Penguins Q&A with Dave Molinari

Q: Can Sidney Crosby carry the team like Evgeni Malkin did in 2008 when Sid was out with a high ankle sprain? In those 21 games, the Pens were 11-6-4 and Malkin had 14 goals and 22 assists and his game picked up considerably. I have yet to see this from Crosby playing without Malkin. Do you think he has it in him to take the team on his shoulders as Malkin did in 2008?

Steve, Baldwin

MOLINARI: Crosby enters the Penguins’ game in Boston tonight with no points in his past four games and while a player’s contribution and impact should not be measured solely by statistics, that’s not the kind of drought the Penguins expect from a player with Crosby’s history of productivity.

The Penguins’ spate of injuries up front certainly compounds to his challenge, because not having to worry about Malkin allows opponents to focus their defensive energies on containing him, but players of Crosby’s caliber are expected to elevate their games when the circumstances call for it.

Crosby isn’t the only one the Penguins can look to for more offensive output, however. His right winger, Bill Guerin, doesn’t have a goal in nine games and Jordan Staal (one goal in 11 games), Matt Cooke (one goal in 12 games) and Ruslan Fedotenko (one goal in nine games) also are capable of showing up on the scoresheet a little more often.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09314/1012078-125.stm?cmpid=penguins.xml#ixzz0WxChzGIb