Tracking Crosby's Absence
Mike Adams | Inside The Numbers
Mar 4, 09:58 AM | Hype this story!
Sidney Crosby was injured on January 18. At the time, the Pens stood as follows:
Atlantic Division: Tied for first with New Jersey
Eastern Conference: Fourth place, 9 points behind Ottawa
Points ahead of ninth place team: 6
Since Crosby went down, the Pens are 11-6-4. How has that impacted their standings?
Atlantic Division: First, 1 point ahead of New Jersey
Eastern Conference: First place
Points ahead of ninth place team: 10
In relation to the other Eastern teams, they have gained points on most.
+10: Ottawa, Atlanta, Tampa Bay
+8: NY Islanders
+5: Philadelphia
+4: Florida
+2: Toronto
+1: Montreal, New Jersey, Carolina
-1: Boston, NY Rangers, Buffalo
They have lost ground (and only one point each) to only three teams. That is nothing short of amazing. You take the best player in the league out of your lineup, and you GAIN ground on almost the entire conference. It is a great testament to the work of the entire team and, yes, coaching staff. Guys like Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Malone, and Petr Sykora have gotten their share of credit. But they couldn’t have made this surge without guys like Jeff Taffe, Jordan Staal, and all the other forwards who have contributed. They also played tighter defense until recently, allowing Ty Conklin to shine. It really is a top-to-bottom team effort, and it is no wonder that Ray Shero decided the future is now and made the deals he did.
Comments
StuporDave
Mar 4, 11:22 AM
Wow… Only 3 teams have gained 1 point.. I would not have guessed that… Hopefully just one more week and most of the team will be available.
DaBich
Mar 4, 12:04 PM
That’s absolutely amazing!!!!
I hope they leave the Sykora/Malkin/Malone line intact when Sid returns. Even leave it top line. It’s clicking so well, it would be a crime to mess with it. If it’s not broken, why fix it?
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 4, 12:34 PM
Dabich, as we had discussed earlier, I think we’ll see Malone bump to Crosby’s line until Hossa is ready to return. After all, what good would it be to bring Crosby back and give him no supporting cast.
With that being said, once Hossa returns, you can expect Malone to be back on the left side of Malkin and Sykora, while Crosby and Hossa find a new winger in Kennedy, Talbot or anyone showing a willingness to play a physical game in the corners and in front of the net.
When you suggest playing Malkin’s line as the top line, you have to realize that, the Penguins won’t have A top line, they’ll have TWO top lines. Regardless, it’s not as if Malkin’s line ever really got much less ice time than Crosby’s line. What we’ll see, most likely, is a line 1A and 1B, with both getting around 20 minutes a night.
DaBich
Mar 4, 01:04 PM
Sounds good to me, Matt. I’m anxious to see how things go with Sid back!
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