Faceoff Factor

That's It Man! Game Over, Man! Game Over!

C.J. "Stoosh" Jiuliante | National Hockey League

Jan 22, 12:40 PM | Hype this story!

The verdict has been handed down. Sidney Crosby is out of the Penguins lineup for sometime between the next six-to-eight weeks. Six weeks would put him back on the ice sometime around the beginning of March. Eight weeks would mean a bit closer to St. Patrick’s Day.

Either way, Crosby is lost for the majority of the balance of the season. Thirty-four games remain after last night’s shootout loss to Washington, and even if Crosby gets back by that March 4 game at Tampa, the Pens are looking at playing 19 more games without his services. Crosby was leading the league in scoring with 63 points when he left the ice, so it’s hard to blame Pens fans for worrying in his absence.

But responding with claims that the season is over is overreacting for overreacting’s sake and not all that much more. Quite frankly, it’s ludicrous. Losing Crosby was a significant blow to the fortunes of this team, but it’s not going to be the death knell of this team’s season.

This 2007-08 season wasn’t “Sidney Crosby and the 2003-04 Penguins”. And even if it was, for as allegedly bad as that 2003-04 team was, they still won 23 of 82 games. In other words, they one at least one out of every four games they played that year. This current team is in significantly better shape than that 03-04 team would’ve been on their best days.

For starters, this is a team that is still led by Evgeni Malkin. Crosby-mania seems to have caused some Pens fans to forget that before they could ever even warmed up to the concept of Sidney Crosby is a Pens jersey, Evgeni Malkin was drafted second overall in 2004 and was considered to be the franchise center.

There seemed to be this prevailing notion that Malkin is incapable of carrying this team, a notion he’s so far refuted by scoring three goals and an assist in the two games since Crosby left the lineup. The numbers, though, only say so much. In post-game interviews following the Tampa game in which Crosby was injured, Malkin said he needed to step it up. He’s done just that. His play has been dominant at both ends of the ice. He’s been a physical presence. He’s generating scoring chances and creating his own, and he’s been equally effective setting up plays in the zone or beating three opposing players on some breath-taking end-to-end rushes (shades of Lemieux, quite honestly).

This is still a team getting contributions from several former first-round picks. Brooks Oprik, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney and Jordan Staal were all first-round picks of the Penguins and they’ll need to show that they’re capable of elevating their games. Once upon a time, Sergei Gonchar, Petr Sykora and Darryl Sydor were also first-round picks. Gonchar has been playing at an All-Star level all season; this has perhaps been his best year as a Penguin. Sydor has gotten better as the season has progressed, and Sykora is a notoriously-streaky scorer capable of getting hot at any time. Sykora should find his way back onto the top lines full-time now.

Marc-Andre Fleury – another Pens’ first rounder – is due back sometime in February, but given the solid play of backup goaltender Ty Conklin, there’s no real urgent need to rush Fleury back. Backup Dany Sabourin’s inconsistencies are probably cause for some concern, but he may only need to spell Conklin for a game at a time.

The Penguins have also been receiving some timely contributions from some other players, and maintaining that will be instrumental to the continued success of the team. Georges Larauqe has elevated his game lately, and has proven to be a bit of a weapon working the offensive boards behind the net. Tyler Kennedy has given the team some clutch goals and feisty play since his call-up from Wilkes-Barre. He’s done a fairly solid job filling the void left by the release of Mark Recchi. Defenseman Kris Letang has added a puck-moving, incredibly mobile presence to the blueline; he’s helped negate the loss of Mark Eaton, and his speed helps mitigate some of the rookie mistakes he makes from time to time.

None of this is meant to minimize the loss of Crosby. He’s one of the best players in the league and teams don’t just recover from those kinds of losses. But what’s done is done and now the team is going to have to find its way without him for the next several weeks. They’re going to have to find new ways to win and it’s not going to be easy. It’s not impossible, either. There’s just too much talent here.

Game over? Hardly. Judging by the last two games, I’d say, “Game On.”