Penguins Today: Sidney Crosby is alive and well

If you were watching the Penguins play the Kings on Tuesday, you saw it on your TV screen. If you were in PPG Paints Arena, you saw it, too. You probably felt it. Since it was WWE Night, you definitely heard it.

That’s Sidney Crosby’s music!

Something happened in the third period that we’ve seen so many times before. Crosby, off to an uncharacteristically pedestrian start (for his standards), appeared to have found his game.

“I saw it, too,” teammate Bryan Rust said.

Crosby suddenly looked a step quicker. He barged toward the net with no hesitancy, daring anyone to stop him. At one point in the third, he nearly split the defense in a brazen attempt to reach the goal. Crosby was thwarted, but the attempt — which we saw far more often in his younger days — told you he was feeling it.

“Well, you could see him raise his game in the third period,” said Rust, his most trusted linemate. “And when he starts going like that, you know, all you want to do is follow him.”

The Penguins have been scoring goals lately, but Crosby hasn’t, though he’s been responsible for some of them, including his outrageous pass to Matt Grzelcyk for Tuesday’s tying goal.

INSANE PASS BY SIDNEY CROSBY 🍎 pic.twitter.com/01lihY9gl7

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 18, 2024

Still, the numbers don’t lie.

I posted this on X following the Penguins’ 9-2 win in Montreal:

The Penguins have scored 36 goals in their past eight games. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined to score one of them.

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) December 13, 2024

Two games later, the Penguins have scored five more goals, and still none from Crosby and only one more from Malkin. And yet, they were by far the two best players against the Kings.

Crosby seems particularly annoyed with himself, and, in typical fashion, is trying to work his way out of the rut. He stayed on the ice a long time after practice on Monday. He did it again yesterday. That’s Crosby’s old-fashionedness: When he’s unhappy with his game, he goes to work until it’s fixed.

It was easy to see him come to life against the Kings. Don’t be shocked if it continues. We’ve seen Crosby get hot plenty of times, notably late last season when he nearly willed the Penguins to playoffs in what could’ve resulted in his third Hart Trophy.

Suddenly, the Penguins are alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Crosby appears to be alive and well, too.

Nashville memories

When the Penguins are in Nashville, you can’t help but remember 2017, when they last won the Stanley Cup.

That year, the Penguins planted their flag on this era’s Mount Everest. It’s one thing to win the Cup. It’s another to win two. But when you win three, two of which were back-to-back — which no team had done in 19 years — that’s truly special.

I caught Mike Sullivan in a flashback after a morning skate in Nashville a couple of years ago. The coach was simply looking around outside the visitor’s locker room, seemingly daydreaming for just a moment.

“Lots of memories,” he said with a smile.

My recollection of that night in Nashville is crystal clear. After I conducted interviews on the ice — they don’t let you go in the locker room when a team wins the Cup — I went back toward the press box to write. I noticed someone quietly sitting by himself: Mike Lange. The article could wait.

So, I asked Lange if I could join him for a moment. He smiled and said, “Of course, Mr. Y.”

As we talked for a few minutes, I could see how much it meant to him to have called his fifth championship clincher.

“It never gets old,” he said. “And you never know when it will happen again.”

So true.

Brotherly love

P.O Joseph is back after the Penguins traded for him last night. The defenseman was having dinner with his brother, his now-former Blues teammate Mathieu Joseph, when the news struck.

Mathieu Joseph shares on IG that he’s having a final meal with brother Pierre-Olivier following P-O’s trade to Pittsburgh. They were teammates in St. Louis for three months this season before tonight’s deal. pic.twitter.com/VttGyMT1aI

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 19, 2024

First, we need to know the name of the restaurant because that looks like a seriously excellent meal.

Second, this serves as a reminder that, while professional athletes get to play a game for a game for a living and have more money than most of us could imagine, they are human. In a line of work where you don’t get to spend much time with your family because you’re always away from home, the Joseph brothers played on the same NHL team for a few months. That must have been quite an experience, and I’m sure they were both saddened by the trade call.

Regarding P.O, I will say this: The Penguins weren’t eager to let him go last summer. Kyle Dubas admitted as much in an email to Penguins reporters last night, explaining it this way: “We offered P.O a contract, but it became one of those situations where we had arbitration rights, and by qualifying him it would have put us at the mercy of various cases signed by the comparison group over the summer, so we elected not to qualify him.”

Late last season, during the Penguins’ surge that nearly resulted in a playoff spot, the Penguins beat the Capitals convincingly in Washington. I walked past Dubas after the game and said, “How about your team?”

His response: “How about P.O Joseph?”

The Penguins like Joseph. It’ll be interesting to see how they choose to incorporate him into the lineup.

Don’t miss

The results of our Penguins fan survey are in, and some of your answers were quite interesting, even if the poll’s timing wasn’t ideal. Rob Rossi will cut you a deal, though: If the Penguins go on an extended run, we’ll do another survey and compare the results.

This one includes your thoughts on Kyle Dubas, Fenway Sports Group, Mike Sullivan, Erik Karlsson, Jaromir Jagr and potential new Penguins jerseys. Check out the full results here.

Around the league

• I don’t know about you, but I’ve found this NHL season to be a little dull. That said, what’s going on in New York right now is decidedly not dull.

Yikes.

The Rangers are in a freefall, and the Islanders aren’t much better. Check out the latest from Arthur Staple, who questions whether Lou Lamoriello is still the man to be running the Islanders.

• Something must’ve been in the water last night. In addition to the Penguins’ Joseph trade, the Rangers dealt Kaapo Kakko to the Kraken (seems Seattle got the better end of that one) and the Canadiens acquired Alexandre Carrier from the Predators.

A little last-minute Christmas shopping, I guess.

How to watch, listen, follow

The Penguins (14-14-5, 33 points, fourth in the Metropolitan Division) travel to Nashville to face the Predators (9-17-6, 24 points, eighth in the Central Division) at Bridgestone Arena. The opening faceoff is set for just after 8 p.m. E.T.