Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
In the latest edition we changed things up and did an over/under post predicting Alex Ovechkin's 2014-15 goal totals, so we'll continue on with that trend and do the same for Sidney Crosby, but points instead of goals.
The O/U: 109.5 points for Sidney Crosby.
Todd Cordell: Over
I'm going to be boring and agree with the rest of the hotstove here, but if Sidney Crosby is healthy he's hitting 110. He's recorded at least 100 points in all five seasons he has played at least 77 games in, and with injury problems looking like a thing in the past I think it's a good bet he reaches that plateau this year.
A couple of things Crosby has working for him: Mike Johnston as his head coach. He may be an NHL rookie, but he knows what he's doing, and he has already used some creative set plays to free up Crosby and get him the puck in space.
The other thing: Pittsburgh's defense core is loaded with puck movers to push the puck up ice and help create offense. Paul Martin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Christian Ehrhoff are four legitimate top-4 puck movers, and they'll certainly make things easier for Crosby.
Tim Chiasson: Over Over without even blinking. Crosby is the best hockey player in the world and when he's healthy the sky is the limit. I think Sid returns to his '06-'07 form and goes north of 120. Even if you go off of his career point-per-game average he still hits 114. Last year was his first full hockey season since 2009-2010 and he still put up over 100 points, consider that shaking off the cobwebs.
Ryan Wilson: Over Mike Johnston. That is the reason he will go over. After seeing the last few years of Dan Bylsma and his "get to our game" approach it is becoming more and more obvious that "get to our game" could be translated as we are going to cater to our lesser skilled players.
That era is over and the early returns in the preseason and Game 1 vs the Ducks are very encouraging. Puck possession and gaining the neutral zone with speed is at the forefront. Gone is moving the puck up North as fast as possible without a care if it actually makes sense. Guess who will benefit the most from that? Sid and Geno. Crosby played a full season last year and unless something fluky happens I expect the same again this year. Plus he has no Olympic break to slow him down.
His career high is 120 points, dare I say he eclipses that mark? I think it is possible with the new look Penguins.
Adam French: Over Over - If healthy, Crosby will lead the league in points. It's a shame that at this point it is almost a forgone conclusion with the caveat of "if healthy." I really love the addition of Hornqvist and I think his net presence will make a massive difference on their power play. 104 points with Malkin missing 22 games, Letang being out the majority of the year and no stable linemate other than Kunitz, I think he can hit 110 with more stability. He has been on pace for higher than 109.5 points before...but "on pace" doesn't mean much at the end of the day.
Recent posts