Sidney Crosby is in top form (Penguins)

Penguins

Sidney Crosby is in top form

By Ryan Wilson

Nov 6, 2016 • 11:04 am

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It only took five periods and 21 minutes but Sidney Crosby is your NHL leader in goals. The Penguins captain scored another two goals last night and led the Penguins past the San Jose Sharks by a score of 5-0. It was Crosby's third two-goal game of the season.

Sidney Crosby is conjuring up the level of play that he was at during the 2010-11 season which was going to be his best statistical career of his season. In six games he has eight goals and two assists. While he won't continue to shoot 38.1%(!) he will continue to generate a high volume of scoring chances. To see a player of Crosby's caliber at the top of his game is very exciting and great for the sport. If he stays healthy moving forward I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be his best season ever and he's had a lot of great ones already

The Mario Lemieux-esque bank shot goal last night certainly takes a degree of luck but the ref cam caught Crosby expertly batting the puck out of the air to setup the sequence

Even when you take his stick away he's still way better than most at protecting the puck

Pretty cool stat linking Crosby and Jagr together

Up next for Crosby is the first ever matchup between him and Connor McDavid on Tuesday night. You can bet that Sid will be up for that one.

Matt Murray made his second start of the year and it went even better than the first one. Murray earned his first shutout of the year by making all 32 saves against the Sharks. He has stopped 64 out of the 65 shots he has faced. It appears he has bounced back nicely from his injured thumb. He doesn't rely on his athleticism quite like Fleury does, but if he is tracking the puck his lateral movement is with purpose and his angles are usually on point. Makes it difficult for the opposition to find open spots to shoot.

Murray is also putting his past knowledge to use

Last night was the first game of the year where I thought the Penguins had close to what I would consider their optimal lineup. They were able to play with speed up and down the lineup and execute the kind of forecheck that they want. A big part of Pittsburgh's ability to generate extended zone time is a result of not only their forwards aggressively pursuing the puck carrier but the defense's ability to pinch on the half wall when the forechecker successfully pushes the play up the wall. By having players who can all skate and/or make plays with the puck you are able to play more aggressively and have the reward pan out way more than the risk will bite you. It's one thing to get down to the hashmarks on the pinch and it is another thing to make a play with the puck. Pittsburgh has players who can do both. It doesn't make sense for all teams to play that aggressively, but the Penguins are built for it. You need four lines of skaters and with Conor Sheary returning and Tom Sestito returning to the press box you have the personnel to make it work. This style takes a lot of energy and you can't have passengers who only play five minutes a night to make it work especially over the long haul.

The Penguins were in dire straits with their forward prospects not too long ago. Things are looking better with Daniel Sprong and now Jake Guentzel. The University of Nebraska-Omaha product is proving that his playoff run in the AHL last year was no fluke. He had himself another big night for the Baby Penguins yesterday

He now has 12 points in nine games. He is NHL caliber and it is just a matter of when the Penguins want to pull the trigger to make that happen. My long term prediction is that HBK will eventually be reunited and Guentzel could find himself on Crosby's wing.

I didn't forget about Malkin. He added an assist last night and is playing at a point per game clip. His reception of Ian Cole's pass in the neutral zone and facilitation of the puck to Kunitz with speed is the kind of play he makes look easy and is anything but. Most players chip the puck in with the defender closing the gap at the blue line like that.

Chris Kunitz scores his first goal of the year on a great shot.

Carl Hagelin tied a career high with three assists. He was also an animal on the possession front. When he was on the ice the Penguins had 14 shot attempts for and only 3 against.

Nick Bonino scored his second career shorthanded goal which was his first of the season. The pass across by Daley is hilarious to watch when you put it into context the player he was traded for.

Eric Fehr scored his second goal of the year on a great wrist shot that went top shelf

Brian Dumoulin had gone 11 games without a point. He registered an assist last night to get on the board this year. He does so many things well on the possession front that I have struggled to figure out why he has been unable to rack up more tangible offense at the NHL level.

After collecting seven out of a possible eight standings points on their road trip the Penguins return home on Tuesday. Crosby vs. McDavid Act I will commence and Pittsburgh will get their first up close and personal look at the phenom in the NHL. Should be great.

Thanks for reading!

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