Fuck, now we'll lose 7-0 instead of 5-0.
Nah, they kept it to 5-0. Good call, though.
Say what you will, love him or hate him, tonight's game between the Penguins and Islanders was a must watch because of Crosby. He's the face of the NHL and, even after this long layoff, still a dominant player in the league. I'll admit, I was actually excited for this game tonight and was not disappointed.
Now, I'm not a Penguins or Islanders fan by any stretch of the imagination but, man, did Pittsburgh look good as a whole. They have to be the hands down favorite to win the Cup now. I get that it was the Islanders, a team that just got smoked by the Bruins the other day in a shutout, and a team playing their 4th string goalie on the depth chart in his first NHL start, but this was an impressive route. The Penguins rolled four lines early and often to start the first period. Crosby's first goal came after only 5 minutes on an impressive backhand which really the tone for the rest of the game. It should be noted that it only took him 2 minutes and 20 seconds of ice time to do what Scott Gomez has failed to do dating all the way back to February of last season.
Even with 4 points overall, Crosby wasn't the only dominant one. Fleury was almost as impressive with his shutout, making better saves as the game wore on as he progressively looked stronger after a shaky start. As a team, the Pens penalty kill was solid and their PP generated some good looks. Again, I know it's only one game, and it was against the slumping Islanders, but the hype about Crosby's return was justified. He looks poised to return to form and I'm no doctor but I'm willing to bet he could have returned weeks ago if the Pens really needed him. They picked a good spot in the schedule to activate him but I have to wonder if the team was really slumping if we would have seen Crosby return last month. Either way, it paid off for Pittsburgh and they look (after one game) brilliant for waiting. This team looks like the real deal if the stars all stay healthy.
