Entering Saturday, Sidney Crosby had recorded a point in 11 of his last 12 games. He and the Penguins' top players have been dragging the rest of the team along for some time now.
Still, it's tough to ask Crosby, 35, to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders every single time the Penguins hit the ice.
Crosby has afforded himself a screwup here and there. It is hockey, after all. But the Penguins have relied on the stars so much that any and all of their screwups are magnified. If the stars aren't the ones taking care of business -- across the board -- the job just doesn't get done.
The captain didn't have a poor game despite not having a point to show for it, but that's just what happened in the Penguins' 5-2 loss to the Devils here at PPG Paints Arena Saturday.
Halfway through the game, the Penguins had a crucial power-play opportunity to even the score. Instead, an ill-advised pass from Crosby ultimately sprung the Devils the other way for a 2-on-1. It ended up in the back of the net and sucked the life out of the building:
Typically it's Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang taking flack for their risky maneuvers on the power play, but they were the ones put in a rough spot on Nico Hischier's shorty.
The play Crosby made from the corner -- that sweeping pass back up to the point -- is something we see from him quite regularly. But when he does it, he almost always makes sure to shoulder check and survey the ice before the puck gets to him.
This time around he didn't, and it came back to bite.
I'm sure many had an initial reaction of displeasure toward Letang for failing to hold the blue line, but what was he supposed to do there? The pass handcuffed him and gave him zero room to make anything happen with Hischier flying in. His only chance at not getting burned was to sling the puck right back where it came from. He tried, there just wasn't anywhere to go with the puck.
You could argue Malkin should've stayed with Hischier in transition defense after the puck was sent cross-ice to Yegor Sharangovich, but really, that's a pretty strong effort to try and stymie an odd-man rush.
What was supposed to be a routine play turned into a back-breaking goal against.
The point of this isn't to call out Crosby whatsoever, but merely to show that the stars are skating on a glass rink. It'd be nice if the team's depth gave them the chance to make mistakes without every single one of them proving costly.
