Fear not, Penguins fans, Sid the Kid can rebound

Though four low-scoring games have passed, Pittsburgh Penguins fans need not worry about the… Though four low-scoring games have passed, Pittsburgh Penguins fans need not worry about the success of this year’s team. Although they have scored only 14 goals in four games, six came in the last game, a 6-4 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Experts were saying before this weekend’s game that the Pens are just a mediocre team with a bunch of non-jelling superstars.

I even heard them compared to the star-studded, aging Pittsburgh team from 2005 that featured the likes of Zigmund Palffy, who left the team in January of that season, and John LeClair, who was cut midway through the following season.

Don’t worry, the team will be just fine.

Sidney Crosby, the reigning NHL MVP, had a “slump” in which he didn’t score a goal in the first three games. But as Crosby pointed out after Saturday’s game, he went eight to 10 games last season without a goal.

As long as players of Crosby’s caliber are still getting chances, we need not concern ourselves with the league’s best player. He will finish those chances eventually, which he showed Saturday when he put in two goals on four shots.

When Crosby is at the top of his game, he is the most dominant player the NHL has seen since the 1998 version of Jaromir Jagr, who scored 127 points and led the Pens to the conference semifinals.

He can beat nearly every player in the league in a one-on-one situation, and often on one-on-two situations as well. When behind the Montreal net in the Pens’ 3-2 loss on Wednesday, Crosby displayed this talent.

He swooped down the right wing boards behind the net, shielding the puck with his wide stance. He baited the defenseman, and banked the biscuit off the back of the net. Spinning around, he left the defender in awe before sliding a centering pass to the slot where one of his line mates was parked.

Crosby’s moves fascinate me every shift he is one the ice, which is why I don’t see why there are people skeptical of his play.

He is bigger, better and stronger than ever, and he isn’t going to take the elementary penalties that we used to see because of his new captaincy.

He is playing a more mature game and is finding teammates. But alas, it is a game of bounces, so people need to get off of Crosby’s back.

Another player who is expected to help the Pens contribute night in and night out is Marc-Andre Fleury.

When given the night off Saturday, Fleury was pressed into duty after goaltender Dany Sabourin took a blow to the head and needed stitches. Fleury stepped in and stopped 19 of 21 shots to help lead the Pens to victory.

That game showed that Fleury is a good goaltender.

He controlled his rebounds well, played his angles perfectly, and we didn’t see any unnecessary flashes of a bad Dominic Hasek, where Fleury tends to flop like a fish on a cutting board.

He played extremely well last season, finishing second in Pittsburgh history with his 40 wins.

With his workload increasing since his rookie season in 2003, Fleury’s goals-against average and save percentage have lowered and risen, respectively, every season.

The worry from fans this season comes from the first three games. Fleury looked as if he regressed in form and technique and was back to letting in weak goals, but he put those thoughts to rest with his performance Saturday evening.

Mental preparation is the biggest part of a goaltender at every level, and with Fleury, 22, being the league’s second youngest starting net minder his concentration is expected to be erratic at times.

With more and more experience, he will learn how to focus better and play at the top of his game.