Sidney Crosby keeps Penguins in playoff hunt with huge game

Sidney Crosby is not going to let the Pittsburgh Penguins go away without a fight. He put together a vintage Crosby performance on Sunday in a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Flyers to help keep them in the playoff hunt.

Crosby accounted for five points in the game, scoring his 32nd goal of the season and also adding four assists. It is the seventh five-point game of Crosby's career, and came when the Penguins needed it most. 

The Penguins entered the day clinging to their playoff chances, trailing the Flyers by nine points in the race for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division and also trailing the wild-card teams by nine points as well. 

That gap, as well as the number of teams standing between them and a playoff spot, is making the playoffs a long shot unless they go on a serious run over the next few weeks. 

Given that Sunday's game was against one of the teams they are trying to chase down, a regulation win was a must. It wasn't always pretty, but they are not in a position to care about style points. All they needed was the win.

It was Crosby — as he has done so many times over the past 19 seasons — putting the team on his back and willing it to victory. 

The Penguins' team-wide struggles have really helped overshadow the brilliance of Crosby's season. With his five-point game on Sunday he is now on pace for 47 goals and 90 points during his age 36 season. 

Just for some perspective on how unlikely that is, in the history of the league only two players have ever scored 45 goals and 90 points in the same season after their 36th birthday — Alex Ovechkin did it during the 2021-22 season for the Washington Capitals, while Teemu Selanne also did it for the Anaheim Ducks during the 2006-07 season.

If the Penguins do end up getting in the playoffs it will almost certainly put Crosby into the MVP discussion. He might not win it, but he will definitely be a candidate. 

The Penguins have major depth issues, have had one of the league's worst power plays and are currently playing without their top winger in Jake Guentzel. Crosby has been the one constant. 

The Penguins missed the playoffs a year ago for the first time since the 2005-06 season. They are trying to avoid missing for a second year in a row. 

The one thing the Penguins still have going for them is they have multiple games in hand on pretty much every team they are chasing, as well as some important head-to-head matchups. 

If they can take advantage of that they could make up the ground. Sunday was an important step in that.