Six games into the season, it’s time to have a conversation about Sidney Crosby and the first line.
The stats are what they are, and they’re not good. Crosby only has two assists on the young season – and no points in the last four games. His play hasn’t been as bad as the lack of stats might look, Crosby was strong in the last game against Dallas where he blocked three shots and also scored a shootout goal. In a positive sign, he has 13 shots on goal at 5v5 on the season and hasn’t yet been rewarded.
The numbers haven’t been there lately, and the power play (0-for-12 in the last four games) has also grown cold at an unfortunate time, though Crosby’s lack of elevation on the power play is a contributing cause in that area.
The scene is similar for linemate Rickard Rakell, who like Crosby has no goals and two assists on the season. Rakell only has six 5v5 shots on goal and like Crosby has no points in the last four games and played even quieter at times, quite the departure from the last two seasons when he’s scored 59 total goals and been one of the more consistently dangerous players on the ice. Hasn’t been the case at all this year, Rakell’s been as pedistrian as they come.
The total goals scored with Crosby+Rakell on the ice at full strength is 5-5 right now, and 10-6 without them on it. On one hand, that’s a good sign the rest of the team has been pitching in. On the other hand, the Penguins are bound to struggle when their top line isn’t pulling their weight offensively. That’s been the case for the last five games (2-2-1 record) following the opening night blowout win over the deliciously hapless Philadelphia Flyers. Not much has come easily for the Pens after that, and it doesn’t take any time going down the roster to figure out where that is starting.
For now, the team is not making changes to the top line. It started out with Nick Richardson joining Crosby and Rakell then Bryan Rust took his familiar spot on that line soon after he returned from injury. That trio was in tact at practice on Monday in Pittsburgh, before the team heads out on a challenging road trip out west.
Coach Dan Muse said last week, the placement of wingers for Crosby was more game-to-game based on how the team would be best positioned. Yet the team remains opting for familiarity more than other directions. At the end of last season, Egor Chinakhov spent time on Crosby’s wing. Chinakhov, himself, hasn’t started out hot, with no goals in his last five games and no points in the last four either. Robertson added some energy but also got removed after he lost a puck battle in the defensive zone that directly led to a goal against.
As always, with Sidney Crosby, the takes of overreactions is instant and dramatic. He’s famously scored above a point per game all 21 of his seasons, yet this season has not gotten onto track, so it’s not all without merit. Troublingly, over the first few weeks of the season he’s looked every bit of his 39 years, without a lot of the sharpness, skating and creativity that’s been on display for the last 20+ years.
That presents something to track on this road trip and as the season moves along. What will the best version of the first line look like? Will Crosby get up to speed and find more ways to impact the game? It’d be hard not to, one would think, even though his days in the MVP chase are over. The power play (and Crosby’s performance on it) has to improve and will be another area to watch about Crosby finding ways to make plays and get back on the scoreboard. Is he old and greatly diminished or just starting uncharacteristically slow?
Overall, all this has to be weighed about seeing an all-time great in the winter of their careers. Crosby, after all, entered the season with only 417 gamesof his career where he didn’t record a point. That pales in comparison to the 517 games he has with multi-point games, so seeing even a couple week stretch or a few games in a row without standing out makes for an uncomfortable adjustment.
For now the Penguins are going back to chemistry and known familiarity (Rakell, Rust) instead of younger options to play with Crosby. Given Crosby’s playing style and the benefits of playing with known quantities, there’s a lot to be said for that approach. The question might become just when and how they decide to mix things up and how much longer it will take to get there.
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In other news: injured defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk was not on the ice for practice Monday. van Riemsdyk is said to be day-to-day, the team only has six defensemen healthy at the start of their trip, barring a move to IR for van Riemsdyk and calling up a defenseman from the AHL.
