

Sergei Gonchar and Mark Recchi also scored for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury was solid in goal with 15 saves.

Sidney and Alexander: Together at last!

There's lots of hype surrounding Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby starting on the same line at the All-Star game. Their coach for the night, Lindy Ruff, is already creaming his adult undergarments.

From the Winnipeg Sun:

Count Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff among those who can't wait to see Sid the Kid and Alexander the Great play on the same line.

Voted in as the Eastern Conference's starting forwards -- along with the Buffalo Sabres' Daniel Briere -- Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will be on the ice together for the opening faceoff at the all-star game Jan. 24 in Dallas.

The NHL has put a lot of effort in marketing Ovechkin, the top pick in the 2004 entry draft by the Washington Capitals, and Crosby, who went first overall in '05 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now both will finally have the opportunity to showcase their skills on the ice for the same team.

"I think there will be a lot of cool things at the game, and I think that's one of them," said Ruff, the head coach of the Eastern all-stars.

"When the roster gets filled, the options are endless. There will be all sorts of potentially cool combinations. We have lots of really talented players in the East, and we should really take it to the West."

Crosby's vision and playmaking with Ovechkin's shooting could equal some serious damage. I'll pick Crosby to finish with at least 4 assists and Ovechkin to finish with at least 3 goals in this mean-little exhibition.

Penguins 2 - Panthers 5: Weak!

Over the course of an 82-game season, there are games that you remember, and games you want to forget the minute they end.

Last night's 5-2 loss to the Panthers in the battle of the animals is one of those games you want to file under the brain's old Recycling Bin.

Sidney finished with 0 points and -2 in a low (for him) 18:04 of ice time.

From Yahoo! Sports:

Olli Jokinen seems to save his best games for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Jokinen scored three goals to help the Florida Panthers to a 5-2 victory Wednesday night. He has eight goals in six games against Pittsburgh during the last two seasons.

"It's funny how some guys feel really good against certain teams," Penguins forward Mark Recchi said. "He's obviously very comfortable against us."

It was Jokinen's third career hat trick and second this season.

"It's always nice to score goals, but it goes hand-in-hand with your top players being at their best and giving your team a chance to win," Jokinen said.

Jozef Stumpel and Martin Gelinas each had a goal and two assists for Florida, which improved to 4-0-1 in its last five at home.

The Panthers have won 14 of their last 15 against Pittsburgh, including a 2-0 mark this season.

Evgeni Malkin and Colby Armstrong scored for Pittsburgh, which has lost three in a row after winning three straight.

"It's a process for us," coach Michel Therrien said. "It can be very frustrating for us, with a young team."

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, the NHL's leading scorer, was held without a point for only the second time in his last 14 games. He had a breakaway in the first period, but Alex Auld made a glove save on his wrist shot.

"We had the opportunity to change the momentum, whether it's a big goal or a big save, but we couldn't do it," Crosby said. "We have to figure out a way to win when we're not playing our best game."

Blech...

Penguins 2 - Lightning 3: Sid's an All Star

On the day that Sidney Crosby was announced as the leading All-Star vote receiver and All-Star starter, his club threw up another 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Frightning.

Too bad there was no bonus point this time :(

Sidney scored 1 goal on 4 shots in 23:45 of ice time and finished EVEN on the night. The Penguins fired 31 shots in total, but just couldn't break through.

From Yahoo Sports:

Sidney Crosby became an All-Star and scored a highlight-reel goal. The only thing missing was a Pittsburgh Penguins' victory.

Martin St. Louis had a goal and two assists, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Late in third period, it was announced that Crosby, at 19 years, 5 months, became the youngest player elected by fans to the All-Star game.

"It's an honor. Growing up watching it, and who would have dreamed of playing in it?" Crosby said. "It's something I will enjoy."

Vincent Lecavalier and Andreas Karlsson also scored for Tampa Bay, which has an 11-game winning streak against Pittsburgh. Five of the victories have come at home, where Tampa Bay has outscored the Penguins 22-4.

Penguins 2 - Lightning 3 (SO): Sidney denied again!

Sidney Crosby does have one weakness: He sucks at shootouts.

Yes, Sidney was denied again and the Penguins lost a shootout to the struggling Lightning. What is he now? 0 for 15 this season?

Still, Sidney had a great game otherwise, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist in 22:49 of ice-time.

His goal? Check out this kamikaze effort!



Game recap from NHL.com:

Sidney Crosby scored an unorthodox goal while sliding toward the net face first. Maybe that's why Martin St. Louis tried to do something different himself on the shot that ended up counting the most.

St. Louis put an odd-angle backhander between Marc-Andre Fleury's pads for the only successful shot in the shootout and the Tampa Bay Lightning shook off Crosby's acrobatic goal to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 Sunday night.

Fleury stopped Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier to start the shootout, but St. Louis skated down the slot and faked out the goalie by going to his backhand and then slipping the puck between the goalie's legs as he skated alongside the net.

"I wanted to try something different, maybe something he hasn't seen before," said St. Louis, who had been 0-for-2 in shootout attempts. "I think I caught him off guard a bit, maybe changed things up a little bit."

Crosby had a chance to send the shootout to another round but, like Eric Christensen and Evgeni Malkin before him, couldn't get the puck past Johan Holmqvist. Crosby's hard wrist shot went wide of the net.

Holmqvist has stopped all 10 skaters he has faced in shootouts this season.

"I just tried to give them nothing to shoot at," Holmqvist said. "I was in good position. It was a little revenge because it was Crosby."

The Penguins had done almost nothing offensively against the team that has allowed the fewest shots in the league until Crosby's goal late in the closing seconds of the second period tied it at 1.

Nolan Pratt's shot on a good scoring chance slammed off the rear boards, allowing Mark Recchi to start a break the other way. With defenseman Cory Sarich trying to defend on the 2-on-1, Recchi came down the right wing boards and threw a pass toward Crosby in the left circle.

Crosby slipped to one knee as he stretched out, then two knees and, finally, was on his stomach as the puck arrived. Somehow, Crosby not only got his stick on it but deftly lifted it over Holmqvist and into the side of the net with five seconds remaining for his 20th goal. The NHL's leading scorer has 64 points.

"The puck was a little bit ahead, so I just reached for it. I just tried to angle my stick up so the puck would get up but I wasn't sure if it was going to go in," Crosby said.

Remarkably, Crosby's slide from his knees to his stomach wasn't entirely unintentional.

"I was going to two knees to try to find a better look at the puck," Crosby said. "The puck ended up coming a little bit ahead of me so I just lunged for it."

The sellout crowd of 17,132, the Penguins' sixth in a row and 10th in 12 games, gave Crosby such a lengthy standing ovation that it caused a brief delay in the ensuing faceoff.

Crosby's goal marked the second time in as many games the Penguins scored in the final five seconds of the second period. Malkin scored with three seconds remaining in a 4-2 victory in Buffalo on Friday.

Tampa Bay, going 2-2 on a circuitous Montreal-Minnesota-Colorado-Pittsburgh road trip, had taken a 1-0 lead on Ryan Craig's power-play goal about seven minutes into the second period. Craig also assisted on Tarnasky's goal.

Nick Tarnasky put the Lightning up 2-1 in the third period by scoring off his own rebound to the high slot, only his second goal. Recchi, who also set up Crosby's goal, tied it on a power-play goal set up by Crosby with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation.

Crosby's pass found Recchi at the top of the crease, and the puck deflected off Recchi and Sarich's skate and into the net. Recchi's 10th goal and 1,300th career point was initially waved off, but a lengthy video replay determined Recchi didn't kick the puck into the net.

Tampa Bay has won 10 in a row against Pittsburgh dating to Jan. 17, 2003, including an overtime 4-3 decision in Mellon Arena on Lecavalier's goal on Nov. 8.

"This is getting a little old," Recchi said.

Recchi certainly knows about OLD :)

Penguins 4 - Buffaslugs 2

The Pittsburgh Penguins came through and beat a tough Sabres team last night by a 4-2 count.

Sidney actually had a pretty poor game, by his standards, as he finished with a lone assist and -1 in 20:59.

No matter. The Penguins got the win and had a good team effort.

Game recap from NHL.com:

Winning in Buffalo was big for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Beating the Eastern Conference-leading Sabres was even better.

Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney and Jordan Staal each had a goal and assist, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves in the Pittsburgh's 4-2 victory over Buffalo on Friday night. The Penguins won in Buffalo for the first time since November 2003 and snapped the Sabres' five-game winning streak against them.

They also extended their own winning streak to three games after stumbling through a five-game losing streak.

"They're such a great and dominating team," said Fleury, who has allowed just three goals over his last three starts. "Those two points were big for us."

Coupled with Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Carolina, the Penguins have beaten both of last season's Eastern Conference finalists.

"We've played some big games against some big teams," said Staal, who tied the game at 2-2 with his 12th at 13:39 of the second period. "Carolina was a huge game for us, and now that we got this one we have a good feeling. Hopefully we'll keep it going."

Dominic Moore also scored for the Penguins, who have won their last three by a combined score of 11-3.

"We knew this was going to be a big challenge and a big test," center Sidney Crosby said. "We respected them, but we had confidence that we could beat them as well."

Sidney Crosby Q&A

Sidney Crosby took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for Lance Hornby.

Article Linkage

Some of the select ones...

Q. Why should the Penguins stay in Pittsburgh when a Canadian city would support them just as much, if not more?

A. Because they deserve a team here. The fans have done their part, they come out whether we're in the bottom of the standings or when we're playing well, they're behind us. They've been through a lot of tough times and they deserve a team. We want to be the ones playing in front of them during the good times. Hopefully, that's the way it turns out.

Q. Atlanta coach Bob Hartley said the other night that you're as fine a defensive player as you are an offensive one. Whom do you credit for that?

A lot of people. Growing up, I was lucky enough to have coaches who made sure I became a complete player. I can remember my father always telling me 'you have to be good in your own end, too; don't think as an offensive player because you take too many things for granted'. That made an impact and (Pens' coach Michel) Therrien has been great. He's made an impact throughout the year.

Q. What have you learned from Evgeni Malkin, on and off the ice. Any good Russian lines?

(Laughing) No good words, though I've heard a lot of bad ones from him. You look at him and guys like Ilya Kovalchuk and you always wonder how there's such a focus on skill in Russia. To see what he does in practice is great and I learn a little from that

Penguins 3 - Hurricanes 0: Shiver me Timbers!

Sidney Crosby had been piling up assists, but hadn't scored since before Christmas...and then came last night

A good defensive and goaltending effort gave the Penguins a 3-0 shutout win, which is an unusual score for the Penguins to be involved in.

On the night, Sidney played 20:09, finished with 2 goals, an assist, and +2 with 3 shots on goal. Can you stay First Star, kids?

Here's a video clip of Sidney's first goal of the night as he blows it by Cam Ward.



Game recap from Yahoo! Sports:

The Carolina Hurricanes were one of the few NHL teams that was having success in slowing down Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby. They must have known that couldn't last.

Crosby scored twice and set up another goal to become the first NHL player with 60 points this season, and the Penguins relied on Crosby's playmaking and Marc-Andre Fleury's strong goaltending to beat Carolina 3-0 Tuesday night.

"I'd say this was one of the best games we've played this season," said Crosby, who emphasized the game was won in the defensive end. "It was complete. We didn't have any lapses. We were carrying the play and doing a good job."

Carolina outscored Pittsburgh 11-3 in winning the first two games of the four-game season series, but got nothing past Fleury in his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career. He made 31 saves.

"Coach (Michel Therrien) let us know before the game about that 11-3," Ryan Whitney said. "We had to come out strong and we did."

Sidney Crosby is NHL's 3rd Star for December

Chalk up yet another little award for Sidney Crosby on his road to the bigger prizes...

From Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Penguins center Sidney Crosby was named the NHL’s third star of December, behind Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek.

Crosby, 19, was second among all scorers in December with 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 14 games, and used a career-high six-point night on Dec. 13 to take over the NHL lead in scoring for the first time in his career. The only other teenager to lead the league in points at any time during the modern era was Wayne Gretzky at the end of the 1979-80 season and against early in 1980-81.

Going into tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Crosby has 58 points in 34 games.