What’s Crosby’s Mindset as Penguins Struggle? Might Surprise You

If you have been wondering whether the Pittsburgh Penguins’ rough start to the season has team captain Sidney Crosby ruminating over things even when he’s away from the rink, you would be right.

Sort of.

In a brief one-on-one chat with PHN after practice Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Complex, Crosby acknowledged he has been taking the game home with him. But not in an ulcer-producing way, and not necessarily because at the quarter-pole of the season the Penguins are languishing at 7-10-4, have blown leads of at least two goals eight times, have had some significant defensive letdowns and generally are off track compared with the widespread optimism of training camp.

“Even when we’re winning five in a row, I still think about hockey when I go home,” Crosby said. “As far as taking it home, do I think about what we can try and improve on or how I can help? Yeah, definitely. But I do that when we win, too. That’s not really something that changes.”

Routine has served Crosby, 37, well. Now in his 20^th NHL season, he has won three Stanley Cups and lots of individual league hardware. Resiliency also has served him well. He has missed stretches of time because of various maladies, particularly concussion and neck problems, and has endured tough stretches with the club — although nothing like missing the playoffs two years in a row, then enduring this sort of start to the season.

He’s still launching assaults on milestones and the NHL records – he is one goal shy of 600 for his career – but he has always said those take a distant backseat to winning. He leads the team with 20 points and is tied for the lead with seven goals.

So he is fine with sticking to his routine, which includes taking the game home with him, good or bad, and maintaining some optimism.

“I think we all love to win,” Crosby said. “That’s why we work. That’s what our goal is every single night, to win hockey games. Everyone puts a lot of time and effort into doing that. It’s never fun when you lose, but it’s something that we need to work through. And … it’s a long season, so we can right it for sure.”

As for the team’s plight at the moment?

“That’s hockey,” Crosby said. “You’ve got to find a way to get out of it. It’s a long season. We’ve done some good things. We haven’t closed out some games. We’ve had leads. I think the good thing is, we’ve had those leads, so it’s shown we played well, that we’re capable. We’ve got to learn from it.”