Pierre McGuire On Crosby: 'I'm Not Seeing The Same Domination'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Following another disappointing loss by the Penguins, NBC NHL Analyst Pierre McGuire joined Joe Starkey to talk about what he saw from the Pens will calling the game from in between the benches.
The first thing Pierre talked about was the poor level of play we've seen from Sidney Crosby this year and what he attributes it to.
"I don't know what's wrong, Joe, but I can tell you this, I'm used to seeing him have an extra gear, an extra push, a little more strength on the puck, getting to the net a little bit more frequently. I didn't see that last night," Pierre said.
Pierre isn't ruling out an injury given the lack of speed in Crosby's game.
"I speculated that to some of my friends last night after the game," Pierre said. "There doesn't seem to be the same burst of speed. Now again, a lot of that could be maybe because of a lingering injury, maybe he's not feeling well, but I didn't notice that extra burst of speed, and that's one of his calling cards."
Crosby isn't the only disappointment on the Pens roster this year as forward Phil Kessel has only scored 9 goals this year, a far cry from what was expected of him.
"He hasn't had a lot of puck luck, but I also think from all the years that I've been around the league, in order to create puck luck, you've got to be the hardest working guy, and I'm not sure Phil's pushing the envelope hard enough," Pierre said.
Looking for an overall reason that the Penguins franchise appears to be on the decline, Pierre looks at the large number of players they've lost via free agency.
"My theories on the Penguins is pretty simple. You can't lose players like Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and Paul Martin to unrestricted free agency and get nothing in return," Pierre said. "That really sets your team back and that's what's happened in less than two calendar years in Pittsburgh."
You can hear the full interview below.
