Penguins’ Sidney Crosby Is Still Brilliant in Season 18

Nearing the halfway mark of the third period in their home game against the New York Rangers on March 12, the Pittsburgh Penguins were holding onto a 2-1 lead. Though already in the playoffs, they were looking to gain some ground on the Rangers, who were ahead of them by seven points in the standings. Sidney Crosby had already picked up one assist, and he and the rest of the team were playing a solid defensive game.

Then a questionable play – Rangers center Vincent Trocheck knocked down Evgeni Malkin, which started a rush that resulted in a goal by Chris Kreider, tying the game 2-2. But they’d been through this before. With the game in overtime, the Penguins sent out Crosby with Jake Guentzel, Malkin, and Kris Letang. Looking poised and in control, they set up in the Rangers’ zone, and with some quick passing from Crosby and Malkin and a blast from Letang, they won the game 3-2.

Today marked the 11th time in the regular season Letang scored a goal with assists to Sid and Geno. 59th time all 3 have factored in on the same regular season goal.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) March 12, 2023

Yes, it is something we’ve seen before, and that kind of patience generally comes with age. Yet with Crosby’s production this season, it’s easy to forget that we are not watching Sid the Kid anymore, but rather a savvy, battle-tested veteran of 18 seasons. So with about a month to go in the regular season and the playoffs, which the Penguins look to be preparing for, looming, it’s worth taking a look at where Crosby is compared to others at the same stage in their careers.

What Might Have Been

There was a time when it looked like Crosby might end up as another great “What If?” player, a generational talent whose accomplishments were muted and his career cut short due to health reasons. With his concussion history early in his career there still is a touch of that. After all, he played only 99 out of 212 regular season games from 2010-13. In that time he amassed a staggering 159 points, led the Penguins in scoring while playing only 41 games in a full season one year, and ranked third in the league despite missing 12 games of a lockout-shortened season in another. Had he maintained his pace without missing any of those games, he would have finished with 345 points and would be closing in on 1,700 for his career now.

That was back after his eighth season, and he had…