Pittsburgh Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL or NHLPA
Sidney Crosby Addresses Penguins' Crisis Amid Turbulent Season
The Pittsburgh Penguins have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd straight year, but captain Sidney Crosby reiterated the importance of finishing the year with pride.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd straight year, marking the longest drought of captain Sidney Crosby's career.
But that doesn't mean that the Penguins will be mailing it in during their final game of the year. They host Alex Ovechkin and the divisional foe Washington Capitals on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena, and as explained by Crosby, they must keep things in perspective and finish things out strong and with pride.
You have to have pride in what you do, no matter what it is. We're pretty fortunate to do what we do here. As much as I've said that there's frustrations or it's tough and difficult, in the big scheme of things, we're still pretty fortunate to do what we do. Keep that in the back of your mind. But you always have pride in whatever you do, whatever your role is, whether you're just coming in or you've been here for a long time.
Being the natural leader that he is, Crosby said that it's still a chance for him and his teammates to get better on the ice.
Hopefully there's a standard that we try to have and that we bring every day, and hopefully we can live up to that. But that's not anything that's given; you have to do it every single day. Today is an opportunity to hopefully get better. We've got to go out there and be professionals about it.
Crosby, who recently signed a 2-year contract extension, has 89 points (32G, 57A) in 79 games; he recently passed Wayne Gretzky for the most seasons averaging a point per game (20).
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 18 | 250 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby Addresses Penguins' Crisis Amid Turbulent Season Will Sidney Crosby lead the Penguins back to the playoffs next year? | ||
| Yes | 215 | 86 % |
| No | 35 | 14 % |
| List of polls | ||