Penguins 0 - Devils 1: Deadline Day Duds

After the Penguins made a couple of moves to improve their playoff aspirations, they come up dry against the New Jersey Devils.

The trades don't win games themselves, boys!

From Yahoo! Sports:

The 13th season of Martin Brodeur's remarkable career just might turn out to be his best.

Brodeur set a career high with his 12th shutout of the season, stopping 31 shots in the New Jersey Devils' 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

"Some games you have a feeling that there's not going to be many goals scored, just by the way the game is played," said Brodeur, who has twice as many shutouts as anyone in the league. "Tonight I think you could see right from the get-go, everybody had their opportunities but there were no goals. We got one early in the second, so we just try to keep it tight. We are used to playing games like that and I thought we played well with the lead."

Brodeur has 92 career shutouts, third on the career list behind George Hainesworth (94) and leader Terry Sawchuk (103).

It was the second time this season Brodeur blanked Pittsburgh, which lost for the third time in four outings since having a 16-game point streak snapped.

"Brodeur was again phenomenal," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "There were three or four times the puck went through him but he just got a little piece of it and we couldn't get that break. You need some breaks and we didn't get the breaks tonight.

"We had our chances. But Martin Brodeur is a hell of a player."

...

"We can't give up hope (of catching the Devils)," Crosby said. "We've got to make sure we're just getting points no matter where that puts us in the division. We've got to put some wins together and get some points."

The teams will meet two more times this season, each coming in the next 15 days.

Penguins Acquire Georges Laraques

Finally, some protection for Sidney Crosby.

Another cranky vet waives a no-trade clause to join Sid and the Pens.

From TSN.ca:

Forward Georges Laraque has waived his no-trade clause with the Phoenix Coyotes for the purpose of being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Daniel Carcillo and an eighth-round pick.

Laraque, 30, has cemented his role as an enforcer in his nine-year NHL career with 878 penalty minutes in 546 games.

He is under contract for US $1.1 million this season and $1.3 million next year after signing a two-year contract last summer.

Yikes! $1.3mil next year for a goon?!?!

Well, he better make damn sure Crosby isn't so much as breathed on.

Penguins Acquire Gary Roberts

A bit of a switch today as we'll focus on the Trade Deadline and some of Sidney Crosby's new teammates.

From TSN.ca

Gary Roberts has waived his no-trade clause with the Florida Panthers and has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Noah Welch.

"He waived the no-trade portion of his contract, he waived that last night," Roberts' agent Richard Curran confirmed.

Roberts is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Panther forward was told by General Manager Jacques Martin on Monday morning after practice that the club had found a trade it deemed acceptable and all that was required to consummate the transaction was Roberts waiving his no-trade clause.

Roberts had made it abundantly clear that he would only waive his no-trade clause for a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators.

Well, I guess the chance to play for Sid and a true playoff contender changed his mind, eh?

Welch, 24, had 2 points in 22 games this year. He was a 2nd round pick of the Pens a few years back.

Roberts? He has 29 points in 50 games this season. He might be 40, but he's also the ultimate playoff warrior. For a Pens team needing some grit and experience, he'll be a good pickup.

Penguins 1 - Lightning 5: Zapped!

Ouch!!

Well, it's been quite awhile since the Penguins have been spanked like a cranky 2-year old who won't stop whining for an ice cream cone.

5-1 Lightning in a lopsided affair, in which Crosby finished with 1 assist and -2 in 23:04 ice time.

I'll let the game recap do the talking...

The Tampa Bay Lightning responded quickly to a one-sided loss.

Brad Richards had a goal and three assists, Martin St. Louis matched a career-high with his 38th goal and Vincent Lecavalier added his 41st, leading the Southeast Division-leading Lightning past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Sunday night.

The Lightning, beaten 6-2 by Boston on Friday, have not dropped consecutive games since Dec. 26-28. Tampa Bay is 17-4-1 in the last 22 contests.

"That's what I'm happy about tonight, it was a good answer," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella. "You don't put yourself into a jam having a couple of them. I thought we played right on through a pretty solid game, especially away from the puck. Getting better away from the puck transforms into offense."

Paul Ranger and Filip Kuba also scored for the Lightning, who have a 12-game winning streak against Pittsburgh. Tortorella earned his 200th victory with the Lightning.


Richards has helped set up 12 goals during an eight-game assist streak. His goal 1:31 into the third gave Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead.

"That was the biggest thing going into today, I think we all kind of knew we better come up with a good effort and get a good start," Richards said. "We haven't lost two in a row in a long time. That's been good for this team."

Lecavalier's short-handed goal later in the third moved him within one of tying Brain Bradley's team record, set during the 1992-93 season.

Sergei Gonchar scored for the Penguins, who lost for only the fourth time in 19 games.

"We're a team that's supposed to care," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "It's a great opportunity for us to see who wants to bounce back."

...

"It's tough," Crosby said. "They just seemed to carry the play, especially in the first. They took it to us. We have on move. We have a lot of games to play."

Crosby's goal woes continue, as he now has just 1 goal in his last 13 games. Fortunately, he also has 18 assists over that same stretch.

Penguins 2 - Panthers 1 (OT): Back on Track!

It didn't take very long for El Sid and the boys to get back on their winning ways, as they scratched by the Panthers 2-1 in OT.

It was a shot filled game, as the Penguins racked up 41 shots on goal versus 33 for the Panthers. The goalies? They were up to the task, and kept the game closer and close. No, it wasn't Fleury doin the deed, but backup Jocelyn Thibault *ulp*

Crosby finished with one assist in the low-scoring affair in 21:59 of ice time. He fired 5 shots on goal and finished 11 for 24 in the face-off department.

From NHL.com:

Pittsburgh goalie Jocelyn Thibault made his coach's decision look good.

Making only his fourth start since Dec. 21, Thibault outdueled veteran Ed Belfour to help the Penguins slip past Florida for a 2-1 victory.

Colby Armstrong beat Belfour at 2:39 of overtime to win it with a wrist shot to the short side when he skated in on a 2-on-1 after taking a pass from Maxime Talbot.

"He (Belfour) started cheating over when he thought I was going to pass it, Armstrong said. "I just decided to shoot it when he came off (the post) a little bit. He just went down, so I put it up high."

Therrien decided to go with Thibault instead of regular goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after Fleury gave up six goals in a 6-5 loss to the Islanders on Monday that snapped the Penguins' 14-0-2 streak.

Thibault stopped 32 of 33 shots, including 18 of 19 in the second period.

"That's a performance you need from your goaltender this time of year," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "The guy between the pipes has to make key saves, and that's what Jocelyn did."

"I've been working real hard all year, just waiting in the shadows, waiting for my chance, said Thibault, who improved to 4-5-2 this season. "When I get a chance to play I want to make the best of it."

"It's a great feeling to be able to chip in towards the end of the season. All year I've felt like my game was coming back."

For Belfour, it was another strong performance.

Belfour made 39 saves, including several key stops in the third period to keep the score tied at 1.

"He's been pretty outstanding in that last little stretch; tonight was no different, Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said. "He kept us in the game for a while. It's pretty amazing what he's doing for a guy who's over 40 years old."

Jordan Staal also scored for Pittsburgh, which won at Florida for only the second time in 10 games.

Juraj Kolnik scored for Florida, which dropped to 1-13 in overtime and shootout games this season.

"I think we're all pretty disappointed right now even though we got a point, defenseman Mike Van Ryn said. "We're pretty much in desperation time, we need every point we can get."

Staal scored in the first period on a 5-on-3 power play when he tipped in Evgeni Malkin's slap shot while standing in front of the net with 3:35 left.

Florida tied it with 2:19 left in the second period after a nice effort by Chris Gratton, who dumped the puck into the Pittsburgh end, got to the loose puck and backhanded a pass that Kolnik tipped in from the front of the net.

The Panthers had other scoring chances in the second period, but Thibault made the stops on several occasions.

"Both goalies were battling the whole game, said Penguins center Sidney Crosby. "(Thibault) stuck in there the whole way and made some huge saves to keep us in the game and that was a real big difference in the game."

"It was a battle between those two guys all night. It wasn't a tight-checking game, it was wide open. Both guys were really good."

Interview: Sidney discusses life, girls, etc...

Pittsburgh's Channel 4 recently had a sit-down chat with this blog's favourite hockey player. Michelle Wright got right down to it and asked some of the 'tough' questions

Interview Link

Wright: "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Crosby: "I'm single. It's pretty tough to meet girls and stuff like that. We don't get a lot of time away from the rink."

Tough to meet girls? Have the Penguins been sheltering him from the puckbunnies??

Wright: "When you're ready to look for a girlfriend, what are you going to look for?"

Crosby: "Probably somebody who's pretty independent. I mean, with the hockey schedule, you need somebody who's going to have to deal with what I deal with when I'm out in public and stuff like that. Pretty patient person."

Translation: "Somebody who doesn't suckle money off of me like a baby pig feeding from mama pig...oh, and a girl who will leave me alone enough to have a few affairs on the road. "

Wright: "Lots of people were interested in you or had a daughter they wanted you to meet. Do you get a lot of people wanting to fix you up?"

Crosby: "Yeah, that happens a lot. And you know, there's not too many ways you can take it. You don't want to say yes to everybody, but it really depends on the situation. I'm not too big on the blind dates or anything like that, but you never know."

Wright: "How easy is it for you to go out and hang out?"

Crosby: "It's fine. People are awesome here. They're supportive. They definitely recognize people when we're out, but by no means do they invade people's privacy."

There is often a rush of people requesting Sid the Kid's autograph, but Crosby said he has requested a few autographs for his own collection, too.

"I got (Steelers wide receiver) Hines Ward, and I was pretty happy with that," said Crosby. "It was right after the Super Bowl, and that was pretty interesting to me to get his autograph. And (Pirates outfielder) Jason Bay, a fellow Canadian who's doing great here."

If and when Sidney ever gets a girlfriend, the poor thing is gonna have to deal with a crapload of catty comments and paparazzi.

Penguins 5 - Islanders 6: Sillinger Stops the Streak

How often does Sidney Crosby get 4 assists in a game and the Pens still lose the game?

Blame Mike Sillinger and some sloppy defensive play, as the Penguins lost 6-5 as Sillinger scored with less than half a minute to play.

Firewagon hockey....playing with fire can get you burned. On the night, Crosby finished -2 with those 4 assists in 22:45 of ice time.

From Yahoo! Sports:

Suddenly, the Pittsburgh Penguins' standard of success has risen as quickly as their place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Just 26.8 seconds away from another productive outing, Pittsburgh allowed Mike Sillinger's winning goal that gave the New York Islanders a 6-5 comeback victory and snapped the Penguins' point streak at 16 games Monday.

Pittsburgh, riding a 14-0-2 surge that vaulted the Penguins from also-ran to Atlantic Division-contenders, got three goals from Ryan Malone, two from Mark Recchi and four assists from NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby, but couldn't survive shaky goaltending by Marc-Andre Fleury.

He will have to be better if the Penguins hope to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

"Guys in here are disappointed and upset, and that's a good thing," said Recchi, who added three assists. "We played three hockey games in such a short time, and to see people unhappy after losing the third one is a good sign."

Sillinger took a pass from Andy Hilbert in the high slot and got off a shot that hit under Fleury's glove and carried in for his 20th goal. New York, 2-1 on its seven-game homestand, rebounded from a shutout loss to New Jersey on Saturday.

"We found a way to win," Sillinger said. "When you outscore a team like this, you're doing something right."

Crosby nearly set up another goal seconds earlier, but couldn't escape Trent Hunter behind the net.

"When you score five goals on the road, you've got to win those games," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

Chris Simon scored twice, Viktor Kozlov, Jason Blake and Miroslav Satan added goals, and Marc-Andre Bergeron had two assists in his Islanders debut one day after being acquired from Edmonton.

"We weren't worried about their streak or anything, we were just kind of worried about ourselves," forward Arron Asham said.

Pittsburgh, which led 3-1 and 5-4, hadn't lost in regulation since Jan. 10 at Florida. It was the Penguins' longest streak since an 18-game run in 1993 that included a league-record 17 consecutive wins.

"Losing is never fun, but it was going to happen sometime," said Crosby, who has three goals and 14 assists against the Islanders. "Mentally, it's tough to go through something like that and come up short."

NyQuil Dreams and DayQuil Delusions

Damn this cold!! If only I had taken $3,000 worth of ColdFX, I might be OK...the ramblings of a stuffed up blogger.

Everyone knows Sidney Crosby is the king of the scoring race, but who's #2?

Vincent Lecavalier! Here's a name that doesn't get a lot of attention these days.

For the longest time, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards were the superior players down in TBay and Prince Vince wasn't living up to his potential.

This season? Vincent is first in goals with 39, second in points with 80, and even has 3 short-handed goals to his credit. HE's also cut down on the stupid penalties, and has just 38 minutes to his name this year. Between him. St. Louis, and Brad Richards, the Lightning have an amazing trio of scorers that stay out of the box. If only they had the defence and goaltending to go along with that...

When do you give up hope?

Looking at the standings, Greg's Avalanche are 'just' 9 points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand. That's 4 wins and an OT loss. Seems doable, right?

Well, looking at James Mirtle's "Push for 95", we see the Avs need a 17-5-1 run to get to the magical 95 mark, while the Canucks need just 11-11-1 and the Wild need a 13-9-0 mark.

The Canucks and Wild...getting those records seems very easy to do for them. Can you imagine the Avalanche suddenly getting hot and going 17-5-1, especially with their goaltending issues? Can you imagine the Oilers getting the 17-6 record they need with their defensive problems?

Yeah, these teams are pretty much done. How do you feel, as a fan of such a team...do you give up now? Keep going until the math gods say you are eliminated? Cheer against the Avs and hope they get a better draft position?

Which of these names is not like the other?

Lidstrom, Souray, Gonchar, Niedermayer, Kaberle, Visnovsky, Boyle, Pronger, Whitney, McCabe.

Yeah, that's RYAN Whitney, who is 9th in defensemen scoring with 43 points in 58 games. While Malkin, Recchi, Gonchar, and Crosby get most of the attention, Ryan Whitney has quietly put up a great season and has made awesome strides both offensively and defensively.

Eye-popping stat of the day: Tom Preissing of Ottawa and his +34!
Sure, Lidstrom has a higher +38 (Which is amazing given who he plays against every night), but would you ever expect a Tom Preissing to be second? There always seems to be one defenseman that just had a gaudy +/- out of the blue.

Speaking of such defensemen, Marek Malik is at it again with a +21.

His past 4 seasons? +23, +35, +28, +21. I am guessing that is the highest 4-year total in the NHL.

Who are the Cy Young candidates this season? there aren't a lot of great ones, but here's the field.

Simon Gagne: 31 GOALS, 18 ASSISTS
Jordan Staal: 24 GOALS, 6 ASSISTS

On the flip side, Henrik Sedin definitely gets the Care Bear Helper Award with 8 goals and 48 assists. Ales Hemsky (shooooooot!) is a distant 2nd with 9 goals and 37 assists.

Penguins 3 - Capitals 2: The Streak Continues

14-0-2 has a nice ring to it, eh?

The Penguins extended their points-gained streak with a 3-2 'balanced' win over the Washington Capitals.

Just like the last meeting, Ovechkin and Crosby really didn't steal the show. Ovechkin went pointless, and Crosby had just a lone assist (though he did have 4 shots on goal).

Since I'm sick with the flu, here's the game recap...

From Yahoo! Sports:

Alexander Ovechkin didn't do much offensively, a commonplace event lately. Instead, it was the runner-up Russian who created a goal out of nothing, keeping the Pittsburgh Penguins' most successful stretch in 14 years going.

Evgeni Malkin scored a bad-angle goal to give Pittsburgh the lead in another tightly played game against Washington and the streaking Penguins won their sixth in a row, beating the Capitals 3-2 Sunday.

The Penguins have gained at least a point in 16 consecutive games, going 14-0-2 -- their longest run since they won a league-record 17 in a row and tied one to end the 1992-93 season. The surprise is that NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby, who has 91 points, is slumping with only one goal in 10 games.

Malkin has keyed the Penguins' first playoff run since 2001 with 10 goals and 16 assists in 17 games. His teammates are convinced that Malkin, the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NHL draft to Ovechkin, is more than a little motivated any time he goes against his Russian rival. It was the first and only time two Russians were picked 1-2.

"They're very competitive, good hockey players and good friends so there's definitely a little bit of something with him," Mark Recchi said.

Of Malkin's 29 goals as a rookie, perhaps none was more creative than his score late in the second period. With the score tied at 1, Malkin carried the puck out from behind the Capitals' net and fed it up the right wing boards to Sergei Gonchar -- at this time a year ago, Malkin's Russian Olympic teammate.

Malkin took Gonchar's giveback pass and, from along the goal line, one-timed a perfectly placed left-handed shot inside the far post, almost before Washington backup goalie Brent Johnson could react.

The goal reminded Recchi of some of those scored by a former Penguins teammate named Mario Lemieux.

"With his size and his hands, Geno looks like him," Recchi said. "Mario was one of those guys who can score from that angle, and only a few guys can. A lot of guys don't even try that."

Malkin, speaking through interpreter George Firman, called it a "lucky goal." But he acknowledged having a little something extra any time he goes against Ovechkin, who was leading the NHL in goals before being held to one goal and one assist in his last seven games.

"Yeah, of course, I'm enjoy playing against him especially when we win the games -- and he's getting pretty mad," Malkin said.

Penguins 5 - Devils 4: 15 straight with a point

...and a goal for Crosby!!!

Yes, the 8-game goal scoring slump is over as Crosby buried a laser wrister in the Penguins big 5-4 win over the evil Devils of New Jersey.

The win gives the Penguins 15 straight games with at least a point, breaking an old team record. Sure, the shootout rules and bonus points for OT losses have helped create this artificial record, but 15 straight is still impressive, and gives the Penguins more cushion for a playoff spot.

Crosby was the game's second star with 1 goal, 1 assist, and +2 in a low (for him) 17:28 of ice time. It looks like Crosby is finally BACK.

From Yahoo! Sports:

Jarkko Ruutu scored two goals Friday night to lead the surging Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Rob Scuderi, Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby also scored for Pittsburgh, which pulled within five points of the Atlantic Division-leading Devils with a game in hand. The Penguins have won five in a row. More impressively, they have picked up at least one point in 15 straight games, winning 13 of them.

Brian Rafalski, Patrik Elias, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac scored for the Devils, who had won 10 of their previous 14.

The Penguins drained the drama from the showdown by jumping out a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals by Ruutu, Scuderi and Staal.

Ruutu got it started when he deflected Josef Melichar's point shot past goalie Martin Brodeur at 3:02.

Scuderi, set up by Melichar, scored at 5:19 from the right point.

Staal got Pittsburgh's third goal of the period with 2:06 remaining, jamming a shot from the slot past Brodeur.

Both teams scored twice in the second period.

Rafalski got his third goal in the last two games at 7:29 to break Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout bid.

Crosby countered for Pittsburgh, ending his eight-game goal-scoring drought with a power-play tally at 10:27 to give the Penguins a 4-1 lead.

Elias scored for the Devils at 12:32 before Ruutu got his second of the game with 3:08 remaining to put Pittsburgh up 5-2.

New Jersey scored twice in the third period to trim the Pittsburgh lead to 5-4. Parise scored on the power play at 2:38 and Zajac fired a shot from just inside the blue line that hit Fleury's glove and popped into the net at 8:50.

Fleury was sharp in the final seconds when the Devils pulled Brodeur for an extra attacker. Fleury turned aside several shots, including an excellent shot by Zajac, as the Devils pressed for the equalizer.

The Devils and Penguins play 3 more times this season. Let's hope those 3 meetings are just as good.

"Cheap Shots on Crosby Going Too Far"

It's all too obvious that Sidney Crosby gets a lot of special attention on the ice.

So, what the hell can be done about it? Anything?

From Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times:

While becoming the youngest player in NHL history to record 100 points a season ago, Sidney Crosby also became the first player to amass the century mark in points and penalty minutes.

Along the way, the Pittsburgh Penguins' teenage superstar garnered a less-flattering reputation - at least in some corners - as a whiner, a diver, a crybaby and an embellisher.

In hockey circles those claims are serious charges. They are akin to questioning the manhood of the 19-year-old.

Well, Crosby *did* take a lot of diving penalties last year. It's not like the labels came out of thin air...

Oddly, much of that criticism has come from Crosby's native Canada. For a people who love hockey so much - it's the national sport north of the border - it's strange that Canadians would bash their native son. It's no secret that Wayne Gretzky was a notorious whiner and he's as Canadian as Canadian bacon. But this is 2007, not 1987.

Umm, most hockey press of any sort, good AND bad, comes from Canada. It certainly doesn't come from Uganda, or the USA

Hockey, the NHL more specifically, needs Crosby more than ever.

Now, more than ever, we need to stop using this phrase...

With miniscule television ratings in the U.S. and minimal media coverage being given to the sport, even in traditional hockey areas like Chicago, Boston and New York, those who ridicule Crosby should instead cherish him.

There should be no doubt that Crosby is the future of the NHL. Every goal Crosby scores, every highlight reel play he makes, can only help the beleaguered league get off the mat in the eye of the U.S. sporting conscience.

The last thing the league can afford to have is "the face" of said league bloodied by a cheap shot.

It's no surprise that opponents have begun taking liberties against Crosby in recent weeks. First, the New York Islanders' Jason Blake speared him in the gut. Then Montreal's Maxim Lapierre butt-ended him off an opening faceoff. Later in the same game, the Canadiens' Francis Bouillion bloodied Crosby's face with a high stick.

The response of the 21,000-plus fans in Montreal that night? Chants of "Faker! Faker!" reigned down from the Bell Centre. Some "true patriot love," eh?

Umm, it has more to do with them being, I dunno, CANADIENS fans than anything else.

That's not to say the charges lobbied against Crosby don't have some merit.

He does argue penalty calls against him and argues when he doesn't get a call in his favor. But, who doesn't? When was the last time a player went into the penalty box happily? Or was happy to have his face cut?

And that's not to say Crosby isn't tough. He is. He's fearless driving to the net and going into the corners. He takes on defenders and still controls possession of the puck as he did Wednesday night in the final minute of regulation in a 5-4 shootout win over the Blackhawks.

No doubt, Crosby will get the refs in his favor. But this being the NHL, where old school thinking still applies, Crosby will likely have to wait to get his respect. It's why Roger Clemens' strike zone is bigger than say, Zach Duke's. And it's why Michael Jordan always got the foul call.

That's also the dumbest reasoning I've heard in some time. I know that big stars often get the benefit of the doubt, but they SHOULDN'T. Every player should be subject to the same standards, regardless of star status or not.

That might not be want the Penguins want to hear. But that will likely be the reality.

Unfortunately, the NHL isn't MLB or the NBA. It's not in a position to wait.

Hockey fans can only hope that those in the league offices in Toronto and New York understand that fact. The NHL needs Crosby to flourish, not absorb cheap shots.

Hart Trophy winner (league MVP). And, best player in the world.

Now, those are more fitting titles for a player like Sidney Crosby.

Or, maybe the Penguins ought to get a real goon to start pounding some ass when Crosby is so much as breathed on. It's not up to the NHL, or anyone other team, to protect Crosby.

Penguins 5 - Blackhawks 4(SO): Penguins Keep Rolling

It's weird how Sidney Crosby is mired in a slump now with 8 games without a goal. His assists have also dried up some...yet the Pens keep winning!!

Last night was another great example, as Sid the Kid had just 1 lone assist in a 5-4 shootout victory over the Hawks. Sidney fired 6 shots on goal, as he was obviously just a little anxious...the shootout? Sidney was stuffed there, too :(

Still, the most important thing is that the Penguins have been racking up the points, including a new team record for consecutive games with a point
From Yahoo! Sports:

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven't been on a streak like this in 10 years. The surprise is they keep winning games and gathering points without Sidney Crosby scoring goals.

Evgeni Malkin tied the game late in the third period after Pittsburgh wasted a multiple-goal lead for the third game in a row, then teamed with Erik Christensen to score in the shootout as the Penguins rallied to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 Wednesday night.

The Penguins gained at least a point for the 14th consecutive game (12-0-2) -- the first time they've done that since they won 12 times and tied twice from Dec. 19, 1996, through Jan. 21, 1997. They've also won their last four shootouts after losing five of their first six, a major reason why they are tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference after being out of the playoff picture only a few weeks ago.

"With the skill they have and the streak they're on, they're hungry," Blackhawks coach Denis Savard said. "They were hungry the whole game. It's tough to contain them."

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a game-saving left skate save on Martin Havlat only seconds into overtime, then stopped Havlat and Bryan Smolinski with glove saves in the shootout.

"Fleury made a great save in overtime," Savard said. "That's the save. We had a game-winner on our stick."

Fleury said, "That was the most I could stretch -- and I just got a piece of it."

Christensen began the shootout by beating Nikolai Khabibulin with a shot under the crossbar, and Malkin also got the puck past Khabibulin by faking a shot before pulling it back and pushing a backhander inside the far post.

"I thought he was going to shoot so I got a little frozen, but he tucked it in," Khabibulin said. "I felt like we earned a point the way we played, but then we gave one away."

Crosby, the NHL scoring leader with 88 points, got an assist but failed to score a goal for an eighth consecutive game -- the longest streak of his two-season career. He went seven games without a goal a few weeks into his rookie season.

The Penguins also lost a two-goal lead Thursday in Philadelphia and a three-goal lead Saturday in Toronto, although they came back to win both. They have four shootout wins and one in overtime during their 14-game point streak.

"It wasn't easy, but we found a way again," Crosby said. "No doubt it's rewarding to dig deep when you need to late in games, but we can't depend on that all the time."

Video of the Day: Crosby Pixelates Columbus

Even the video game version of Sidney Crosby oozes awesomeness.
Here he is, busting a a few moves and making the Columbus Blue Jackets defense look like a bunch of pylons.

Penguins Mates Impressed with Crosby

Gee, who isn't impressed with Sidney Crosby, other than jealous Ovechkin fans?

From Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Sidney Crosby's teammates are used to seeing him accomplish mind-boggling feats on the ice, whether it's scoring a highlight goal or making the perfect pass through traffic.

"Yeah, I think everybody's amazed and impressed by him every day," goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. "There are still times when we say 'Holy (expletive), how did he do that?' It's good to have him on my side."

Since when did papers censor Holy Cow? Is the beef industry behind this?

But what the 19-year-old center's doing now -- running away with the NHL scoring race -- has even his teammates in awe. Crosby, who became the youngest player ever to break the 100-point mark in the NHL last year with 102 points in 81 games for sixth in the NHL, has 87 points in 52 games this season.

Going into Sunday's games, he led the Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin, the Atlanta Thrashers' Marian Hossa and the Tampa Bay Lightning's Martin St. Louis by 15 points in the scoring race.

Last season, he had 59 points through the same number of games, and is on pace to top 120 points this season for what could be his first of many Art Ross trophies for the league's top scorer.

"It's incredible," forward Colby Armstrong said. "I think his attitude and the way he approaches every game is key to that. He's ready to play every night and he's focused. He just takes it a game at a time. He never gets caught up in anything, and I think that's the key to his success. I think a lot of people can learn from how he handles himself."

You can read the entire article right....HERE!

Penguins 6 - Leafs 5 (OT): Jordan Staals Toronto

It was a wild night between the Leafs and the Penguins, and Sidney was almost just a spectator to the night's events.

The Penguins won 6-5, thanks to the hat-trick heroics of young Jordan Staal, who, like Sidney, is also not legal age to drink alky in the US o A.

The wildness was not limited to the scoreboard, as Ronald Petrovicky and Kris Newbury had a fight that will be talked about for some time...
Hockey Rants has more on the fight, including the video clip!

Recap from NHL.com:

Jordan Staal capped a tight game with his first career hat trick in a city he dreamed about playing in.

Staal scored his third goal of the game at 3:54 of overtime to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

Staal has seven goals in the last five games for the Penguins, who have points in 13 straight games (11-0-2) for the first time since a 14-game run (12-0-2) from Dec. 19, 1996, to Jan. 21, 1997.

The 18-year-old forward - from North Bay, Ontario - said he was nervous playing in front of a national television audience on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada."

"It's a dream come true to even play in this rink," Staal said. "I remember watching games a couple of years ago. Now that I'm here, it's so amazing. A great game to top it off."

Staal has 23 goals, four behind teammate Evgeni Malkin for the NHL rookie lead.

"It seems like everything is working for me," Staal said. "Hopefully, I'll keep it going and get this team in the playoffs."

Veteran teammate Mark Recchi said Staal has been "unbelievable."

"We've had a lot of guys chip in, but Jordan has been tremendous for us through this stretch," Recchi said. "It's remarkable to me how he's just kept getting better and better from Day 1 of the season. He never played left wing before."

Maple Leafs center Kris Newbury was taken off the ice on a stretcher late in the third period after a fight with Pittsburgh's Ronald Petrovicky. The Toronto forward took several punches to the head before falling to the ice. He stayed motionless for several minutes before taken being off.

The two dropped gloves 33 seconds after Pittsburgh tied it at 5, and the game was delayed for about 6 minutes.

"He's alert and he was on the ice when he left," Toronto coach Paul Maurice said. "He's conscious and talking. We'll test him out tonight and tomorrow."

Maurice said it reminds him how violent the game can be.

"It doesn't matter how tough you are or how many punches you've taken if you get hit in the right spot you're going down," Maurice said. "It's a pretty serious business when they drop those gloves."

As for Sidney, he finished with just a lone assist and EVEN in 21:03. It's nice to see the Penguins can rack up a few points when Sidney isn't always the star of the night.

Video of the Day: Breaking the Shootout Shutout

Here's video evidence (just in case you didn't believe it) of Sidney Crosby scoring a goal in the shootout this season!!


Just a basic shot, but it worked! I know he tried dekeing in a few previous attempts and never scored, so it was time to go back to basics.

Penguins 5 - Flyers 4 (SO): Shootout Shutout Broken

Gooooooooooooooooool!
'Twas a strange night for Sid and the Penguins.

Sidney was pointless on the night, which is hard to believe against the crappy Flyers, especially when the Penguins score 4 times.

After going 0-7 in shootouts this year, Sidney FINALLY buried one, and a good one at that. Sidney's tally was the game winner as the Penguins picked up another two points and keep on rollin'. This must be a huge relief for Sidney, who was just having no luck at all in this skills competition portion of the game.

From Yahoo! Sports:

On a rare scoreless night for the NHL's scoring leader, Sidney Crosby's final shot made the difference.

Held without a point during regulation, Crosby had the only goal in a shootout to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia 5-4 on Thursday night, extending the Flyers' franchise-worst home-losing streak to 13 games.

Mike Knuble's second goal with 1:24 left in the third period forced overtime, and Simon Gagne had two power-play goals for Philadelphia, which has the fewest wins (13) and points (34) in the NHL. Flyers captain Peter Forsberg had three assists.

Crosby was 0-for-7 in shootouts before he beat Antero Niittymaki on the Penguins' third shot. Marc-Andre Fleury then stopped Gagne to win it.

"I was having a tough time with shootouts," said the 19-year-old Crosby. "I just tried to go there and give it my best shot and see what happened and it went in."

It was just the second time in 33 games the Penguins won when Crosby didn't have a point. Goals in shootouts don't count on the stat sheet.

With Niittymaki pulled for an extra skater, Knuble redirected Alexei Zhitnik's slap shot in to tie it at 4.

Mark Recchi and Erik Christensen scored 30 seconds apart early in the third period, and Jordan Staal and Michel Ouellet also had goals for the Penguins, the NHL's most improved team this season. Pittsburgh has won 10 of 12 with two overtime losses.

"It's been a long time since we had a bad game," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "Even if you're not at your best and you win, at this time of the year it's a good sign."

Sidney's totals for the night: 20:51 of ice time, 0 points, 4 shots on goal, and EVEN with 0 PIM.

Sidney Crosby: Doing It for Himself.

Wayne Gretzky had Marty McSorely and Dave Semenko, Mario Lemieux had Ulf Samuelsson (injuring opponents in the most dirty way) and Kevin Stevens.

Yeah, Gretzky had real protection while Mario Lemieux often to put up with more crap than he should of.

Sidney Crosby? He's got...Jarkko Ruutu... Yeah, it's up to Sidney to basically defend himself from all of the extra attention he gets in a physical manner.

Damien Cox has a special for ESPN that looks at this very issue.
Article Link:

If you were to believe the recent hysteria, most of it emanating from a fairly (but not wildly) rough-and-tumble match between Pittsburgh and Montreal last week, you'd think Crosby is under an unrelenting assault by NHL muggers, forced to walk the gantlet every single night against opponents determined to dismember and disembowel him with fiendish fouls and dark, medieval practices.

Well, it's kinda like that, except not really.

Compared to the abuse Bobby Orr and Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy dealt with over the course of their splendid careers, young Mr. Crosby is being treated with velvet gloves.

People love to repeat the silly NHL cliché that players used to respect each other in the good old days and don't now, but talk to players who played then and they laugh at the very notion.

To them, modern NHLers are all chummy, well-fed union brethren who share golf games, and sometimes accountants, between playoff contests. Back in the day, they'd have fights in All-Star Games. These days, the only sign of anger in the midseason "classic" comes when somebody misplaces his BlackBerry.

For once, Cox has it right. Today's players arent' nearly as goony and cheap as the the players in previous eras. There isn't nearly as much hitting and contract and fighting, and the most dangerous thing seems to be errant high-sticks, rather than serious kneeings and slashes.

Still, Sidney gets a lot of extra attention every game, and just about no protection from anybody on his roster. What happens when somebody really nasty goes after Sidney?

Still, there are those who believe Crosby's very life is in danger every time he steps on the ice, and to remedy the situation, the Penguins need to immediately acquire a, ahem, "policeman."


For those unfamiliar with hockey talk, that's another word for a complete moron who likes to fight and can't play at all and steals the job of a real athlete who is good enough to be in the NHL but has to toil in the minors. A cement head. A thug. Cro-Magnon Man on blades of steel.


This isn't a new matter for discussion in hockey. Rather, like the beanball in baseball, it's a vestige of cruder times that just won't go away, no matter how the sport matures and develops and evolves.

One can be a policeman and still be a good player, just like Bob Probert, John Ferguson, and Paul Laus.

You can read the rest of the article if you like, but only if you like Cox's total assholery.

Penguins 4 - Predators 1: Rollin'

The Penguins dusted themselves off after a tough OT loss to the Habs and defeated a great Nashville team by a 4-1 score. More and more, the Penguins are looking like a legit playoff team and playing tighter hockey.

If only those pesky Leafs would start losing... :(

It was just another night at the office for Sidney as he put up 2 assists, 4 shots on goal, and +2 in 22:30 of ice time.

Game recap from Yahoo! Sports:

The Pittsburgh Penguins were eager to take on the Nashville Predators and see how they matched up against the NHL's top team. If they keep playing like this, opponents might have to start comparing themselves to the new-and-very-improved Penguins.

Mark Recchi scored and set up rookie Evgeni Malkin for the go-ahead goal, and the Penguins beat the Predators 4-1 Tuesday night behind another strong game by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury, who hasn't lost in regulation in 10 games since Jan. 9, turned aside 25 shots as the Penguins won their ninth in 11 games, with two overtime losses. Pittsburgh is the NHL's most improved team with a 27-17-9 record and 63 points -- 29 points more than they had at this time last season.

"We know they're first overall, but we talked about how we've had better numbers than them in the second half," Recchi said. "If we go play our game, we knew we were going to make it tough on them because we felt we could match up speed-wise with them."

Sidney, modest as always...

Despite beating a team as good as Nashville, Crosby isn't ready to say the Penguins are moving into the company of the NHL's top teams. At least not yet.

"I didn't think you can judge it off one game," he said. "We've been playing well lately, we've been on a roll, so we have to keep doing things the way we've been doing them. We're playing from the goalie out every night, and we have to keep it that way."

Sidney Crosby: Adopted?

Lookin' good!

Why, yes...but the city of Pittsburgh, apparently.

Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a feature on how Crosby has taken to Pittsburgh and vice-versa, and has won that city's "Dapper Dan, the Sportsman" Award.

Article Link:

Although he grew up in the Canadian Maritimes steeped in hockey, Sidney Crosby quickly became a fan of other Pittsburgh sports teams after joining the Penguins.

He's met Jason Bay, the Pirates' Canadian outfielder. He's been to the Steelers' home opener the past two seasons.

"Pretty much every Sunday we were off, I was watching the Steeler game," Crosby, the top overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, said last week.

"I think it's just natural to pull for the other teams in the city you're in. It's a good atmosphere in a city when they pull together and pull

for the teams that are there. You see other athletes at our games, and you see us at Steelers games, baseball games."

Is it natural to pull for the other teams? Who in the hell would ever cheer for the Pirates? blech....

So, despite being such a recent transplant, Crosby has an appreciation for the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award he will receive at the annual charity dinner and auction April 15 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

"It means a lot, especially here with this being the sports town that it is and to join that company that's gone through here," Crosby said. "It's a huge honor. To have that support from people outside of hockey, that's a good feeling. When I came here, people were so welcoming. I couldn't get over how nice they were. That really means a lot."

Penguins 3 - Canadiens 4 (OT): Plekanec is Plenty

Poor Sid...
Sophomore Tomas Plekanec has been quite hot for the Canadiens during 2007, and he was the biggest reason why the Canadiens got revenge with a 4-3 OT win.

Sophomore Sidney Crosby was a factor with two assists in 25:17 of ice time, but was on the wrong end of crowd taunting by jealous, bitter Habs fans. Can we say unclassy, kids? tsk tsk tsk.

From Yahoo! Sports:

Sheldon Souray scored the winning goal, then dished out the credit to teammate Tomas Plekanec.

Souray scored 2:01 into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens snapped the Pittsburgh Penguins' six-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory on Sunday.

Plekanec scored twice in regulation before setting up Souray in overtime during a 2-on-1. Souray, ejected from Montreal's 5-4 shootout loss in Pittsburgh on Wednesday for fighting with Colby Armstrong, one-timed Plekanec's pass and drove the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury into the right side of the net.

"He played a really excellent game and he's done that over the last few games," Souray said of Plekanec. "He's stepped up offensively and we need that. You look at his two goals, they were just the result of hard work and being in front of the net. He was willing to pay the price, and he got rewarded for it."

Sidney Crosby, who had an eight-game point streak broken Saturday in Pittsburgh's 2-0 win over Washington, assisted on power-play goals by Jordan Staal and Ryan Whitney. The 19-year-old forward leads the NHL with 59 assists and 84 points.

He also was stripped of the puck in the Canadiens zone by Plekanec on the play that led to the winning goal.

"I was just making a move, and when you make a move that high in the zone you know it could be trouble if you lose it there," Crosby said. "That's a bad area to lose the puck, so obviously I have to learn from that one."

The Penguins' streak was their longest since they won six in a row from Jan. 17-26, 2002. Pittsburgh has recorded points in 10 straight games (8-0-2).

Michel Ouellet tied it at 3 on the Penguins' third power-play goal, scored with 2:34 remaining in regulation. Ouellet deflected Ryan Malone's centering pass over David Aebischer's left pad for his 11th goal.

Plekanec tied the game twice, including his power-play tally 1:10 into the third which evened it at 2. Mark Streit converted Montreal's second power-play opportunity at 5:59 when he put a rebound of Michael Ryder's shot between Fleury's pads to give the Canadiens their first lead.

"I'm really happy that we turned around that game," Streit said. "It was such a big game for us."

Aebischer, making his third start in four games, stopped 31 shots. He is 2-0-1 over that stretch, including a 5-4 shootout loss in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Crosby, a Nova Scotia native who grew up dreaming of playing for Montreal, set up Staal's 18th goal during a 5-on-3 midway through the first.

He added his second assist of the game on Whitney's 10th goal which restored Pittsburgh's lead 5:35 into the second.

The talented teenager was booed virtually every time he touched the puck, mostly because of his reaction to being struck by the butt end of Maxim Lapierre's stick during the game's opening faceoff.

Chants of "Faker! Faker!" rained down from the cheap seats amid the sellout crowd of 21,273 as Crosby slowly made his way back to the bench after he lingered on the ice while trying to draw a penalty in the third period.

"It's a road game," Crosby said. "I grew up liking this team and there's a reason they're passionate fans. That's how it goes. My like for the team's probably changed since then."

Ooooooh, that last quote has got to hurt a certain Habs blogger than wants Crosby in a Canadiens sweater :)

Penguins 2 - Capitals 0: "Crosbechkin" MIA

The Capitals/Penguins tilts are usually exciting and hyped for the Sidney/Ovechkin angle, but both stars failed to show up in a game that turned out to be an offenseless snorefest.

Ovechkin: 0 points, 3 Shots on goal, and -2
SIdney: 0 points and 2 Shots on goal

Thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury's fine netminding, and a goal from the suddenly kinda-warm Ronald Petrovicky, the Penguins pulled off another big victory. The playoffs are looking more like a real possibility with each win. It's nice to see the Penguins can win a game without relying so heavily on Crosby. Sid can't possibly score a point every single game, as awesome as he is.

Game recap from Yahoo! Spots:

Sidney Crosby's linescore had all zeroes, and that usually means a loss for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's strong play against Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the Washington Capitals meant it didn't.

Scoring stars Crosby and Ovechkin were shut out in an unexpected defensive duel, with Pittsburgh's Ronald Petrovicky scoring the pivotal goal and Fleury making 30 saves as the Penguins won a season-high sixth in a row by beating Washington 2-0 Saturday.

The Penguins had been 0-30-1 when Crosby didn't score in his two-year NHL career, but Fleury turned in his second shutout in three games and fourth of the season. The No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft has stopped all but four of 106 shots in his last three games, and has a 10-1-2 record in his last 13 games.

"The guys were blocking shots and clearing rebounds and that's always a big help for me," said Fleury, who shut out Florida 3-0 Tuesday. "The team did a great job on him (Ovechkin), they were always close to him and he didn't get too many shots on net."

Ovechkin's 13-game scoring streak, the NHL's longest this season, and Crosby's eight-game run ended in a game that featured excellent penalty-killing and goaltending. Crosby leads the NHL with 82 points and Ovechkin went into the game with a league-high 33 goals.

Ovechkin was visibly agitated, apparently because he felt the Capitals played well enough to win but didn't in their third straight loss and eighth in 10 games.

"We lost the game, we had our chances but they have a great goalie," said Ovechkin, whose only three shots came in the third period. "We have to score and we didn't score. I was just very mad. I think it was a good game for us. We just lost."

Ovechkin had scored in every Capitals game this calendar year, getting eight goals and 12 assists in 13 games. He was last scoreless Dec. 30 against the Rangers. Crosby hadn't been shut out since Jan. 10 at Florida.

"It's not too often Sid doesn't get a point, but when he does, it's good that other players step up and take the game under control," said Jordan Staal, who scored an empty-net goal with 38 seconds remaining for his 17th. "That's what happened and it's a good feeling. He (Fleury) was amazing."

Aww, poor Ovechkin. It's OK to be second best, ya know.

Penguins 5 - Canadiens 4 (SO): Sidney's Little Helpers

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to hold on and eek out a 5-4 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens last night on a nationally televised game (TSN).

Sidney was, once again, the catalyst with 3 assists and a lot of inspired play.

The game wasn't without a bit of embarassment for El Sid. Besides missing in the shootout, AGAIN, Sidney seemed to think he was a Habitant.

Huh?

Well, check out Mr. Reality Check for le details.

How can you forget that your team has just one moments ago?

If I recall correctly Sid did shoot at the Habs net in the shootout didn't he?

Crosby: "Yeah, well it would have been nice to get the two, but you know, things happen sometimes, you just have to roll with it and make the best of the situation. I think we did that tonight"

Reporter: "You did get the two by the way."

o_0 *facepalm*

Sid's totals on the night: 1 post-game slip-up, 3 assists, -3(!), and 10 for 18 on faceoffs in 21:29 of ice time.

Game recap from NHL.com:

The Pittsburgh Penguins were introduced to playoff-style hockey by the Montreal Canadiens. The youthful Penguins like the way they responded against an opponent that looked to be trying to intimidate them from the start.

The Penguins squandered a two-goal lead late in the third period, but Evgeni Malkin won the shootout by deftly faking out David Aebischer with an inside-out move as Pittsburgh beat Montreal 5-4 on Thursday night for its fifth consecutive victory.

Erik Christensen also put the puck past Aebischer as the Penguins won their second shootout in a row - they beat Dallas 4-3 on Friday - after losing five of their first six. Montreal dropped its fifth in nine shootouts as Marc-Andre Fleury stopped the final two Canadiens shooters, Chris Higgins and Tomas Plekanec, after Alex Kovalev had matched Christensen's score. Fleury made 40 saves in regulation and is 9-1-2 in his last 12 starts.

"I've never seen the (Eastern Conference) playoff race so close, five or six teams are so close, and it was a playoff atmosphere," said Sergei Gonchar, who scored twice on the power play and had another slap shot deflected in by Malkin. "You could see their intensity was there. But we're playing with more confidence."

The Canadiens trailed 4-2 after Gonchar scored twice during a rare seven-minute Pittsburgh power play in the second period. But Montreal tied it on goals by Mike Johnson and Mathieu Dandenault in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the third, with Johnson's shot deflecting in off Gonchar and Dandenault's shot bouncing in off defenseman Rob Scuderi's skate.

"Those were tough bounces to take, but we stuck with it and got the two points," Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said.

Crosby, drilled in the midsection by Maxim Lapierre immediately after the opening faceoff to set the tone for a physical and feisty game, assisted on each of the Penguins' first three goals. Crosby became the first player to break the 80-point mark this season with 82, including 25 goals.

Montreal tried to establish its toughness from the start. But the Canadiens' aggressiveness cost them when Sheldon Souray was ejected for jumping on Colby Armstrong, punching him several times and slamming him to the ice after Armstrong leveled Saku Koivu behind the Montreal net.

"You expect teams to be intense, and they had that (checking) line out there to start the game and wanted to set a tone early," Crosby said. "That's part of playing in the second half of the season. Teams want to win hockey games and we're more than willing to play and do whatever we have to do to win games, too."

Sidney Crosby: Der Wille Zur Macht!

Cam Cole of the CanWest Imperial Media Empire, opines on how Sidney Crosby is handling his role is leader of the New NHL World Order.

"Pens a building force in the NHL"

The kid is too good to be true.

His hockey club? Some night, yes. Others, not so much.

But the National Hockey League has rarely had a team that the whole league could see coming, two or three years away, and the Pittsburgh Penguins of the Sidney Crosby Era are it.

The other night, when Mark Messier presented his third-segment leadership award to Crosby, the NHL's 19-year-old scoring leader at the all-star break, he couldn't help but make the comparison to the last time it was this obvious that a hockey club was about to grab the NHL by the throat.

So, they are actually still giving out that 'Leadership Award'??
As for Crosby, he'd never be so mean as to grab the NHL by the throat. Gary Bettman? yes. The NHL? No.

"Very rarely do you get a lot of talented players all coming in at the same age, living the game, going through the tough times . . . essentially growing up together," Messier said. "That's what happened in Edmonton - we were able to assemble within two or three years most of our core players -and that's what's going on in Pittsburgh.

"The only difference is the salary cap makes it tough to keep your nucleus together now, so the window of opportunity is pretty short. The challenge will be for Pittsburgh to win it before that becomes an issue."

Crosby has just come through another of his milestone moments, or rather, weeks, as the unmistakable standard-bearer for the NHL at the all-star convention. The league led him from press conference to TV appearance to commercial shoot like a prize show dog - and now, as the Penguins resume their pursuit of a playoff spot, Crosby knows he's got to get his game-face back on.

"It was busy, but that's part of it. It's understood. I was first in (fan) voting," Crosby said Friday, at the morning skate prior to the Pens-Stars game in Dallas - the 10-deep scrum around his locker having shrunk to three reporters.

"I wake up every morning, I tie up my skates, I do interviews. I don't have anything to really hide. I understand there's attention, and I deal with it, and try not to let it affect my play. I think we did our last press conference (prior to the all-star game) at 6:10 p.m. and warmup was at 6:30. But hopefully, I'll get another chance at it, and maybe next time I'll get an hour before the game to tape my sticks and that. But I wouldn't trade it for anything, my first all-star game, even if I did get shut out."

Let's hope Sidney turns out to be nothing like Messier in the personality department. ..uugh...

You can read the full article here.

Assist to James Mirtle for the pointer.