Crosby doubles down by burying another opponent with two more goals

It feels silly to call a point-per-game pace a slump, but by Sidney Crosby's superlative standard, it was. He had 10 points through 10 games, but the lone goal was the overtime winner Oct. 16 against the Sabres. And in those other nine games, the Penguins went 2-7-1.

He's so often one of the main reasons for the team's success that when he's not quite himself, it bleeds beyond the scoresheet.

And yet, it's never quite time to worry when it comes to Crosby, as evidenced by his showing Saturday night in the Penguins' 3-1 win over the Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena, and that it came 48 hours after snapping his slump in the previous game, the 2-1 win over the Ducks here Thursday, when he scored his second goal of that game in overtime.

In this one, he scored the only goal of an otherwise tight first period:

A classic Crosby goal. Vintage.

He entered the Montreal end and circled around the right faceoff circle as Rickard Rakell picked up the puck along the far boards off a Mike Matheson turnover. Rakell found Crosby with a cross-ice pass, and Crosby dropped to one knee and fired a snap shot top-corner.

Late in the next period, with six seconds left on a power play, Crosby won a faceoff back to Erik Karlsson, who quickly fed the puck back to Kris Letang. Letang held onto the puck until Crosby got into the slot:

"It was a nothing play until he steps in that slot," Letang said. "So I can just give him the puck quickly."

The Canadiens got a goal back in the third when Christian Dvorak buried his own rebound from the slot, and then the Penguins sealed the win in the final minute with a hard-fought empty-net goal from Blake Lizotte. 

For Crosby, it marked only the seventh time in his NHL career for back-to-back multiple-goal games, only the third time he scored four of the team's goals in a row, counting both against Anaheim. And until Lizotte's empty-netter, he had either scored or set up all seven of the team's goals in the three-game homestand.

"He's always kind of carried the the load offensively for our team," Letang said of Crosby. "He creates so much. I would say he's put emphasis on shooting a lot more. You know, even his first goal, I think everybody in the building thought he was trying to get the puck to Geno. So I think maybe it's the focus on shooting more pucks, and after that, you can create a little bit more. That's been the key."

That tracks. Looking at Crosby's game-by-game breakdown, the one in which he attempted the most shots was last game against the Ducks, when he attempted nine. His seven attempts against the Canadiens tied for the second-most in a game this season. He had five games this season in which he had fewer than five attempts, including a season-low one in the loss last week in Edmonton, Alberta.

Even if those attempts don't hit the net -- say they're blocked or miss the net -- it's creating more movement for his line, and creating rebound opportunities for himself or his teammates. But when he's at that circle dropping to one knee, or left alone in the slot on a power play, he's dangerous when he's firing the puck. Enough so to carry the Penguins to a win on his back.

That's exactly what Crosby said had been his focus as of late, too: "Just trying to be in the right spots."

"Sometimes when you press, you end up guessing or hesitating and forcing things and it ends up snowballing a bit," Crosby added. "I think it's just getting back to being good positionally, just fundamental stuff, and then trusting that chances will come. Playing with Raks and Geno, we're generating some looks. We have the puck. I think that builds some confidence too. They've been unbelievable."

The success of that Malkin-Crosby-Rakell combination can't be overlooked, either. Crosby has played roughly 49 minutes at five-on-five with all three this season. He's played 36 minutes with Rakell but without Malkin. And he's played 107 minutes with neither of them out there with him. The difference in results is significant. Things were meh without either one on Crosby's wing. Things got better when Rakell got bumped up. Things got great when Malkin got moved to that line's wing.

Shot attempts:
Crosby without Malkin or Rakell: 119-140 (45.95%)
Crosby with Rakell, no Malkin: 43-35 (55.13%)
Malkin-Crosby-Rakell: 79-47 (62.70%)

Shots on goal:
Crosby without Malkin or Rakell: 61-76 (44.53%)
Crosby with Rakell, no Malkin: 19-22 (46.34%)
Malkin-Crosby-Rakell: 38-21 (64.41%)

Goals:
Crosby without Malkin or Rakell: 2-8
Crosby with Rakell, no Malkin: 2-2
Malkin-Crosby-Rakell: 5-0

The trio is working. That top line is loaded. It's resulted in more goals for and zero against. It undoubtedly played a big part in helping Crosby snap out of his little goal drought. But those who know Crosby best weren't ever worried about his slower start to the season on the scoresheet. Of course he was bound to break out of it.

"He plays against top lines, plays in all situations, so he carries the momentum of our team most of the time," Letang said of Crosby's start to the season. "So, it's not because he's not scoring goals that he's not doing his thing. He creates so much for everybody else. When you have a Crosby on the ice, and everybody kind of focuses on him, it opens so many other guys. So, I'm glad he's shooting the puck, because he has a great shot. He can find the back of the net. But I just think it was just a question of time."

The Penguins are now 3-0 this season in games in which Crosby finds the back of the net. Yeah, it's a little much to expect multiple-goal games every night. Depth scoring -- something the Penguins had more of earlier in the season, but has evaded them more recently -- will definitely be needed. But having Crosby back atop his game can go a long way.