Crosby the best player in the league? How can someone be the best player in the league and not play the penalty kill? If I’ve got the best player in the league on my bench you can be damn sure he’s going to be on the ice when I’m a man down.

Posted by brad on 11/27/08 at 12:30 PM ET

I wrote this to say Malkin is the MVP of the season so far.  There is no claim in it that Crosby is the bets player in the NHL - in fact I would argue against that claim.  Are you sure you are responding to the correct post?

That said, Crosby has over a minute per game of shorthanded time.  So he clearly does kill some penalties.

In principle, there is no reason that the best player in the NHL could get no short handed time (which is not the case with Crosby).  He may do other things so well that he is the best player in the game despite no penalty killing.

In the case of Pittsaburgh, both Crosby and Malkin are huge offensive weapons who lead the team in ice time.  It is probably considered better roster management to preferentially use other players in situations such as penalty kill when scoring is not so likely and use Crosby and Malkin preferentially in more offensive situations.  That said both do penalty kill in Pittsburgh.  Both have about a minute per game on the pemnalty kill.

Posted by PuckStopsHere on 11/27/08 at 12:48 PM ET

I’ve been saying this to friends since last January when Malkin took the reins in Crosby’s absence.  Malkin get’s the bad rap of playing on the same team as “the best player in the league and the face of the new NHL”.  He gets second line duties, and is also #2 for anything.  Too bad he is the better player (and isn’t sitting on his ass whining to the ref’s less too!)

Posted by 41 Long Ones from Edmonton on 11/27/08 at 05:58 PM ET

Malkin certainly wasn’t the best player in the finals last year.  I wouldn’t have even put him in the top 5 on either teams.

Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 11/27/08 at 08:40 PM ET

moore...that’s probably true.  word out of the lockerroom was that he was injured during the finals.  my job required me to be there - without giving away a position here - and that was pretty much the deal.

that being said.  the pens wouldn’t have gotten there if malkin didnt turn it up before that.  and in the couple of series before he was lights out. 

the crosby / ovie argument - its always gonna be ovie on paper.  he’ll bring the stats.  but think of it like this.  would you rather have built a team around stevie yzerman or jaromir jagr?  skill wise ovie destroys but like a lot of prime goal scorers he himself is good but doesnt make the players around him better.  the opposite is true of crosby.  dude cant score goals that make you cry but hes making miroslav satan look a lot better than he actually is.  its whatev.  its always going to go back and forth so whatev.

malkin on the other hand, he possesses that rare once in a lifetime ability to take over a game.  im a pretty rational hockey fan, but im from pittsburgh and an obvious pens fan.  there are games when malkin just snaps.  he just takes over and controls the game.  its that dare-i-say lemieux-esque ability. 

go ahead and tell me ovie does the same thing.  he scores big goals.  ok.  but ive watched a lot of hockey.  and other than lemieux and gretz in my life time ive never seen anyone else control a game like malkin. 

when he turns it on, its his game.  even if he doesnt score he steers the ship when he wants to.  he has that 6th gear that not many players have where he goes to a whole other level.  he’s just getting started.

Posted by whocares from pittsburgh on 11/27/08 at 09:54 PM ET