Dreger: Sid's stick

[Paekman]

Day late and a dollar short, but here it is:

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/darren_dreger/?id=255557

Sid looks like he's starting to come around a bit in the offensive zone, but he still doesn't have the hop/drive that he's had in the past. Is it the stick?

[Easton]

Maybe Ovechkin should switch his stick too.

[superconan]

Why should he change his stick? He can score, but scoring doesn't seem to come naturally.

[icecats30]

i think he just needs to have more confidence in his shot.. he always wants to make the perfect pass bc i think he thinks his shot isnt that great.. we saw it his rookie and sophomore year, he can pick corners when he wants to. I dont know what changed but now he always tries to go 5 hole or make the amazing pass. goalies know that now and probably cheat a little and close the 5 hole sooner than normal

[TheHammer24]

Remember this is a player who averaged a goal a game in the Quebec League, scored 39 goals in his rookie season and added another 36 in his sophomore year. Crosby is on pace for 22 goals this season.

He used the same stick for all of those seasons...that's journalist logic right there.

I'm not saying it wouldn't help, i think Crosby just despises changing anything.

[Pickle Stabber]

Sid is 4th in the league in scoring. He is only 5 points behind Malkin. I think its safe to say he is being productive.

[Henry Hank]

Crosby has a straight blade for his passing and his back hand. That's his game. Why would anyone want him to change his game?

Maybe I'm the only one, but Crosby doesn't look "off" to me. He's flying out there, he's still very creative, he's still very tough along the boards, and he's still generating a lot of scoring chances. Odds are those are going to start going in. He's always been a pretty streaky goal scorer and his scoring in general picks up after December.

[PittPensFan]

I recall Garon and MacDonald robbing him a couple times (especially MacDonald), and Osgood made his only good save of the night on him right before Staal's hat trick goal. Those chances will start going behind the goaltenders soon. Be patient.

[littlemoonboot]

I was hoping this was going to be something from Duthie Dreger on Knob Hockey.

[Rohit]

i wouldnt be surprised if he has TRIED different sticks during practice and stuff. he seems like a guy that can adapt pretty easily so if he hasnt changed it, its probably because he didnt like it

[Idoit40fans]

Fire DH!

[penny lane]

Crosby has a straight blade for his passing and his back hand. That's his game. Why would anyone want him to change his game?

Maybe I'm the only one, but Crosby doesn't look "off" to me. He's flying out there, he's still very creative, he's still very tough along the boards, and he's still generating a lot of scoring chances. Odds are those are going to start going in. He's always been a pretty streaky goal scorer and his scoring in general picks up after December.

Crosby looks great. I think Dreger's point is that if Sid had a different stick, he could shoot the puck a lot better and be a great goal scorer, too. His shots do seem weak. Maybe a new stick with the same, flat blade will help.

Ceiling talk for Sidney should be tabled.

[Paekman]

i wouldnt be surprised if he has TRIED different sticks during practice and stuff. he seems like a guy that can adapt pretty easily so if he hasnt changed it, its probably because he didnt like it

I believe that he said he experimented with several sticks/patterns in the off-season. I tend to believe that his "slow" start overall and his lack of goals is more a function of an injury (hip and his ankle/foot is probably just now starting to get back into shape), and maybe a little bit of a mental block (i.e. Staal) rather than a lack of natural talent.

I think that you can tell Sid grips the stick a little bit tighter when he's in a goal scoring situation. One area that I think will help Sid enormously is to take a more active role as a shooter on the powerplay. I'm fine with his primary role being a puck distributor while on the power play, but last night was a great example of how team's deliberately back off of him when he has the puck on the power play, because they know he's going to dish the puck off.

If he took a couple of shots with the man advantage, he'd keep the defenders more honest and not only get a couple more goals, but would also create more room and thusly, chances for his teammates.

More goals will also lead to more assists and plays to be made for Sid, so I think that being in a position to shoot a bit more really makes him a much more dynamic player.

[penny lane]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08318/927508-61.stm

article from today's pg discussing Evgeni's / Sid's scoring so far.

When Sidney says he remembers every chance, I believe that. He needs to ease up on himself.

[Pitts]

When Sidney says he remembers every chance, I believe that. He needs to ease up on himself.

Yeah, but he also needs to score more.

[Mongoose87]

That same stick won him a scoring title. I'm not worried.

[helmespc]

Maybe Ovechkin should switch his stick too.

Maybe to something a little more..... legal?

[ShipHockey7]

he did change his shaft, but not the blade....probably something to do with that Reebok deal he signed

Then



Now



it may be sad that I've noticed that before, but I check out sticks a lot

[ShipHockey7]

if you look close though, even though he changed to a RBK shaft, he still uses that same sherwood blade and I'm assuming the same pattern

[bhaw]

he did change his shaft, but not the blade....probably something to do with that Reebok deal he signed

a lot of guys who sign deals just get the decal from the sponsor to put on the stick they like. the sponsor doesn't care bc no one knows the difference. may not be the case with Sid, but just mentioning....

[brwi]

Nice timing for Sid to have two goals right after this article

Brad

[superconan]

Nice timing for Sid to have two goals right after this article

Brad

Funny, it happened last time Dreger wrote an article about Sid's scoring ability. Maybe we should be thanking him?

[ivand87]

Nothing like a game against Philly for Sid to come out and get his first 2-goal game of the season.

I think I'm done second guessing Crosby. Sid knows better than all of us. That backhander is so sweet.

[netwolf]

Brian Metzer had some good numbers regarding Crosby's goal scoring:

We all need to be patient and realize that Sidney Crosby hasn't necessarily been the fastest starter during his career. Through 16 games this season, he has notched 6 goals. Here is a look at the first 16 games of each of Sidney's three prior season, and what he went on to score that year.

05-06 - 5 goals - Finished with - 39
06-07 - 7 goals - Finished with - 36
07-08 - (played only 53 games) 9 goals - Finished with - 24

Overall, Crosby is averaging close to his career average for shots. He is only .07 off of his career average for points per game and baring injuries will finish as a top five scorer. No worries...