Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma decided to give his captain a break from the media on Monday.

“Every day doesn’t need to be Sidney Crosby day,” Bylsma replied when asked why Crosby, who many refer to as the face of the NHL, wasn’t on the roster of Penguins players made available to the media on the eve of Game 3.

NHL media relations pushed hard to encourage the Penguins to reconsider, but in the end they relented with a compromise that included Pittsburgh sending five players to the media area.

A frustrated Sidney Crosby took a whack at Kirk Maltby’s skate as Game 1 ended, tired of what he called the nonstop chirping by the Red Wings forward. So far, it might be Crosby’s best shot of the Stanley Cup finals.

Blanketed by Henrik Zetterberg whenever he steps on the ice, Crosby has gone from being the best player in the playoffs to being a concern to the Pittsburgh Penguins because of his lack of offense.

He’s not playing badly, but he’s not playing like Sidney Crosby.

QUICK ANALYSIS

The Penguins wanted desperately to leave Detroit with a split and the series tied at 1-1 heading back to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the Red Wings’ 3-1 victory in Game 2 put the Penguins in a two-game hole as the Stanley Cup Final shifts to Mellon Arena for the next two games.

Pittsburgh put together another strong performance, but again, didn’t get the breaks needed to pull off the win. However, the Penguins all remain confident with the way they played in the first two games that they can still beat the Red Wings.

For inspiration, all the Penguins have to do is look back at their semifinal matchup with Washington. The Capitals won the first two games but Pittsburgh bounced back strong by winning the next three games and eventually came out victorious in the series.

The Cup is still within the Penguins’ reach. Detroit held serve at home and now it’s the Penguins turn to step up at Mellon Arena. The pressure is really on Pittsburgh to handle its business at home. The Penguins have conquered many challenges already this season. Now the team must answer the call again with its championship dreams on the line.