2012 Top 25 Under 25: #2 Sidney Crosby

Born: August 7, 1987 (age 24)
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Position: Center

Some people might not like this pick because he hasn't been able to play a lot because of concussion over the past 2 seasons, but there is just really no way to argue against this kid's resume. Trust me it's hard for me to admit, because I hate his guts, but sit back and think about all the things he has already done.

He as already led the NHL in goals (2010), led the NHL in points (2007), is a 4 time All-Star, won an MVP (2007), won a Gold Medal (2010), and won a Stanley Cup (2009). Even with my hatred towards him it would be a shame for this kid's career to get cut short, because he has a shot at being one of the best of all-time.

Look at the record he has set...

First rookie to record 100 points and 100 penalty minutes in a season
Youngest player to record 100 points in a season (18 years, 253 days)
Youngest player to record 200 career points (19 years and 207 days)
Youngest player to record 2 consecutive 100 point seasons (19 years, 215 days)
Youngest player voted to the starting lineup in an All-Star Game
Youngest Art Ross Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award winner
Youngest player to be named to the First All-Star Team
Youngest full team captain
Youngest Player to Lead NHL Playoffs in scoring (20 years, 9 months, and 28 days)
Youngest NHL captain to win Stanley Cup (21 years, 10 months, and 5 days)
Fewest games played by an NHL team's leading scorer

Speaks for itself. Even if he didn't play another year, he would probably make the Hall of Fame, and if he can play a full career he will no doubt be one of the top 10 NHL players of All-Time.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 12

Some series came to an end, others were extended. The violence has subsided a bit, so now we can enjoy actual hockey.

PANTHERS 3, DEVILS 0 - (Panthers lead series 3-2)

Jose Theodore is back in net for Florida, and it worked out pretty well for the Panthers. He stopped all 30 shots he faced. The Panthers are on the verge of making everyone who was clamoring for changes in the playoff system look like fools.

Game 6 Tuesday night in Jersey.

SENATORS 2, RANGERS 0 - (Senators lead series 3-2)
Jason Spezza is the latest Senator to pick up the slack left by the absence of Daniel Alfredsson. He scored his first and second goals of the series in this game. Oh, and Craig Anderson stopped 41 shots. The Rangers were a favorite to win The Cup, and now they're facing elimination.

Game 6 tonight in Ottawa.

BLUES 3, SHARKS 1 - (Blues win series 4-1)

The Sharks were a sexy upset pick by the experts. The experts forgot that they have Joe Thornton along with goaltending issues. The Blues scored three goals in the 3rd and fully demonstrated how and why they finished the regular season with 109 points.

BLACKHAWKS 2, COYOTES 1 (OT) - (Coyotes lead series 3-2)

All five games in this series have gone into Overtime. That's ridiculous.

Game 6 tonight in Chicago.

FLYERS 5, PENGUINS 1 - (Flyers win series 4-2)

Thank God Pittsburgh is eliminated. The craniums of the remaining playoff teams are much safer thanks to their elimination. And thank God I can stop rooting for the Flyers. Danny Briere and Claude Giroux ran this series. Briere scored 5 times, Giroux scored 6 times. Sidney "Canada's Golden Boy" Crosby had 8 points in this series. And was -3 in this game. Fuck off, Penguins.

KINGS 2, CANUCKS 1 (OT) - (Kings win series 4-2)

Give Vancouver another excuse to tear apart their own city. The Canucks once again choked in the playoffs. This is a common theme with them. They can't just blame their goalie anymore, as Schneider did pretty well for himself. Maybe having a first line consisting of soft Swedes that fold faster than Ikea furniture is the problem. Maybe having guys like Burrows and Lapierre is the problem. Maybe defensemen should play defense. I don't know. I don't care. Goodbye, Vancouver.

A #8 seed beats a #1 seed in 5 games.

Tonight's games:
7:00pm - Rangers @ Senators - NBC Sports - Senators lead 3-2
9:00pm - Coyotes @ Blackhawks - CNBC - Coyotes lead series 3-2

-The Captain

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 8

I'm not a gambling man, but if I were, I would bet on every team that's down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup playoffs to win Game 4. Sweeps are rare in the NHL. And that 4th win is truly the hardest to get.

PENGUINS 10, FLYERS 3 - (Flyers lead series 3-1)

That's the correct score. Jordan Staal had a hat-trick, Malkin had 2 goals and an assist, 13 Penguins registered a point. The 1st period of this game was a game on its own. It was 4-3 at the end of the 1st, and 8 penalties had been handed out. By the end of the 2nd, it was 9-3 Penguins, and 52 penalty minutes had been issued. 100 total minutes were given.

In related news, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has decided to split itself into two states, named Sylvania and the Penn Republic (I stole those names from Futurama).

Game 5 Friday night in Pittsburgh, Sylvania.

SENATORS 3, RANGERS 2 (OT) - (Series tied 2-2)

With Daniel Alfredsson still out, the Senators needed offensive contributions from guys like Milan Michalek. And some production from their defensemen wouldn't hurt either. Michalek scored his first goal of the series. And Sergei Gonchar scored about 10 minutes later. Kyle Turris scored the game-winner. So this 1 vs. 8 series is now a best of three.

Game 5 Saturday night at MSG.

CANUCKS 3, KINGS 1 - (Kings lead series 3-1)

Cory Schneider is the best goalie on the Vancouver Canucks. End of story. He stopped 43 shots last night. He's only allowed 2 goals in his 2 starts this series. Luongo's career has been marked by results that never matched reputation. Schneider has no reputation, but he's producing results. Both Sedins are back in the lineup (Henrik scored last night) and this series is far from over.

Game 5 Sunday in Vancouver.

Tonight's games:
7:00pm - Panthers @ Devils - NHL Network - Panthers lead 2-1
7:30pm - Bruins @ Capitals - NESN/NBC Sports - Bruins lead 2-1
8:00pm - Coyotes @ Blackhawks - CNBC - Coyotes lead 2-1
10:30pm - Blues @ Sharks - NBC Sports - Blues lead 2-1

-The Captain

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 5*

Things are getting nuts out there. Bad blood, rats on the ice, and a sad octopus. It was a very entertaining weekend of hockey.

PREDATORS 3, RED WINGS 2 - (Predators lead series 2-1)

The Red Wings only lost 10 times at home in the regular season. The Predators, however, won a huge game in Detroit yesterday afternoon. The Preds have been able to get early leads and force the Red Wings to chase the game. And with Pekka Rinne, any lead is a very safe lead.

Game 4 Tuesday night in Detroit.

FLYERS 8, PENGUINS 4 - (Flyers lead series 3-0)

I hate the Penguins more and more every game. James Neal levels a dirty and late hit on Sean Couturier, injures him, then gets absolutely no penalty for it. The Flyers tried to take care of business themselves (Neal, right after Couturier had been helped off the ice, was messing with Claude Giroux), which got messy. Then Crosby looked like he was trying to initiate a fight with Brayden Schenn, then refused to drop the gloves. Moments later, Crosby tried pulling Hartnell off Neal. Hartnell went after Crosby as if he were anyone else, then Craig Adams becomes the 3rd man in (automatic game misconduct), then fights Hartnell, then pulls Hartnell's hair.

In short, a Pittsburgh player dishes out a dirty hit and injures an opponent. He doesn't get penalized (we've heard this story before, haven't we). Then the Penguins fight dirty. That's if they're willing to fight at all.

Game 4 Wednesday night in Philly.

Go Flyers

PANTHERS 4, DEVILS 2 - (Series tied 1-1)

Nobody took Florida very seriously. They were used as an example of the NHL's imperfect playoff system. Stephen Weiss, who's getting his first taste of playoff hockey in south Florida, scored two Power Play goals. That's pretty impressive against the Devils' PK unit, which was the best in the NHL in the regular season.

Game 3 Tuesday night in Jersey.

Tonight's games:
7:30pm - Rangers @ Senators - CNBC - Tied 1-1
7:30pm - Bruins @ Capitals - NESN/NBC Sports - Tied 1-1
10:00pm - Blues @ Sharks - NBC Sports - Tied 1-1

-The Captain

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 1

Thank you NBC/Universal for broadcasting all the games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC, NBC Sports, CNBC, and NHL Network. This is the greatest sports tournament in the world, and it's nice to be able to watch as much of it as possible.

Flyers 4, Penguins 3 (OT) - Flyers lead series 1-0

This game was decided in the few square feet in front of the net. The Penguins dominated the crease in the 1st period (Chris Pronger's absence was very notable) and went up 3-0. Then the Flyers fought for that real-estate, eventually tying it off a tip in a few feet in front of the net. Then winning it when Jordan Staal let Jacub Voracek sneak in the backdoor. This series was the most hyped, and Game 1 lived up to expectations. And it was just a post and/or an offsides call from going Pittsburgh's way.

Game 2 Friday night.

Predators 3, Red Wings 2 - Predators lead series 1-0

Rinne won this game for Nashville. It wasn't that Howard had a bad game though. Some really freaky bounces allowed Nashville to play with a lead for most of the night. I was actually impressed with how well Detroit played. Howard looked sharp, and they killed all 6 Nashville penalties (including an extended 5-on-3). This series will be pretty good.

Nashville might lose Shea Weber for a game or more. At the end of Game 1, he grabbed Zetterberg's head and bashed it into the glass. This was as the final whistle blew. Every year, the NHL likes to declare that they're clamping down on "message sending" in the playoffs. We'll see if they actually do anything about this message.

Game 2 Friday night.

Kings 4, Canucks 2 - Kings lead series 1-0

Vancouver lives by the Power Play, and last night they died by the Power Play. The Kings scored 2 goals with a man advantage. And despite incessant praise from the announcers, Robert Luongo just wasn't very good. He wasn't bad, but nowhere near as good as his defenders claim he is. The other Canucks were up to their old tricks. Kesler got a penalty for embellishment. Byron Bitz has caught the Canucks' disease and got a 5 minute boarding penalty, and a 10 minute misconduct. The rest of the team generally whined and moaned about only getting 5 Power Plays.

Game 2 Friday night.

Tonight's games:
7:00pm - Senators @ Rangers - Game 1 - NHL Network
7:30pm - Capitals @ Bruins - Game 1 - NESN/NBC Sports
7:30pm - Sharks @ Blues - Game 1 - CNBC
10:00pm - Blackhawks @ Coyotes - Game 1 - NBC Sports

-The Captain

Stanley Cup Preview: Flyers vs. Penguins

Apart from the Bruins series, of course, this is the matchup I'm most looking forward to seeing. These divisional rivals don't like each other. They play the game differently. They're both very physical. And they're both very good. Anything less than 7 games with a few OTs, some 8+ combined goal shootouts, and even some fights, and I'll be sorely disappointed with this series.

But who has the edge? Unfortunately, I have to say it's Pittsburgh. That's right, I'm actually rooting for the Flyers here. At least the Flyers are honest about what they are. The Penguins act all high and mighty while they headhunt.

The Penguins have the goaltending advantage. Bryzgalov hasn't had a good postseason since he was a Duck. And Marc-Andre Fleury's reputation is well known.

The Penguins are also healthier. Philadelphia will miss Chris Pronger the most in this series. Meanwhile, all of Pittsburgh's key players are fit and ready to go.

The Flyers are one of the most tenacious teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but Fleury is tough to beat, and the Penguins' health will eventually wear down the Broad Street Bullies.

Penguins in 7.

Series schedule:
1: Wednesday 4/11 - 7:30pm - PHI @ PIT - NBC Sports
2: Friday 4/13 - 7:30pm - PHI @ PIT - NBC Sports
3: Sunday 4/15 - 3:00pm - PIT @ PHI - NBC
4: Wednesday 4/18 - 7:30pm - PIT @ PHI - NBC Sports
5: Friday 4/20 - 7:30pm - PHI @ PIT - NBC Sports
6: Sunday 4/22 - tba - PIT @ PHI - tba
7: Tuesday 4/24 - tba - PHI @ PIT - tba

-The Captain

Penguins Win Game, Bruins Win Fight

To be honest, I didn't care about the score of this game. Thomas didn't even dress, Corvo and Krug played, it was a meaningless game for the Bruins.

That is until the Penguins reminded us that they're one of the dirtiest teams in the NHL, and probably the dirtiest team with a clean reputation. ESPN as well as the Canadian-born pundits love Pittsburgh, Crosby, and the Penguins. And will never open their eyes and realize that this is a team of divers, cheap shot artists, and headhunters.

You know what the Penguins are? They're dastardly.

Kris Letang. Way to go, flailing about like your nose had been chopped off when the blade of Peverley's stick grazed your collar bone. Be proud of that, Pittsburgh.

Then there's James Neal, who wisely shied away from a fight with Lucic, and a scrap with Chara. Then Andrew Ference gave him no choice. Ference attacked Neal, who is 20 pounds heavier than Ference, and the Bruins defensemen won the fight, and got the takedown.

Neal was only willing to fight below his weight class and he lost. Be proud, Pittsburgh.

I don't care that the Bruins lost, but I do care that Johnny Boychuk got hurt. Boychuk's knee bent awkwardly while he applied a check and I'm more than a little worried. Boychuk is a tremendous playoff player, due to his heavy-hitting and heavy-shooting. Hopefully he'll be back soon for the start of the playoffs.

Bruins travel up to Ottawa Thursday night. And so do I. I'll be in Section 325, drinking, yelling, wearing my PJ Stock jersey, and having a good old time. I really don't care if Khudobin is in net, Chara doesn't dress, and Bergeron plays 5 minutes. This team has tremendous character no matter who dresses.

-The Captain

Penguins @ Bruins Preview

This could've been a great game, but the Bruins will be treating this more like a spring training game then a regular season games, as they have already clinched the #2 seed in the playoffs. Since they aren't playing for anything Thomas will get the night off, and actually won't even dress. Marty Turco will get the start, with recently added Anton Khudobin serving as the backup. Defenseman Torey Krug will make his NHL debut, while defenseman Adam McQuaid will remain out with a swollen eye.

On top of that the Bruins are said to be using different lines tonight designed to get key players more rest. I think this is really smart since the Bruins have played so many games over the past year, and the rest is probably very needed.

The Penguins are a great team, but have been struggling lately. They have a lot to play for tonight, as they are battling for home ice in the first round. My guess is that the Penguins take care of business easily with the Bruins playing their "B" squad.

Penguins win 6-2
Player of the Game: Crosby
Game starts at 7:30pm