He’s baaaccckkk.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby made his season debut after missing the first six games of the 2016-17 season with a concussion, but he looked like he had hardly missed a step. And Tuesday night, he certainly made his presence felt. In the second period, Crosby scored a beautiful one-timer on a power play off a pass from Evgeni Malkin, and Crosby had three more shots on goal.
With goals from Carl Hagelin and Eric Fehr in the third period, the Penguins (4-2-1) beat the Florida Panthers (3-2-1), 3-2, at PPG Paints Arena.
The Panthers scored first when, in the first period, Reilly Smith swatted a rebound in past Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury on the powerplay. Mark Pysyk added a spectacular second goal (a one-timer) to give Florida a 2-0 lead.
But then Crosby scored, Hagelin’s toe-drag and wrister sneaked into the back of the net, and Fehr scored on a beautiful pass from Tom Kuhnhackl.
Game, Penguins.
The Kid makes his much-anticipated return
With Crosby’s return, the energy in PPG Paints Arena was palpable. In fact, Pittsburgh probably could have lost the game and the fans would still have been overjoyed because of the captain’s return to the ice.
Crosby suffered a concussion in practice before the regular season had even begun and was rightfully cautious about returning too soon to the ice — he has a history with concussions — a mistake that had cost him previously. He said he wouldn’t play this season unless he was sure he felt good.
And Tuesday, Crosby looked great.
The Penguins looked solid in Crosby’s absence, but he obviously adds another depth to the lineup. Having the best hockey player in the NHL right now on the ice certainly never hurts. He’s coming off maybe the best period of hockey in his career — an absolutely nuts eight months that ended with him hoisting both the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy — so fans should be over-the-moon that he’s back.
What keeps happening in the first 30 minutes?
This season, Pittsburgh has been slow out of the gate. The team has seemingly made a (bad) habit of going down early and rallying late, which was again the case Tuesday.
After the first period, the Penguins had mustered just four shots (but managed three penalties) compared to the Panthers’ eight shots. And almost mid-way through the second period, Pittsburgh put itself into an even deeper hole when Florida went up 2-0.
But after Crosby’s goal, something clicked, and the Penguins started looking like the defending Stanley Cup champions. Pittsburgh stopped taking stupid penalties — after the three in the first period, the team had just one in the rest of the game (tripping on Evgeni Malkin) — and started attacking more.
In the second period, Pittsburgh’s push on the gas pedal meant the team outshot Florida (11-4), and that renewed high-intensity play would seal the game in the Penguins’ favor.
It almost seems like Pittsburgh likes making it a little bit harder on itself.
Penguins’ power play units need to do better
The Penguins’ sloppy play in the first period meant Florida got several chances to make Pittsburgh pay. And the Panthers did exactly that when they scored 20 seconds into a first-period power play (high-sticking on Dumoulin)
This season, both their power play percentage (11th in the NHL) and their penalty-kill percentage (17th in the NHL) have been mediocre. In fact, in Tuesday’s game, there was a time when Pittsburgh had the man-advantage — but it looked like Florida did.
Crosby’s return should help out the power play unit, which, last season, was fifth in the league in penalty-killing percentage, so his return could be a much-needed boost.
What’s Marc-Andre Fleury’s future in Pittsburgh?
Fleury has been off to a great start for the season, but his future with the team is still up in the air. Matt Murray, who had a stellar postseason for the Penguins, injured himself in the World Cup of Hockey and was out for a bit, making Pittsburgh’s choice of goaltender to start the season a very easy one.
But Tuesday night, Murray was listed as Fleury’s backup, and he could make his first start in goal this season as early as Thursday in the Penguins’ game against the New York Islanders. The 22-year-old Murray also recently signed a contract extension with Pittsburgh, leaving many to wonder what’s next for Fleury.
Image credit: Fred Vuich/AP Photo
