zaxx 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Not sure how much faith to put in this (really just a rumor) but Jason Kay of the Hockey News is speculating that something was ailing Crosby near the end of game 6. He played vary few mins (after the 1st period) and was with his dad and agent away from the team sitting down following the game. I hope he is not injured, I want our boys to win against a healthy Penguins team, not against a broken team. Then again we have had a few guys missing for some of these games so the Pens do not get to beat us with our regular players. The question that niggles and nags me as we approach what we all hope is an epic Game 7 is: What’s up with Sidney Crosby? I’m not talking about the anaemic production – one goal and three points through six games. He has played well through much of the series and hasn’t had much puck luck. But in Game 6, ‘The Kid’ was most noticeable by his absence on the ice. The game sheet showed he had his lowest ice-time total of the series (not to mention just one shot on goal). Here’s the time-on-ice breakdown: Game 1: 22:35 Game 2: 19:36 Game 3: 22:19 Game 4: 19:34 Game 5: 18:33 Game 6: 17:54 In Games 1-5 he ranked either first or second, behind Evgeni Malkin, among Pens forwards in minutes. Drill down deeper in the Game 6 stats page and you find not only did he slip to fourth, behind Malkin, Maxime Talbot and Jordan Staal, but he was fifth in even strength minutes among his team’s forwards. Malkin, Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko and Talbot all saw more action 5-on-5. And this after Crosby played more than any of them in the first period – nearly eight minutes, meaning he logged about 10 the rest of the way. Granted, Crosby did get 10 shifts in the final period (none longer than 49 seconds and several far shorter) and he was there taking critical faceoffs in the final moments, but his lack of truly “being there†– at least to the level at which we expect him to be – raised our curiosity. It was further piqued at the conclusion of Game 6 when, about an hour after the contest ended, Crosby was sitting on a chair outside the club’s dressing room, far away from attention, huddled with his dad, Troy, and agent, Pat Brisson. Why the chairs for the little gathering, someone asked, when everyone else was standing and milling about? Is he overly fatigued from the intense attention night after night? Maybe injured? Are we looking way too deeply into this? We’ll find out late Friday night or early Saturday morning, when the teams reveal, in detail, what kind of pain and suffering players fought through. Or we could find out earlier in the evening, if Crosby puts any speculation to rest by playing a ton of minutes and making the type of impact he did through the first three rounds of this year’s post-season. Jason Kay is the editor in chief of The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears every Friday. Has anyone else heard anything? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theophany 110 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) I think Bylsma was just giving Staal's 3rd line more time on the ice; that line has been on fire in the last 3 games. Edit: By last 3, I actually mean "excluding game 5, when the Wings rolled over the Pens". Edited June 11, 2009 by Theophany Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z Winged Dangler 2,082 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 here's crosby's excuse. his diaper is full and he cant skate with all that s*** in his pants. z is checking him tightly and he doesn't like it. you see that smug look on his face in game 5??...all of game 5! babypants needs to go out and play hockey. if he's the "best player in the game today" he should go out there and show hank who's boss... :rotflmao: like that'll happen. he bails off the ice when z comes on. the best player in the world plays agaings the best players in the world and comes out on top. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 It wouldn't surprise me if he was injured, lots of guys are this time of year. Anyone who says they were resting him for Game #7 is a moron. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PROBIE4PREZ 58 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 The Staal line has been cycling good .. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flip 5 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Well, if you think of Crosby's line as Kunitz - Crosby - Guerin and Staal's as Cooke - Staal - Kennedy, the latter has out-scored the former in the series and played better defensively. Maybe Crosby tweaked something diving. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Probably a sore tear gland. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
P. Marlowe 748 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Probably a sore tear gland. His most productive organ? That's tough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Third Man In 2,091 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 I think you're all missing the point here. Crosby's not the kid he once was. He'll be 22 before the end of the summer. He's probably just slowing down after his long career and all the dues he's had to pay to get to where he is today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 I do wonder about these kids that have so much success early on. The LeBrons and Kobes and Crosbys of the world. Do they really more success than the typical superstar or do they have the same amount but just peak at a younger age and then retire at a younger age? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Third Man In 2,091 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 I do wonder about these kids that have so much success early on. The LeBrons and Kobes and Crosbys of the world. Do they really more success than the typical superstar or do they have the same amount but just peak at a younger age and then retire at a younger age? LA papers are saying Kobe is running out of time. He's all of 30. Yeah, I think it's gotta take its toll. Starting young doesn't mean you get 24 years in the NHL as opposed to 18. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OsGOD 3 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 I still wouldnt just let him be out there.... Zeta or someone needs to be like white on rice in case he is just sandbagging to throw the wings off guard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jersey Wing 1,521 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Actually they did make mention of his lack of ice time on NBC too, saying he had only played 11 minutes through two periods and that just wasn't enough. It sounds like he is nursing some kind of injury suffered in game 5 or 6 and that really benefits the Wings if there is carryover to it after two days off. With the last change don't think Babcock won't notice a slowed or hobbled Crosby and adjust the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Cleary line to Staal or Malkin. I mean you could still get a top notch defensive performance from Draper or Helm on Crosby if Babcock wanted to move his first line around to check what he perceives as the next biggest Pens threat line. This thread made my day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 What did you expect??? name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /> Gotta be a broken foot.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reggiedunlop 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 (edited) here's crosby's excuse. his diaper is full and he cant skate with all that s*** in his pants. z is checking him tightly and he doesn't like it. you see that smug look on his face in game 5??...all of game 5! babypants needs to go out and play hockey. if he's the "best player in the game today" he should go out there and show hank who's boss... :rotflmao: like that'll happen. he bails off the ice when z comes on. the best player in the world plays agaings the best players in the world and comes out on top. interesting Edited June 11, 2009 by reggiedunlop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vladifan 680 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 The kid has taken a pounding. Honestly, I pray that it's catching up with him, just like it is with some of our boyz. And if this makes me sound like a poor sportette, tough poopies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NKYWingsFan 4 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Tender ***. I'm so classy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 Is he overly fatigued from the intense attention night after night? Maybe injured? All the more reason to chant, "Crosby Sucks!" Friday night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 You can't get tired when you coast. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
motorcitykid 42 Report post Posted June 11, 2009 I know Sissy Crosby is suffering from a SEVERE case of Zetterbergitis. And what's this, the media who rides his nuts all season setting up his post-game excuses already?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C-TownWing 0 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 I hope he is not injured, I want our boys to win against a healthy Penguins team, not against a broken team. I want our boys to win, period. It's not like they engrave "Crosby was playing hurt" next to the names on the Cup. If it gives us a competitive advantage, I'm all for it. Basically, yeah, I hope he is hurt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C-TownWing 0 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 I do wonder about these kids that have so much success early on. The LeBrons and Kobes and Crosbys of the world. Do they really more success than the typical superstar or do they have the same amount but just peak at a younger age and then retire at a younger age? I'd say they're peaking earlier, because player development is exponentially better in all sports. Players don't need 5 years in the pros to get up to speed anymore. Although we don't know if they'll retire earlier, which is the other end of that statement. Actually, I bet they play longer, since that's the general trend and training is also much more advanced, etc. The only thing that bothers me is when people say "Crosby's this good now, imagine what he'll be like in 5 years." I disagree, I think he (and the rest) are at their peak now. He'll probably have a LONGER peak that we're used to seeing, but not a HIGHER one than where he is now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.Low 1,011 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 It would be interesting to go thru the room and find out who is 100%. Who feals great. I'd say nobody OK, then who is 95% Or 90? I know that I've played when I could barely get thru the pre game skate, but really came alive during the game. So how bad are these guys hurting at this point? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Yeah, he could be a bit tired. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theophany 110 Report post Posted June 12, 2009 Yeah, he could be a bit tired. It's hard to be tired when you forecheck once or twice a game, and coast to backcheck. Oh man, that 3 seconds of skating in the offensive zone sure takes it out of a guy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
