There it is. A four game winning streak. It started with an impressive win against Tampa, a comeback against the flailing Flyers, and two games against lowly Buffalo, but they all count the same. Eight out of eight points have been picked up. The Penguins are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division although they have played the most games. The points they've earned recently were much needed.
A big reason for Pittsburgh's success has been because of Sidney Crosby. He has points in six straight games and the last five have all been multipoint games. Sid didn't have a great start to the year offensively and his hot streak has pushed him above the point per game mark for the first time in weeks. Out of the 16 points in the last ten games eight of those have come on the power play. His even-strength offense is still down this year. He has a 1.36 5v5 points per 60 which is incredibly low for him. We aren't even to the halfway point in the season, but the numbers are so low when compared to his career it is worth mentioning.
The 2013-17 years look like a big drop off for Sid, but those numbers are still great. It's just that he was in his physical prime before that. We were robbed of his 2010-13 years because of David Steckel. That was peak Crosby and we only got a glimpse. The 2017-18 numbers to this point are very low. I have little doubt he will continue to improve that as the year goes on, but it is going to be his lowest ever 5v5 output in a season most likely.
Even-strength production may be down for 87, but his power play numbers are excellent. This is one of his best ever years on the power play.
Is there anything that might explain this resurgence at the age of 30? I think there is. I think it’s as simple as #SidDownLow. Here’s a heat map of the last two years and where his shot attempts have come from on the man advantage.
He’s a lot closer this year and it is yielding great results. Sid runs a good half wall, but he’s at his most dangerous when he is in the trenches on the power play getting constant looks from in close whether it is in the midst of chaos are tic-tac-toe passing. When we look at his career best year (injury shortened 2011-12) you can see that he is close to the net as well.
It might be tough to keep his power play points per 60 up near 7, but the more he’s around the net the better it will be.
For now the power play is saving Sid’s offensive output. The good news is that he is likely to find his groove at 5v5 at some point this year. A necessity with the Penguins being a top heavy team again. For now, keep the power plays coming.
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— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) December 3, 2017
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