The Pittsburgh Penguins they are currently 9-3-1 in their last 13 games, and there are many reasons for their recent success.
But there’s no bigger reason than the top three guys on their draft card.
The senior trio of Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust were hot, as they combined for 21 goals and 53 points. They click on all cylinders regardless of the opponent, and have been the NHL’s most productive line since their prime. Nov. 27 wins against the Vancouver Canucks.
“We’re burying our chances,” Crosby said next On Monday it won 7-3 against the Philadelphia Flyerswhich scored three goals and eight points from the top. “Obviously, early on, we had a lot of momentum. I felt like we built on that. Rusty’s big goal to get us going. And I think we were just working hard and working well with each other. And the puck was going in.”
Of those 21 goals, 10 of them came from Rust alone. In fact, no player in the NHL has more goals in that span than Rust did.
“I mean, you can see he’s got a lot of confidence with the puck,” Rakell said of Rust. “It’s like me – we score on rebounds, and not all of them are good goals. There are a lot of second chances and second attempts, and we just take turns being in front of the net.”
They also take turns having the team lead in goals, as every time Rust grabs Rakell, Rakell seems to put another in the net with him.
“That doesn’t matter at all,” said Rakell. “As long as we fight every shift to get points and play good hockey, it doesn’t matter who scores. For some reason we both seem to score goals.”
But even if Rust and Rakell did most of the scoring, Crosby’s work cannot be ignored. On Crosby’s third assist of the game on Philip Tomasino’s power play goal against the Flyers, He tied Mario Lemieux for most assists in Penguins franchise history.
“It’s very surprising, but I’m not overly surprised,” Rust said. “Sid, I think he’s right where he’s at in terms of the importance of this franchise, and you see how good he’s been throughout his career. And he continues to do it.”
Crosby also has two four-point efforts in his last three games, and leads all NHL players this season with four games of three or more assists.
“It seems like he’s behind every goal we score,” said Rakell. “Definitely the same with Rusty. He does everything. He’s very good with the last touch or the last pass to create a dangerous scoring opportunity. The way he can hold the stick in their area, I think we’ll work to our advantage.”
The Penguins just started their holiday break, which will end when they play New York Islanders the first home-and-home back-to-back on Long Island on Saturday. They definitely got a few days off, but it’s important that they pick up where they left off before the break.
And that starts with these three maintaining the chemistry and momentum they gained during the Penguins’ win, as they were the team’s engine.
“We’re really happy with the break, but I think we’re all motivated by the way we’re playing and we want to keep going,” Crosby said. “So it’s good to get some momentum before the break and carry that on when we come back.”
