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Sidney Crosby on his game: I’m trying to find him
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Sidney Crosby on his game: I’m trying to find him

There were plenty of light-hearted distractions Monday for Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, but he also took a few minutes to evaluate his performance through 10 games.

It wasn’t that light.

The Penguins are 3-6-1 and have lost five straight games (0-4-1), including one 0-3-1 trip towards western Canada. A Tuesday home game against the Minnesota Wild should stir up some emotions — former Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to make his final NHL start in Pittsburgh.

That was the main set of questions asked of Crosby during an interview with a group of reporters after practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex — a session that was interrupted by laughter when the Wild general manager and former teammate/ Crosby’s linemate, Bill Guerin, briefly disrupted the interview.

But Crosby got serious when asked about his play. It was long thought that as Crosby left, so did the Penguins. However, he has one goal, six assists and is minus-7 in 10 games. He had one point, one assist, during the Penguins’ losing streak. He is not happy with his play at both ends of the ice.

“I’m trying to find it, obviously,” Crosby said of the game that will land him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. “If I had the answers, I’d probably do better.” I’ll just say I’ll get there. I will find a way to get back on track.

“It certainly hasn’t been easy. I don’t feel like my game is where it should be. It’s up to me to do the work and find it.

“It just starts with trying to generate a few more chances, and once you start getting them, you build from that. You build confidence.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan evaded a request to evaluate Crosby’s play. Rather, he broadened it to the team as a whole.

“I don’t think as a group we played up to our expectations,” Sullivan said. “I think it starts with predictability between us, a collective effort, whatever phrase or adjective you want to use. We need stronger team play, and I think that would help the individuals. We need to establish more structure on both sides of the puck. This has been our challenge.

Crosby, 37, won the Stanley Cup and the best individual hardware in the NHL. He reached 1,600 career points earlier this month. He has a chance to pass Wayne Gretzky and become the league’s all-time leader in seasons averaging at least one game in points. It would be his 20thbut he’s not at that level or that pace at the start.

Additionally, Crosby has long had a reputation as one of the best 200-foot players. He has criticized his defensive play this season.

“Even before (finding the offense), scoring (on average close to) two goals per game is not ideal, especially when you’re not producing as much,” he said. “So I think we just have to start there, trying to make sure we’re not on track for goals against. Hopefully this will create more offense.

If Monday’s practice is any indication, Crosby will have a new linemate Tuesday – fellow star center Evgeni Malkin moved to the wing and practiced with Crosby and Rickard Rakell.

“It doesn’t matter what results in wins, whatever the combinations are,” Crosby said. “I don’t think we can change anything except that hopefully by losing a few here we’ll find another level of desperation and urgency and find a way to get back into the column victories.”

And he would like to find a way to reintegrate the almost exclusive column that he has carved out for his level of play.