Crosby back down to Earth?
 

It is a week into the season so I can make this topic.

After all the hype and fanfare a couple years back it was looking like Crosby had finally done it and become the best player in the league.

There was no questioning his talent, he was one of the top players in the game to be sure but that is the problem.. there was supposed to be nobody close to him.

Then finally it seemed he had done it and become the best player in the league, finally.. then he got hurt.

Then he came back...and got hurt again.

He is back now and although it is early he just does not seem the same, I don't see that sheer dominance of before.. he has put up some numbers but not close to before.

Have the concussions hurt his game that much that he is now just again "one of the best"?

He sure wasn't noticeable at all today vs the Sens.

As a Pens fan, I can tell you that he's always been a slow starter. He's also being hurt by the ridiculously poor play of his linemates right now. Dupuis and Kunitz have been horrendous.

He's fine. He's not at the top of his game right now but he's playing well at both ends of the rink.

In the last two seasons he's scored 103 points in 63 games. I think he's fine. Just a matter of staying healthy.

This.

Only five points in five games? Cut him.

Crosby is a slow starter. He usually picks it up around the 10th game or so. Add to that the fact he didn't play during the lock-out and has been injured for most of the last two years, I think 3 goals, 5 points in 5 games isn't that bad.

He'll end up one of the top scorer one way or another, you can count on that.

OV has been way better.

Not for a couple years... but for their first 5 years or so he was better.

LOL, yeah, what a loser. Get your trade offers in. WTF? Are you Sasha Semin? With the Ava and all?

This.

Dupuis' slow start I can stomach a bit more since he's not there for his offense in general and he's still playing well in his own zone...but Kunitz is playing like the wheels have fallen off. I sincerely hope that's just being a 34 year-old who wasn't playing during the lockout, but holy crap has he ever been awful.

Sid hasn't been himself, but he's had his flashes and he's still putting up a PPG made a sick move in the shootout today. As others have said, he usually starts slowly before picking things up once he gets up to speed.

I wanted to start a Pens thread, but this will do. What's up with them? Outside of a game where they embarrassed the Rangers, sans empty net they's scored 2, 2, 2, and 1 goals. The hell?

Sloppy, rusty, not on the same page, too many turnovers, etc.

Considering how few players we had playing during the lockout it's not really that surprising...but it's still infuriating that the ones that were playing are playing just as bad as the ones that weren't. Geno looks like crap right now.

We need another top six winger right now, badly.

We're ****ed, aren't we guys? Ovi's past his prime. Crosby's back down to earth. Stamkos is a passer. Malkin can just surrender the MVP to Daniel Winnik.:help:

Will the Pens be shopping for wingers this season?

It's too bad, he was just starting to peak when he got his concussion. He might not ever get back to that spot.

If Tyler Kennedy has even an ounce of skill today and doesn't fan on a wide open shot in the slot, Crosby has another point, is still averaging more than a ppg, and this is not at all necessary.

He doesn't look great right now, I will admit, but he could easily have 10 points if the clowns he plays with had any skill whatsoever. SportsNet even called out his linemates today and said the Pens need to get him a James Neal to help him out because the guys on his wing right now are more or less useless.

In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if it might be the inevitable slowdown like the one that happened to Eric Lindros after 2001-02. I sure hope not.

He's done. Sell him on eBay.

Makes the 6-3 beat down even more embarrassing. :rant:

Jeez I hope so. Kunitz is almost unbearable to watch at this point.

Subban for Crosby? :sarcasm:

Crosby is a slow starter. The first five this year are not out of the ordinary

Year	Points in First Five Games	Year End Points	Year End Pace
2005-2006	2-6-8	39-63-102	39-64-103
2006-2007	1-4-5	36-84-120	37-87-124
2007-2008	2-4-6	24-48-72	37-74-101
2008-2009	0-4-4	33-70-103	35-75-110
2009-2010	4-1-5	51-58-109	52-58-110
2010-2011	1-2-3	32-34-66	64-68-132
2011-2012	2-9-11	8-29-37	30-108-138
2012-2013	3-2-5	?	?

I am really not worried at all.

Past his prime. (soon to be an HF boards trend)

That's a great chart. I knew he wasn't a great starter, but that really shows it. Thanks for posting it.