Bleacher Report - Sidney Crosby

Sidney Crosby: Complete Timeline of the Kid's Amazing 2013 Season

Nicholas Goss — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:29:45 -0400

Sidney Crosby proved why he's the best player in the world with a magnificent hat trick against the Ottawa Senators on Friday in what is the high point of an astonishing season for the Pittsburgh Penguins captain.

Led by a vintage Crosby performance, the Penguins have earned a 2-0 second-round advantage over the Senators as the series shifts north of the border for Sunday's Game 3.

Crosby was able to start the lockout-shortened year fully healthy after missing over 100 games over the last two years because of injuries, and he made up for lost time by having one of the best seasons of his career.

The Kid led the league in scoring for most of the year until a broken jaw ended his regular season with 11 games left to play on the schedule. As he has multiple times in the past, Crosby worked hard to recover from a serious injury and returned to the ice as if he never left.

With its best player back in the lineup and playing at a high level, Pittsburgh is hoping to reach the Stanley Cup final for the first time since the team won its third championship in 2008-09.

Let's look at a complete timeline of Crosby's spectacular 2013 season (as of May 17).

Jan. 25: Crosby Has First Multi-Goal Game in Loss to Winnipeg Jets

Crosby's first multi-goal game of the season came in Winnipeg during a 4-2 loss to the Jets. Pittsburgh was given a 2-0 first-period lead thanks to a spectacular scoring display from its captain, but Winnipeg scored four unanswered goals to earn a confidence-boosting victory in front of the home fans.

March 10: Playmaking Brilliance Lifts Penguins over Islanders

Crosby set a season high with five assists against the New York Islanders on March 10 in a 6-1 victory. It was the fifth five-point game of his career and the second time he recorded five assists in one game.

This performance gave Crosby 75 points in 41 career games versus the Islanders, which is his highest total against any opponent.

Crosby would extend that point total to 84 after Pittsburgh defeated the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs in six games (more on that below).

March 30: Crosby Breaks Jaw, Misses Rest of Regular Season

The low point for Crosby's season was March 30, when a deflected Brooks Orpik shot from the point hit the Penguins center in the face, resulting in a broken jaw and a lot of dental work.

Given his history of head and neck injuries over the last two seasons, there was some concern that Crosby would miss a considerable amount of time.

Eight days after suffering the injury, Crosby spoke to the media about the play. He made his return to the ice on April 15 (per the Penguins).

Crosby's total of regular-season games missed because of upper-body injuries since the start of the 2010-11 season rose to 113 due to his broken jaw.

April 1: Crosby Named NHL's First Star for Month of March

March was a dominant month for the Penguins and Crosby. Pittsburgh went 15-0 to become the first team to go undefeated in a single month (with at least 10 games played), bringing them to within two wins of the NHL record for consecutive victories, which, incidentally, the 1992-93 Penguins own.

Crosby was named the first star of the month with a league-leading 19 assists and 25 points. The Penguins superstar tallied at least one point in 12 of the team's 15 games and was almost impossible to shut down whenever he stepped onto the ice.

May 3-11: Crosby Returns to the Ice, Dominates vs. Islanders in Round 1

After missing 11 regular-season games and Game 1 of the Penguins' first-round series versus the Islanders, Crosby returned to the lineup for Game 2 and scored two goals in a 4-3 loss. To protect his jaw from another injury, No. 87 wore a special helmet (h/t Dana Heinze):

In the crucial Game 5 of the series, Crosby scored one of the best goals of his career to help Pittsburgh earn an important win and a 3-2 series advantage:

The Penguins would go on to win the series in Game 6 with a 4-3 overtime victory at the Nassau Coliseum.

May 9: Crosby Selected as Ted Lindsay Award Finalist

Crosby was named as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award last week, which is given annually to the most outstanding player in the league. Due to the fact that it's an NHLPA award, the players are responsible for the voting.

The Penguins star should win the award unanimously, since he led the NHL in scoring by a considerable margin with 56 points (15 goals, 41 assists) when he suffered a broken jaw on March 30. When the regular season ended on April 28, Crosby was only four points behind Art Ross Trophy winner Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Crosby was one or two levels above his competition all season, and this was pretty obvious to anyone who watched him play on a daily basis. Even though he only played in 36 regular-season games, Crosby still built one of the most impressive resumes for the Ted Lindsay Award that we have seen in some time:

T-3rd in points with 55
2nd in assists with 41
17 multi-point games
Led Penguins in time on ice (21:06)

May 10: Crosby Selected as Hart Trophy Finalist

Despite missing a quarter of the regular season, Crosby was selected as a finalist for the Hart Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team. The other finalists are New York Islanders star forward John Tavares and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.

Even though Crosby was fantastic during the regular season and would have easily won the scoring title if he played all 48 games, he wasn't the most valuable player in the league. The Penguins went 8-4 without their captain in the lineup to finish the regular season and still scored 3.67 goals per game.

Crosby won the award in the 2006-07 season when he tallied a career-high 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists). If he wins, he will become the second Penguins player to win the Hart Trophy more than once (Mario Lemieux won three times, 1987-88, 1992-93 and 1995-96).

Even if No. 87 does not win the Hart, he will still have one MVP award on his 2013 resume:

May 14: Crosby Selected as Finalist for Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Earlier this week, Crosby was named as a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy along with Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding and Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid.

The Masterton Trophy is given annually to the player who shows exceptional perseverance, dedication to the game and sportsmanship.

Crosby has a strong case for this award because after missing 101 regular-season games over the last two years, he came into the shortened 2013 season healthy and completely dominated the league with 56 points in just 36 games. When he broke his jaw on March 30, Crosby recovered in time to join his team for Game 2 of the first round against the Islanders. He finished the series with nine points in five games.

The Penguins captain's perseverance through several injuries to not only make a return to the ice, but also play at a level far above his competition, has been truly impressive.

May 17: Crosby Makes Team History with Hat Trick in Round 2 vs. Senators

Sidney Crosby dominated the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of his team's second-round series with a hat trick just 21 minutes into the contest. ESPN's John Buccigross provided an interesting stat involving No. 87 and the greatest Penguins player ever:

His first goal of the game helped him reach the century mark for career postseason points, which also moved him into a tie with former Penguins star Ron Francis for fourth place on the team's all-time playoff scoring list.

Crosby finished the night with three points, and now sits four points behind Kevin Stevens for third place on the Penguins all-time postseason scoring list. It took both Francis and Stevens over 95 games to reach 100 playoff points, but Crosby has reached this level in just 75 games (via ESPN Stats and Info), which makes his accomplishment even more special.

Nicholas Goss is an NHL lead writer at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter. Nick was a credentialed reporter at the 2011 Stanley Cup final and 2012 NHL playoffs, and he is also a credentialed writer at the 2013 NHL playoffs in Boston.

Read more Sidney Crosby news on BleacherReport.com

Sidney Crosby's Game 2 Hat Trick Elevates Him to Conn Smythe Contention

Tyler Conway — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:33:31 -0400

Just when Sidney Crosby makes us think he's reached his peak as a player, the Pittsburgh Penguins center has yet another performance to raise our expectations up to unforeseen levels.

Pittsburgh's captain recorded his second career playoff hat trick, leading his team to a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. The victory gives the Penguins a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which will resume Sunday back in Ottawa.

From the opening drop of the puck, the folks at CONSOL Energy Center could tell that this was going to be a special night. Crosby's first goal came a mere 3:16 into Friday night's action. Taking a pass at the defensive blue line, Crosby dashed up the left side of the ice, deked Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson so bad he might have to go into Witness Protection and finished with a beautiful wrister to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

It was his second you-gotta-see this goal of the playoffs, following his well-covered split of the Islanders defense in Game 5 of that series.

Of course, Crosby wasn't done pounding the Senators defense into submission. He was back on the board a little less than 13 minutes later to answer a Kyle Turris goal, getting a semi-lucky bounce off Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

Crosby didn't waste anytime finishing off his hat trick, either. He rocketed a slap shot past Anderson and into the Ottawa goal less than two minutes into the second period, painting the home crowd with a coat of unrepentant glee. The Penguins' Instagram sent out a picture of the Pittsburgh crowd celebrating their star's big night.

Though the remainder of evening was uneventful—relatively speaking—Crosby made history in the first 22 minutes of Friday's contest. As pointed out by John Buccigross of ESPN, Crosby became just the second Penguins player in history to record multiple hat tricks in the postseason and he's just one behind Mario Lemieux club record of three:

The National Post's Bruce Arthur notes how easy Crosby made the quick-strike goal barrage look:

This is a good time to remind you Sidney Crosby is just 25 years old. And that he'll be playing in an innumerable amount of postseason games going forward, barring some catastrophic injury or unforeseen misfortune to the prospering Penguins franchise.

In other words, that record is coming down—probably before Crosby turns 30.

It's almost strange that Crosby has accomplished so much at such a young age. It's almost as if he's run out ways to prove he's the world's best player. The Pittsburgh captain is already become the youngest player in NHL history to captain a Stanley Cup team, won a Hart Trophy and captured a Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy—all of which he did in different seasons.

However, Friday night's ascendant performance could singlehandedly put him in consideration to do one of the select few things he never has—win a Conn Smythe Trophy. Pete Paguaga of The Register Citizen noted that Crosby's recent play has put him in consideration for the trophy already:

Through eight games played—he missed Game 1 of the Islanders series—Crosby has put up 12 points, matching his six goals with as many assists. That currently puts him behind Boston's David Krejci and teammate Evgeni Malkin on the points list for the playoffs, but it stands to reason Crosby will only be getting better as the postseason goes along. He's still recovering from the broken jaw that caused him to miss the final month of the season and still has him wearing a bulky mask on his face.

As Crosby continues to work himself into shape—which he's been doing quite well—the consistency of his outings should only improve.

Of course, we're ridiculously early in this process. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has been so good in these playoffs (5-1, 1.27 GAA, .950 SV%) that it's almost blasphemy to mention anyone alongside him at this point. Crawford has seemingly sprouted tentacles during the postseason, swatting away opposing shots like Dikembe Mutombo in a GEICO commercial.

And as we've seen over these past few playoffs, the Penguins aren't a guarantee to go rampaging to the Stanley Cup Finals. Pittsburgh is up on Ottawa 2-0 on the teams' semifinals series and has looked like the far superior team, but both of those contests have been played at the friendly confines of CONSOL Energy Center. And even if the Penguins make slight work of the Senators, there are still, you know, two more series left on the docket before individual awards are even considered.

It's always important for context in these discussions. There's too much time, too many mitigating circumstances to be ascribing sweeping declarations about a playoff run in its infancy.

That being said, Crosby was on a historic pace before going down during the regular season. He had 56 points in only 36 games and was on pace to obliterate everyone in the scoring race—and to likely win the Hart Trophy.

With Friday night's hat trick, Crosby placed himself in the discussion for a bigger, more important trophy—at least for now.

Follow @tylerconway22

Read more Sidney Crosby news on BleacherReport.com

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2013: Best Beards so Far

Ariana Stover — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:57:58 -0400

The NHL playoffs aren’t about the paycheck, but the pride. It’s the time of year when both body and mind are pushed to their greatest capacity, pushed to the very brink. But there’s another element of these playoffs that never gets overlooked by hockey fans.

There’s blood, there’s sweat and there are beards.

Yes, playoff beards. The playoffs are the time of year when NHL players hold out on the grooming and let their facial hair grow wildly. Whether we’re admiring the glory of some of them and laughing at the pitiful sight of others, playoff beards are always one of our favorite parts of the postseason.

As we enter the second round we ask, which beards are the best so far?

Begin Slideshow