Crosby could make NHL history

"I'm going to finish off as strong as I can. If it happens, it happens."
Monday, April 10, 2006

By Dave Molinari
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

TAMPA -- The Penguins had a long-scheduled day off yesterday, so Sidney Crosby didn't have to skip a game. Or even a practice, for that matter.

He didn't have to do much, really, other than relax, soak up a little Gulf Coast sunshine and get treatments on the unspecified "lower-body injury" he received in the opening period of the Penguins' 1-0 loss to Tampa Saturday night.

Crosby left that game late in the first period and did not return until the third -- who the St. Pete Times Forum statisticians were watching when they decided he skated two shifts during the second is a mystery -- and his status for the Penguins' game in Philadelphia at 7:08 p.m. tomorrow remains uncertain.

Crosby, who said he is treating his condition with ice and anti-inflammatory medication, was warned that his injury would be more painful yesterday than it was Saturday, but he was not available yesterday to elaborate on how he was feeling.

The first indication of how, or whether, he's progressing might come when the Penguins practice in suburban Tampa this morning. It's conceivable, though, that he could be held out of the workout simply as a precaution.

If Crosby's injury forces him to sit out any of the Penguins' final five games -- or even impedes his effectiveness in them -- it could cost him a chance to become the youngest player in NHL history to record 100 points.

He has 91, which means he must average 1.8 points per game to hit triple figures, something only Dale Hawerchuk (103 points in 1981-82) and Mario Lemieux (100 points in 1984-85) have done when entering the league the same year in which they were drafted.

Crosby will be 18 years and 254 days old when the Penguins' season ends April 18 in Toronto; Hawerchuk was about three months older in his rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets.

Crosby doesn't focus much on statistical achievements and, a few hours before the Tampa Bay game, downplayed his motivation to reach 100 points, even as he acknowledged "it would be pretty special" to do so.

"It's something I've never really thought about a whole lot," he said. "I don't want to start thinking about it too much now, but it definitely would be a nice accomplishment. If it comes, it would be great. But I don't think I'm going to base [the assessment of] my season on that."

Based on his comments after Saturday's game, being injured didn't alter his perspective.

"I'm going to finish off as strong as I can," he said. "If it happens, it happens."

The reality is that while Crosby doesn't appear to be overly impressed by the idea of getting 100 points as an 18-year-old, the people who watch -- and work with -- him are. He entered the NHL as perhaps the most-hyped player in league history, and still has managed to exceed all reasonable expectations.

"What this kid has accomplished this year is pretty phenomenal," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "For a rookie like that, to be close [to 100 points] like he is right now is ... looking down the history of the league, there aren't too many guys who have done it. It leaves me speechless to see him that close."

Crosby has scored or assisted on 40.8 percent of the Penguins' goals and leads the team in goals (36) and assists (55). He has more assists than the team's No. 2 scorer, defenseman Sergei Gonchar, has points (52).

Crosby lost a bit of the edge on his game after the Olympic break, but has come on strong in the closing weeks of the season. He has had two or more points in six of the Penguins' past eight games.

"You can pretty much count on him for two points a night, most of the time," said Colby Armstrong, who has settled in on Crosby's right wing.

"That would be great for him if he could get to 100. And I think he's more than capable of doing it, with the way he's playing. When he's playing his game, he's making things happen all the time."

Although Crosby has almost no chance of being the top rookie scorer this season -- he trails Washington's Alexander Ovechkin by seven points -- there is little precedent for a player his age to be so productive.

Ovechkin, for example, was born nearly 23 months before Crosby. Teemu Selanne, who holds the rookie records for goals (76) and points (132), was 22 when he broke in with Winnipeg in 1992. Peter Stastny was 24 when he set the rookie mark of 70 assists with Quebec in 1980-81.
Crosby, conversely, won't turn 19 until Aug. 7, by which time he'll be gearing up for his second pro training camp.

"When I was 18, I was watching this league back in juniors and wishing and hoping," Armstrong said.

"It's pretty amazing to see the talent he has, and what he's done so far."

(Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144. )