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“Well, I don’t know if I’m in the older player category…” said Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby after chuckling at a Pittsburgh Hockey Now question about older players who are struggling to get their legs back in this compressed COVID season.
Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Claude Giroux, Eric Staal, Anze Kopitar are just a few of the names established in their 30s who score well below normal rates or who have suffered injuries in the past.
A crazy statistic was sent to me on Monday night from a former PR manager on the team.
“Get it, Daniel Sprong and Conor Sheary have as many goals this season as Ovi!”
I looked for it. It is true. The Washington Capitals Central has two purposes. Likewise, the penguins abandon Sprong and Sheary. Giroux has a goal. Staal has five points in 10 games. Kopitar also has only one goal.
To be fair, Ovechkin missed several games after the NHL put him on COVID protocol for visiting a teammate’s hotel room.
Malkin’s struggles are well documented in Pittsburgh. He acknowledged his diminishing conditioning and struggles, which were directly related to pandemic closures and the lack of a training camp.
“I understand that I’m not playing very well right now,” Malkin said last week. “It’s a different season. Short training camp. No preseason games. It’s a little different for sure, ”said Malkin. “I need to look at myself in the mirror. I need to find my body, find myself and help the team win for sure and I understand that.
Unfortunately, I have a unique ability to offend effortlessly. It’s my superpower, much like Sidney Crosby effortlessly scores points or collects pucks for a lacrosse style attempt. Hopefully Mr Crosby laughed at the term ‘older player’ even though he’s 33.
No offense Sid, you are a bit of an older player. Do you remember being 20 and people watching in your 30s? Time flies, but I digress.
“I don’t know. It’s not easy for anyone. It’s a short camp and things like that. Everyone prepares differently and has their own opinion,” Crosby said. “For me, personally, I don’t. haven’t played a lot of hockey in the last year or so. Love that we get to get into games and play every other day. “
Crosby is one of the “other side”, shall we say, more seasoned players. Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Kane, John Tavares are players in their thirties who tear him up. Crosby has four goals and four assists in 10 games. Kane and Bergeron score at a points per game rate.
“I don’t know if I’m in the older category or not, but I like (the schedule),” he concluded.
That works. Sidney Crosby wants to play hockey and play more hockey.
But there is an obvious difficulty for many players to find a rhythm. Is it harder for older players to stand up? It seems so, especially since Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker seem to be on their game. Young Penguins players like Kasperi Kapanen, Teddy Blueger and PO Joseph also needed less acceleration.
As part of his mea culpa, Malkin has likely spoken on behalf of many players.
“No (I haven’t done the same training this offseason) because of the situation. Everything was also closed in Russia. We had ice, but we didn’t have a gym. Everything was closed and (the workouts) weren’t easy to find, ”said Malkin. “I won’t say it’s my fault. (Off-season training) is not the same as a training camp. I was doing my best. I skated every day and tried to practice afterwards; use my body. Do squats, push-ups.
But Crosby, who sources said “worked like an animal” during the pandemic, enjoyed early season success. For the rest of the mortals, the start of the season was training camps. The teams and players we see now should continue to improve.
Everything should improve. Maybe even the Pittsburgh Penguins power play.
Editor’s Note: We have removed Sean Couturier from the list of struggling or injured players in their 30s.
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