As of Thursday Sidney Crosby is 6th in the scoring race and his Penguins are 4th in the Atlantic Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference.
I’m puzzled. Yes, by the team’s rankings but also by Sidney’s ranking in the point parade. I was sure he would be distancing himself from the field by now. Here’s what puzzles me even more – his ice time. There are 17 forwards in the NHL logging more overall minutes than Crosby. Even strength? 14:55 per game. Only good enough for 23rd. Even Glen Murray and Jan Hlavac play more. Power Play time? Sid is 7th among forwards.
Ok, he only spends 45 seconds per game killing penalties which ranks him 224th. I figured that’s where he falls behind on the clock. But 4 of the guys ahead of him in overall ice time play fewer PK seconds than he does. Heck, Alex Ovechkin averages 10 seconds per game on the PK and he is 4th in overall ice time.
Granted, Sid is playing 8 seconds per game more than last season when he ranked 20th in overall ice and 20th in even strength ice time. I guess I just expected his ice time to be ramped up even more now that he is 20 and in his 3rd NHL season. His conditioning level is second to none. He is the hardest worker in practice and his recovery time on the bench appears to be close to instantaneous.
For the reigning Hart trophy and Lester Pearson king, the ice time seems off when compared to other elite players in the league, but Pittsburgh’s coaching staff knows Sidney a lot better than I do. Here’s the positive in all of this – when the Pens need Crosby the most in the second half of the season, he will have surplus fuel in the tank. As long as he gets the chance to burn it, the Penguins will excel.
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