Throughout his storied career, Sidney Crosby has left us in awe.
From popping the water bottle off of the net in his first game against his childhood allegiance, the Montreal Canadiens, to back-to-back Conn Smythe trophies as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Final, Crosby has routinely delivered on the unbelievable.
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But my favorite moment could be the one we’re seeing now: 36-year-old Crosby dominating shift-by-shift and trending towards his highest point total since 2018-19.
It’s not just that the Pittsburgh Penguins captain is on pace for over 90 points, it’s how he manages to stay dominant over generations. Data gives us a few hints about where to start looking in the video. Via Corey Sznajder at the All Three Zones project, we see where Crosby sits among his peers in the types of offense he creates.
This chart shows which players have the most individual scoring chances and scoring chance assists at even strength this season:
No NHL forward has assisted on as many even-strength scoring chances as Crosby. On top of that, only four forwards have more individual scoring chances at even strength. Crosby is burning both ends of the wick, creating off of his vision and finding scoring chances for himself. Look at the amount of real estate around Crosby in that chart — that’s how far apart he’s set himself from his peers.
Here’s a great clip that encapsulates the data. In the video, you’ll see Crosby speed into the zone and make a no-look pass to an incoming Bryan Rust, who is so taken aback by the delivery he isn’t even prepared for the chance. Crosby keeps up with his end of the play and gets directly into scoring position.
Crosby isn’t just doing the heavy lifting with chance creation from the offensive zone. His defensive-zone presence has been strong, and he makes crisp, two-line breakout passes when the opportunity provides itself. Here’s an example of Crosby supporting his teammates in the defensive zone and making a saucer pass across two lines and through three opposing players to his teammate’s tape:
Let’s go a little deeper than raw scoring chances. Sznajder’s data also tracks the “how” behind these shots and scoring chances. How does Crosby go about his business and how does that compare to his peers?
Only three forwards produce more chances off the forecheck and cycle than Crosby — a remarkable feat for someone in the latter half of his 30s. Crosby has never been a grinder, but his lower-body strength and balance have only gotten stronger as his career has gone on. Trying to strip Crosby of the puck or checking him off of possession is daunting and makes a lot of players look foolish.
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Crosby uses his physical abilities to keep possessions alive, extend plays and create scoring chances out of thin air. These tools are a big reason why his line dominates possession at even strength, posting over 57 percent of the share of on-ice shot attempts and expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.
In this clip, you see how he uses his lower-body strength and wide base to extend possession and create scoring chances. His low center of gravity makes it harder to move him.
Crosby’s understanding of his teammates’ needs and his support for them opens up space in the offensive zone. He combines puck protection with generational vision and distribution. And that only gets better with time.
In the next clip, Crosby recognizes a teammate on an island and uses his physicality to extend the play:
Crosby does a lot of his own dirty work, and it’s not limited to the offensive zone. He uses his premonition and physicality to win these pucks in the defensive zone, too. In the next clip, we see Crosby hustle along the shortest path to the puck and put his teammates in a position for easy retrieval. He isn’t trying to win this himself, he’s just trying to one-on-one the threat out of the picture for some easy clean-up.
Remember the graphic we looked at earlier: Crosby is in a bucket with the league’s elite on creating offense off the cycle. A few clips speak to how much he can use his intelligence to freelance positionally.
In the next clip, Crosby traverses the length of the ice en route to scoring. From the right corner to the left corner to the right point to a wraparound behind the net, Crosby flows and feeds off his teammates. Kris Letang has a chance to pinch that Crosby identifies before Letang does and immediately heads to cover for him before he even gets going. The result is a beautiful give-and-go. Crosby recognizes opportunities for his teammates one step ahead.
You always hear about players who are passengers offensively — forwards who do more puck-watching than they do puck engagement. Consider that as you watch Crosby finish these plays. This is what proactivity looks like. As other players gather their wits after a chance, Crosby is already well on his way to scoring.
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We saw this earlier in the year against New Jersey. Crosby attacks the puck at every given opportunity and uses his full set of tricks to do so. In the next clip, focus on the stick lifts. Crosby catches players focused on the puck by getting his stick under theirs and lifting, rendering them incapable of making a play on the puck. He uses this approach in three separate instances in this one clip alone:
Beyond his physicality and stick work, Crosby can somehow find a way to stay open among a slew of defensemen. Being the main target of the other team’s top defensemen and center requires creative and sneaky ways to operate with a lack of space. Crosby is masterful at this.
In the clip below, Crosby positions himself directly behind the Seattle defense so it cannot see him plant himself in front of the net for a screen. After a deflection chance, Crosby is surrounded by opposing players, so he reverses against the grain to sneak into the circle for another prime scoring chance directly after that.
I don’t think anyone has been crazy enough to write off Crosby, but the questions about the Penguins’ perceived Stanley Cup window are directly tied to the performance of their core, Crosby chief among them. If this season indicates how long that window might remain open, it may be a few more years than we anticipated.
Crosby shows no signs of slowing down. The opposite is true. The evolution of his game and his offensive instincts are as prominent as ever. As the game and the opponents change, so does Crosby.
As this season closes out, expect him to continue to refine his offensive approach and find new ways to put himself on the scoresheet consistently.
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
