Do the Penguins Play Better Without Crosby?
As I said yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins look like a different team when captain, Sidney Crosby, is out of the lineup. They seem to play better and I was glad when I heard Barry Melrose (ESPN) talking about what he calls “The Sidney Crosby Effect.” It disappoints me that Evgeni Malkin plays so much better when Sid is not around. What is up with that? If they could just pull it together, I think they could be unstoppable.
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POSTED IN: Fan Fare, Pittsburgh Penguins, Players, Video
3 opinions for Do the Penguins Play Better Without Crosby?
Educated Bet
Mar 28, 2008 at 11:02 am
Your right Malkin has to pick up his game in the absence of Sid The Kid.
Peace…Iron Mike
The Toronto Traveler
Mar 28, 2008 at 11:49 am
It actually doesn’t surprise me that the effort level is up with Sid out of the line up. He’s the core of the offense, so I’m sure that a lot of the added performance is borne from the anxiety that players feel when someone like him goes down. Malkin’s going to have to fight the complacency feeling that he’s likely to get once Sid is back in the line up.
Reminds me of a few years ago when the Leafs made the playoffs (back in the stone age I know) and Sundin got injured in their first round series against the Islanders. The Leafs players played amazing without him, making it to the conference finals. Then Sundin came back and the team fell apart =/
Jeanne
Mar 28, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Huh. That is true. I think you see that too with goalies. That Calgary Flames really relied too heavily on Kiprusoff for a couple years and this year, now that he is having a hard time, the rest of the team have bucked up.
Too bad they all just can’t play normally. I think the Pens could have a real chance.
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