TORONTO -- Much has been written about Sidney Crosby's offensive production this season. At 36, he is a point shy of the Penguins' lead in scoring with 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) in 28 games, second to only Jake Guentzel's 32 points. That has him on pace for 50 goals in an 82-game season, an output that would be second to only his 51 in 2009-10 when he was 22 years old.
A part of Crosby's game that hasn't been getting the attention it deserves has been his dominance in faceoffs. His success rate of 59.61% would be a career-best by a significant margin. His previous career-best was 55.92%, set in the 2009-10 season.
Crosby's been strong in draws throughout his career. In his previous 18 seasons, he's only finished below 50% four times -- his first two NHL seasons in 2005-06 (45.5%) and 2006-07 (49.8%), and then in 2014-15 (49.9%) and 2016-17 (48.2%). But this season he's seemingly reached a new level.
I sat down with Crosby after a practice this week and asked if there's anything he can attribute that leap to.
"Maybe my wingers," Crosby said, cracking a smile. "Those are the 50-50 pucks, they make a big difference. Just them helping out sometimes, I've lost draws that we end up getting possession of and they get it back. I'd say a big part of that's probably that. Then a difference of one or two here or there. I don't think I've changed, I've always taken them seriously. The ones that end up being the difference are the ones that the guys help out on."
Crosby said he didn't do anything different in his offseason work or focus on draws any extra.
Breaking down Crosby's faceoffs situationally, he's stepped up in key moments too. While the Penguins' power play has notoriously struggled, it hasn't been from a lack of faceoff wins. Crosby's power play faceoff success rate of 65.42% is also the best of his career, beating his previous best of 62.46% in 2018-19.
As a result of the dominance in draws this season, Crosby's been put back on faceoffs in overtime.
The Penguins struggled in overtime in the first half of the 2022-23 season. Through Jan. 22, they had a 2-8 record in overtimes. At the time, Crosby was 2-8 in three-on-three faceoffs, while Jeff Carter was a perfect 3-for-3. After that game, the Penguins started keeping Crosby on the bench to open overtimes. Carter would start at center, take the faceoff, then make a beeline to the bench and change for Crosby. It's not the ideal way to start the extra frame -- there were times when Carter would lose a draw, then get stuck out there. Crosby only took a single three-on-three faceoff from that point until the end of the season.
In the Penguins' first overtime game this season in Los Angeles on Nov. 9, they started Noel Acciari at center, then he went straight to the bench and Crosby came on. But in the four overtime games since then, Crosby's started the extra frame. He's gone 3-4 for a 42.86% success rate.
Crosby said that breaking down a faceoff technically, three-on-three draws can be different.
"It just depends on what hand the guy shoots and where the ref is in relation to that," he explained. "Depending on where the benches are and where you start off, it depends on the side that's easier. Most guys are stronger going into their back hand, so it just depends on the hand of the other centerman and where the ref is."
Crosby isn't back on overtime draws this season because it's anything he asked for, he's back to taking them because he's just been better than he was last season. Whether Crosby keeps taking those faceoffs to open overtime or the Penguins go back to having a different center open the extra frame, it couldn't matter less to Crosby.
"No, no," he said when I asked if he had any kind of reaction to being taken off overtime faceoffs last season. "I mean, you want to get possession. Let's say this year it's Carts, or Cookie (Acciari), or Geno, if somebody's having a good night in a circle, the main thing is that we get possession, give ourselves the best chance to get possession. If they're feeling in the circle or they're doing good against somebody or the way they shoot gives us the advantage? Then whoever needs to get it done."
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