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Four Penguins, one Olympic gamble that could define Pittsburgh’s season
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Sidney Crosby heads back to the Olympics, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have four guys with real stakes and real risk.
Pittsburgh sends Crosby for Canada, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell for Sweden, and Artūrs ¦ilovs for Latvia.
For Crosby, it is legacy plus workload, because he is still the Penguins’ engine at 27-32-59.
For Karlsson, it is about driving Sweden’s breakouts and proving his legs are still there, with 4-31-35 on the season.
For Rakell, it is a chance to get loud again in big games, and he hits the break at 10-14-24.
For ¦ilovs, it is pure opportunity, because Latvia rides its goalie and he can steal headlines between the pipes.
¦ilovs is 24, drafted in 2019, Round 6 by the Vancouver Canucks, and he carries a clean $850,000 cap hit this year.
Back home, the Penguins sit 29-15-12, and this break can either sharpen them or mess with their rhythm.
Sidney Crosby puts the Pittsburgh Penguins on edge
If you are a Penguins fan, you are excited for the spotlight, but you are also bracing for the first awkward hit into the end boards.
The biggest “win” would be chemistry, because Karlsson and Rakell can bring back timing that fuels Pittsburgh’s rush game.
The nightmare is a tweak, because Olympic ice turns every stride into a 200-foot sprint.
Watch the man advantage when they return, because Karlsson’s confidence usually shows up first in his first pass and his blue line looks.
Crosby’s stake is simpler, come back healthy, keep the points flowing, and drag the room into March.
¦ilovs’ stake is louder, play well for Latvia, come back believing, and force more starts in Pittsburgh’s crease.
When the tournament starts Wednesday, every Penguins shift in Milan feels like it matters in Pittsburgh too.
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