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Sidney Crosby absence collides with toughest Penguins schedule stretch of season
Photo credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Sidney Crosby injury hits the Pittsburgh Penguins playoff push right in the gut.
Pittsburgh placed Crosby on injured reserve Wednesday with a lower-body issue from the Olympics.
The early read is at least four weeks, and "undetermined" is the scary part.
Before this, Crosby was driving everything at 27-32-59 in 56 games.
The Penguins come out of the break at 29-15-12, and there's no soft landing.
"They'll also have to do it while going through a meat grinder of a schedule."
- Dave Molinari
- Dave Molinari
Thursday starts it with New Jersey, then Saturday at the Rangers, then Vegas on Sunday.
Boston shows up twice in the next 10 days, and the pace only tightens.
Sidney Crosby absence tests Pittsburgh Penguins identity
Honestly, Penguins fans have seen this movie, and nobody enjoys the first period.
Pittsburgh is staring at 15 games in the next four weeks, basically every other night.
That means Evgeni Malkin has to eat top-line matchups, not just offense-zone starts.
Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust probably become the "get us to intermission" line when things tilt.
On the man advantage, the real loss is the calm puck touch Crosby gives you under pressure.
Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang can move it, but someone has to win the net-front and bumper battles.
The sneaky danger is defensive-zone faceoffs late, because Crosby usually erases those fires.
IR opens a roster spot, but it doesn't replace the minutes, or the heartbeat, between the dots.
If Pittsburgh can tread water through this stretch, late March could feel like a reset button.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Sidney Crosby's response to Radko Gudas hit sets tone for Penguins, Team Canada
Sidney Crosby's response to Radko Gudas hit sets tone for Penguins, Team Canada
Previously on HockeyUnplugged
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 26|106 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby absence collides with toughest Penguins schedule stretch of season Should the Pittsburgh Penguins change their power-play setup without Sidney Crosby? | ||
| Yes | 72 | 67.9 % |
| No | 34 | 32.1 % |
| List of polls | ||