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| It's almost like Dupuis and the Pens are laughing at the rest of the league right now. (Getty Images) |
If Saturday's 5-2 win in New Jersey was a sign of things to come, let's just skip everything and hand the Pittsburgh Penguins the Stanley Cup now. It doesn't look like anybody is going to be in the same realm as them right now.
Yes, Sidney Crosby is back and yes, Crosby is as excellent as ever already. Sure, he doesn't have a goal in his first two games back but he does have five assists. He has factored in on exactly half of the Penguins' goals, which is saying a bit more when you consider they have 10 in the last two.
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This is a stat that the fans in Winnipeg will approve of. Crosby has three three-point games in just 10 games this season. Alex Ovechkin has one three-point game in 67 contests
But Pittsburgh has now won 11 in a row. That's the longest winning streak in the NHL this season. And the thing is it's hard to see anybody actually snapping that streak right now. I'm not suggesting they will run the table, but whenever they do lose it's going to come as a bit of a surprise.
Just look at what they did to the Devils , one of the top four teams record wise in the Eastern Conference. In the Devils' barn, no less. They made Martin Brodeur perhaps the player of the game despite the fact that his team lost 5-2. The shots? The Penguins won that battle 44-14. And that's not misleading either; the game was spent largely at one end of the ice. Without Brodeur making some excellent saves, it's no stretch to think the Penguins could have potted eight or so goals.
Here's where the other teams begin having fearing the Penguins. There's Evgeni Malkin -- who scores his 40th goal of the season on Saturday -- and James Neal with their unstoppable faceoff play (see below). There's Crosby, Jordan Staal , Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang , too.
But what about the secondary scoring? That's what makes them scary into a full-on nightmare. Pascal Dupuis notched his 20th goal of the season on Saturday to match a career high for him. Matt Cooke , who was nominated by the Pittsburgh media as the team's Masterton Trophy candidate, celebrated that by matching and then surpassing his career high in goals. His 15th and 16th were his third and fourth in the last two games since he began playing with Crosby.
Looking more at Cooke, just try to soak this in. He now has more points this season (31) than penalty minutes (30). I'd say that transformation he promised has worked out pretty well. Now if only I could keep my New Year's resolutions that well.
I haven't even mentioned Marc-Andre Fleury . He's just one of the best goaltenders in the league ... if he's ever asked to even do anything.
Naturally you think this team can't be this good. They have crushed two playoff teams in the last three days on the road. But maybe they are? That's a thought I can't get out of my head. What if they are?
Recap
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