Sidney Crosby Is Trying to Get It Done
Photo Credit: Danny Wild / USA TODAY
Underwhelming. That would be the best word used to describe the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 regular season. While the team was not supposed to be a Stanley Cup contending team, many thought that they would, at the very least, make the playoffs. However, back in January, the Penguins were second to last place in the Metropolitan Division, leaving a lot of people wondering if this marked the end of the “Crosby Era”.
Since the beginning of 2024, the Penguins have bounced back and are now back competing for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. That has almost everything to do with their captain, Sidney Crosby. The three-time Stanley Cup champion has been on an absolute tear over these past few weeks, with 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in his last 10 games. During that span, the team has an overall record of 6-2-2, which compared to how the team started the season, are great numbers.
Sidney Crosby is doing what he has always done for his team; leading them. While he has led the team to a multitude of impressive wins over the last few games, he also reached a very impressive milestone as well. He now has 19 point-per-game seasons in the NHL, which ties Wayne Gretzky for the most point-per-game seasons in league history.
Whether it’s individual accomplishments or team wins, it is clear that Crosby just wants to win. What’s even more impressive is that he’s doing all of this without Jake Guentzel, who was the team’s second best player for most of the year, and Crosby’s right hand man. Guentzel was dealt earlier in March with a trade that sent him to the Carolina Hurricanes. In return, Pittsburgh acquired Michael Bunting and a handful of draft picks. Some thought that this marked the start of a huge rebuild for an aging Penguins team, while some also thought that Crosby was going to be the next player to leave the team. Yet here he is. With continuous wins, he’s done a full 180 with the Penguins current season, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Photo Credit: The Canadian Press
With only six games remaining on Pittsburgh’s schedule, and the team only being two points out of the current playoff picture, they just have to keep winning. Right now the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, and the Penguins are fighting for that final playoff spot, any nobody wants to lose the race.
If Pittsburgh even wants to have a shot at sniffing that final spot, Crosby has to prove why he is arguably the best player of this generation. The NHL has seen him do stuff like this time and time again, but this season long comeback might be the most impressive thing that he’s done in his career; especially at 36 years old.
Everyone knows that Crosby wants to get to the playoffs again, where this might be the last time that he ever does with the Penguins. It’s just not a matter of if he wants to do it.
It’s a matter of if he’ll actually do.