In a season of ups and downs, Sidney Crosby provided dependability. The 31-year-old center and captain leads the Penguins with 98 points (34 goals, 64 assists) in 78 games, and has gone three straight games without a point twice.
Second-line center Evgeni Malkin, who returned Thursday after missing eight games with an upper-body injury, has had a relatively lackluster season with a team-leading 89 penalty minutes. The same could be said for forward Phil Kessel, who has six goals in his past 31 games.
With those two struggling, Crosby scored one goal in six straight games from Feb. 23-March 7, and had 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 17 games from Feb. 9-March 14. The Penguins were 11-4-2 in those 17 games.
Crosby recently had cooled, with three assists in nine games, before he had a goal and two assists Thursday. That dip in production came with others, like rookie forward Teddy Blueger and veteran center Matt Cullen, stepping up, which Crosby welcomes.
"It's great to see everyone contribute," Crosby said. "That's what you need to win this time of year and moving forward."