Sidney Crosby remains one of the best players in the NHL. But his defensive outing against the Washington Capitals was not good.
The Penguins have struggled defensively since their epic shutout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Wednesday night was no different, as Pittsburgh lost 5-3 to the Washington Capitals. It was the second time in their four contests this season that Pittsburgh allowed five goals. Surprisingly, Crosby was on the ice every time Washington found twine at even strength.
Per Noah Trister via InfoNews, “Crosby was on the ice for every Washington even-strength goal, finishing with a minus-4. His only career minus-5 was March 6, 2014, at San Jose.”
What’s more interesting? This came during the final home opener for NHL legend Alex Ovechkin, who was ironically shut out in the points column. Overall, it wasn’t the best showing for arguably the league’s two best players of the 21st century.
Penguins Defense Has Collectively Taken A Step Back
Crosby isn’t the only guilty party here, despite posting a team-low minus-4 for the contest and having a team-low minus-3. At the 11:51 mark of the first period, with the game still tied 1-1, a costly turnover from Kris Letang led to an easy goal for the Capitals.
Letang tried passing the puck along the boards. But when the puck reached the back of the net, Pierre-Luc Dubois was waiting. Dubois fed Tom Wilson the puck, and the Capitals took the lead.
The roles reversed at 4:42 in the second, when Wilson landed an assist for Dubois’ goal that put Washington up 3-1. But goaltender Arturs Silovs and defenseman Declan Carlile were the guilty parties. Silovs thought it was a good idea to skate behind the net to retrieve the puck, despite an incoming Capitals player.
This forced Silovs to fire the puck in the other direction. But Wilson collected the puck and fired it to Dubois. Silovs couldn’t get back there in time as Carlile inadvertently blocked him.
In both instances, it’s hard to blame Crosby. Especially on Dubois’ goal, when he fired the puck through traffic and found Hendrix Lapierre. Lapierre coughed up the puck, and it created the sequence that ultimately led to Washington’s goal.
Letang almost single-handedly caused Pittsburgh to give up an easy goal when Wilson scored. Silovs made an awful decision in the second period while Carlile couldn’t get in position.
Sidney Crosby Isn’t Immune To A Team-Wide Issue
Crosby’s minus-4 on Wednesday night reflects the broader concerns regarding Pittsburgh’s defensive play. Pittsburgh is committing costly turnovers in its own zone, and opponents are capitalizing on them. When they’re not turning the puck over, the Penguins are out of position, getting in each other’s way, and putting on a clinic for how not to play defense at the NHL level.
They need to go back and review what worked in their 7-0 blowout win over the Flyers and go from there. In an Eastern Conference where the Atlantic Division has a chance to send five teams to the playoffs, Pittsburgh must put itself in a position to hover around the Metropolitan Division’s top three teams.
That involves immediate fixes on defense. The Penguins will get another chance on Friday when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that has only played twice this season. After nearly a week off, the Blue Jackets will boast some fresh legs.
Sidney Crosby Posts Rare Minus-4 in Penguins’ Loss to Capitals