Kovacevic: Sid's wearing his Hart on his sleeve, but where's the help? taken at PPG Paints Arena (DK's Grind)

JEANINE LEECH / GETTY

Sidney Crosby snaps a shot past the Canucks' Thatcher Demko in the third period Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.

DK's Grind

Kovacevic: Sid's wearing his Hart on his sleeve, but where's the help?

By Dejan Kovacevic

Jan 12, 2024 • 5:00 am

5.8K
124

"It's hard to fall behind a team like that. But we did a good job of staying with it."

It's rare that I'll take issue with Sidney Crosby, and it won't amount to much here, either. The Penguins did make it hard on themselves falling behind the firewagon Canucks twice by two goals on this Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. And there was, in fact, a good job done of staying with it, one that'd salvage a precious point through a 4-3 overtime loss. So he's correct on both counts.

But man, I sure wouldn't have used that "we." Or characterized it in the plural in any context.

Not when this sensational second-period surge up ice offered the first real sign of a pivot:

Not when Sid would stay at the epicenter of pretty much everything, including getting senselessly clubbed from behind by J.T. Miller to draw a third-period power play:

Not when he'd get stoned on Thatcher Demko's doorstep, then dragged down behind the net to draw the next power play, as well:

Not when he'd be the one to tie it up with 28.2 ticks left in regulation, lighting up the 18,190 on hand by being Erik Karlsson's only available Patric Hornqvist-type target in the line of fire:

And this after cleaning Elias Pettersson in the circle. Because, really, all that's left is for Sid to start registering assists on his own goals.

Did I mention that he led the team with five hits, on top of all that?

That's not a "we," my friends. That's a he.

Here's what I know, with one game remaining to the Penguins' midpoint for the 2023-24 NHL season and the team still floating on the Eastern Conference's playoff periphery at 20-15-5: This ain't great.

With all due respect to Jake Guentzel, Sid's linemate who's got two additional points, it's unacceptable for one player, even a living legend, to be carrying this much of the load. Particularly when, as was the case here again, the primary issue for his maddening collective remains something as routinely attainable as simple consistency.

See, a game like this isn't lost when Pettersson converts a breakaway in the always chaotic three-on-three overtime:

Nope, it's lost when a fourth-liner like Noel Acciari overskates Pettersson on a track-back in the first period, allowing Pettersson the time and space to survey the scene, take a bite of a sandwich and make his next move:

Loving that wide turn, huh? Like he's at a European traffic circle.

But just as Acciari couldn't be bothered to make a hard stop, neither could Jeff Carter be bothered to keep an eye on Brock Boeser bee-lining in behind him.

Repeating: That's the fourth line. As in, the one that ranks behind the other three. As in, when they're on the rink and the other team's got the league's very hottest line -- Pettersson, Miller and Boeser -- zipping around, there's only one job that needs to be done. And any team that's got any designs on contending can't have that. It's uncompetitive.

Vancouver's second goal saw the Penguins' penalty-kill concede a goal for the fourth time in seven games, this one also lowlighted by Acciari allowing the box to collapse by getting mesmerized between Quinn Hughes and Pettersson, prompting Bryan Rust to slide across to compensate:

And the Canucks' third goal saw P.O Joseph either unwilling or unable to budge Pettersson, who wouldn't weigh his listed 176 pounds if he'd leaped onto the scale with luggage in both hands:

None of these problems are new. Not the power play going 0 for 4 to fall to a 14.3% rate for the season, 26th in the NHL despite an entire wing of future Hall of Famers at the disposal. Not the PK's monthlong fade into an 80.8% rate. Not the lack of support scoring, given the bottom six contributing a grand total of 17 goals at five-on-five all season. Not the unceasing struggle to find a reliable left-handed defenseman not named Marcus Pettersson. Not the egregious defensive lapses, which would've taken center stage in this one if Tristan Jarry hadn't excelled in relief of Alex Nedeljkovic. Not the lack of team toughness when the stars get shoved around.

Look, I'm not blind to recent results, I swear. I'm aware of the 9-3-2 record since Dec. 12 and, what's more, I'll applaud it. This season looked close to unsalvageable in mid-December, it's now at least this:

NHL


Under the circumstance, that's an OK outlook. For one of the two wild-card berths. Presuming that just poking back into the playoffs is now the bar.

But to be blunt here, when the captain's performing at an historic level for an NHL player at age 36, when I haven't scratched the surface of what he's achieving, I'm not inclined to think that OK is ... well, OK. Because it isn't.

Sid's not doing all this to show off what he can do for an old guy. He's not doing this to drive the growing talk of his candidacy for the Hart Trophy as the player -- repeat after me -- "adjudged to be most valuable to his team," deserving as he is of such consideration. And be very sure he's not doing this to run up the score on any personal milestones, seeing as how casually, though respectfully, he's passing the illustrious likes of Mike Bossy, as he did in this one for 22nd on the NHL's all-time goals list with his 573rd and 574th.

He wants to win again.

He's driven to win again. And driven in a way, on and off the ice, I'm not sure I've seen before. Which is saying something considering I've witnessed him carrying the Stanley Cup around the lower levels of the arenas in San Jose and Nashville as if he'd been reconnected with a long-lost loved one.

He wants this for a fourth time, maybe a final time:


And no, he's not going to be the one to pipe up about the glaring shortcomings at hand, painfully visible as they already are. 

He's going to count on Kyle Dubas to do the right thing. In my eyes, that means finding help, cap be damned. Maybe that'll be a competent left-handed defenseman from the outside, or maybe it'll be John Ludvig staying healthy for a measurable span. Maybe that'll be a scorer who'll actually score, unlike Reilly Smith before his injury in this game. Maybe that'll involve moving a goaltender, since his stable's now four deep with the rapid maturation of Joel Blomqvist into a 22-year-old AHL All-Star.

He's going to count on Mike Sullivan to do the right thing. In my eyes, that principally means staying open-minded about giving youngsters a chance. It took about five minutes for Valtteri Puustinen to get tossed out of the top six, then off the top power play, then off the second unit. Maybe that'll become a more productive player if he isn't looking over his shoulder after after every shift. Maybe, now with Smith hurt, Sam Poulin will get that chance as a grinding/scoring left winger. Maybe their mistakes will get glossed over the way Acciari's do.

Above all, though, Sid's got to count on the rest of the room.

It's insane to me that anyone can share a stall in that space with this extraordinary individual, witness up-close what he's doing, and not embrace it to the extreme. Some are, for sure, and I don't mean to color them all in the same shade. But some aren't. Some are passengers. And that process, the discerning the difference, the replacing of those who aren't ... that's got to come sooner rather than later. Really does.

Want to hear something stomach-turning?

Sullivan was asked why he replaced Nedeljkovic with Jarry when he did, and he replied, "We were trying to create a spark because we didn't think our team had the energy that we needed, or the juice, whatever you want to call it. I didn’t think we played with the energy we needed to in the first period."

Or, as one veteran put it for me, "We stood around and watched them."

Their words, not mine. But they're right.

Why? Is it because the roster's a misfire in this regard? Meaning that there are too many players for whom a defense-first, which is precisely what's needed, doesn't come naturally? Or worse, can it be condensed down to effort or "energy?" If so, how could that conceivably occur in this specific setting? Who's getting away with it? Who'd feel disrespecting this captain like that? And what can be done to prevent this from happening again and again and again?

This was Sid's output in this game:

• Goals: 2
• Shots: 5
• Attempted shots: 7
• Faceoffs W/L: 18-13
• Ice time: 25:30

This has been Sid's output for the season, with NHL ranks in parentheses:

• Goals: 24 (8th)
• Assists: 19 (80th)
• Points: 43 (24th)
• Plus-minus: +15 (23rd)
• Faceoff percentage: 60.0% (3rd)

As for what that's meant to the operation as a whole, Sid's either scored or set up 34.7% of the Penguins' goals. He's been on the ice for 52.4% of those goals. And get this: When he's on the ice, his team generates 63.9% of all shot attempts.

He's a once-in-a-lifetime player. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Either "we" go all-in, or "we" should get the hell out.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule

THE HIGHLIGHTS


THE THREE STARS

As selected at PPG Paints Arena:

1. Elias Pettersson, Canucks LW
2. Brock Boeser, Canucks RW
3. Sidney Crosby, Penguins C

THE IN-GAME INJURIES

• Penguins: Reilly Smith sustained an upper-body injury in the first period, apparently to his arm/wrist, and returned for only one shift before being deemed out in the ensuing intermission. Sullivan had no additional detail afterward.

• Canucks: None

THE LINEUPS

Sullivan’s lines and pairings:

Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith-Lars Eller-Valtteri Puustinen
Jansen Harkins-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter

Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang
P.O Joseph-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Chad Ruhwedel

And for Rick Tocchet's Canucks:

Elias Pettersson-J.T. Miller-Brock Boeser
Ilya Mikheyev-Pius Suter-Andrei Kuzmenko
Dakota Joshua-Teddy Blueger-Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander-Nils Aman-Sam Lafferty

Quinn Hughes-Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov-Ian Cole
Carson Soucy-Tyler Myers

THE SCHEDULE

The team practices Friday, 12 p.m., at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, then flies to Raleigh, N.C., for a game the next night against the Hurricanes. Faceoff at PNC Arena will be 7:08 p.m. Taylor Haase will fly there.

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE FEED

Bookmark our Penguins Feed for much more on this game and all the latest on the team around the clock.

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
124
Show comments for this article

© 2024 DK Pittsburgh Sports | Steelers, Penguins, Pirates news, analysis, live coverage