Sidney Crosby not only has helped the Penguins into the playoffs, but went into the final weekend of the season all but assured of his first scoring title.
By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Things seemed pretty good for Sidney Crosby last year around this time.
The Penguins' center was finishing up his rookie season in the NHL and looking ahead to playing in the world championships.
He had a strong stretch run, with 37 points in the 23 games between the Olympic break and the end of the season to finish with 102 points. That made him the youngest player in league history to reach 100 points, and he broke Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's franchise record for points by a rookie.
A lot has changed this year.
"It's a lot different," Crosby said late last week as the Penguins were closing in on the end of the regular season.
Yeah, in the same way that playing the lottery and winning the lottery are different.
Crosby, who will be feted Sunday as the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year, was set to wrap up the NHL scoring title. He had 118 points -- 36 goals, 82 assists -- with one game left. He is a strong candidate to win the NHL's Hart Trophy as league MVP.
And one other change.
Crosby has led the Penguins on a tremendous resurgence.
After finishing second-to-last in the NHL with 58 points last season, the team had improved by 45 points to reach 103 going into its final game last night against the New York Rangers.
That's one of the top four turnarounds in league history, and it got the Penguins into the playoffs for the first time since 2001. They open postseason play this week.
"It's an exciting time, but at the same time you start to get a sense of what lies ahead and try to prepare yourself for that," Crosby said.
Going to the rink every day is a lot more fun this year than it was at the end of last season.
"Definitely," Crosby said. "Last year, you'd be planning on when you're leaving and things like that. There's none of that going through your mind right now. You're getting excited about starting the playoffs and preparing yourself.
"It's a way better feeling."
There's no telling how far the young Penguins might go in the playoffs, but there's every reason to believe Crosby and his team will be factors in the postseason for years to come.
That's because, for all he has done, Crosby is just 19.
He became the youngest to hold the league scoring lead with a six-point night Dec. 13 in an 8-4 win against Philadelphia, and he never let go of that lead.
The only other teenager who has been atop the scoring race was the legendary Wayne Gretzky, whose run when he was 19 was brief at the end of the 1979-80 season and early in the 1980-81 season.
For Crosby, being the top scorer in the NHL is secondary to the success of the team, even though those things are closely intertwined.
"It's a good accomplishment. I'm happy," he said. "It's not the be-all and end-all of everything, but it's a nice bonus. It's nice to be able to contribute."
He swears that while he was growing up -- his talent was drawing keen interest by the time he was 13 or 14 -- he didn't picture himself outscoring the rest of the league.
"I never would have imagined that," Crosby said. "I just wanted to get here."
He has. In a big way.
Crosby is also the youngest recipient of the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award. There's a good chance he'll be collecting more of those to go along with his NHL honors.
(Shelly Anderson can be reached at shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721.)
No comments:
Post a Comment