TORONTO -- Whether Mike Sullivan ever seriously contemplated breaking up his top power play unit might never be known. That became a moot point the moment Evgeni Malkin left the lineup with an upper body injury.
What is known is that, regardless of who has been on the No. 1 unit, it had been ineffective of late.
The NHL's seventh-ranked power play entered Saturday night's game against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on an 0-for-12 dry spell. The Penguins' last 5-on-4 power play goal had come in the desert, Jan. 18 against the Coyotes when Juuso Riikola, of all people, scored. Pittsburgh's No. 1 unit hadn't scored since Jan. 12 against the Kings when Jake Guentzel scored while filling in for an injured Patric Hornqvist.
On Saturday, the Penguins got just one opportunity with a man advantage when Connor Brown was called for high-sticking and Sidney Crosby made the most of it.
After earning one of only five faceoff wins, this one against John Tavares, Crosby opened the scoring at 10:01 of the first period when he teed up this one-timer from Kris Letang at the right circle that beat Garret Sparks high to the glove side:
The shot is remarkable on three fronts.
One, is the velocity. Even though Sparks sees it as Jake Muzzin goes for the block, he couldn't get his glove up in time.
Two, is the distance. At 34 feet, that's long-range by Crosby's standards.
Three, is Crosby's positioning on the ice. Though Kessel has played the right half wall a little bit when Sullivan has had the top unit flip sides to give a different wrinkle, that's normally been Malkin's wheelhouse. But Crosby's one-timer on Saturday was almost Ovechkin-esque, albeit on the right side. No idea how he was able to roof a puck with that flat stick blade of his.
Afterward, Crosby downplayed the significance of scoring in Malkin's position.
"Ideally, you get comfortable in every spot and you are interchangeable," he said. "Phil, Geno and Tanger end up in those spots more than other guys because that's their strength. But, ultimately, you try to play every spot and try and get comfortable there. Horny's comfortable in front of the net and doesn't venture too far from there. It's up to Guentz and I to fill in those areas."
Though he did struggle mightily in the face-off circle against Tavares and the Maple Leafs, perhaps the best argument for Crosby's Selke candidacy has been his work at even strength this season. Crosby's goal on Saturday was his 23rd of the season but just his seventh on the power play.
By playing down low on the power play this season, it has likely cost him a few cheap secondary assists and any real chance at winning the Art Ross this season. Of Crosby's 61 points, just 15 have come with the man-advantage.
Consider this: The NHL's top-five leading point scorers -- Nikita Kucherov, Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid, Mikko Rantanen and Johnny Gaudreau -- rank second, seventh, 10th, fourth and 14th, respectively, in power play points.
Crosby? The NHL's 11th-leading points producer ranks 51st in power play points. So despite Saturday's hiccup in the circle in Toronto, a pretty compelling argument for Crosby and the Selke can still be made.
