Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is finding more goals

He certainly has scored more iconic goals, both in their gravity and their cosmetic appeal.

Heck, this one didn’t even have the impediment of a goaltender in net.

But it was an important goal for Sidney Crosby within the context of his 2021-22 season.

During the late stages of a 5-3 road win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain was on the ice helping his team protect a one-goal lead. From the neutral zone in front of the home bench, he fired a forehand shot into an empty net to secure victory.

And restore a little faith in his abilities as a goal-scorer.

“Yeah, yeah, definitely,” Crosby said to media Friday in Columbus, Ohio. “You know you don’t get a lot of those chances. So, I wouldn’t say I was pressing but it’s nice to see one go in and try to build off of that.”

Before that score in Sin City, Crosby had one goal in his previous 12 games.

Since then, Crosby has found the net four times, including a hat trick during Friday’s 5-2 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With 10 goals, Crosby is no threat to challenge his long-time rival/frenemy, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal-scorer.

But he’s a few more steps removed from the challenges he experienced during the early stages of the season as he worked his way back from offseason surgery to his left wrist and a bout with covid-19.

“It’s tough for him when things aren’t going in,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “He’s hit a lot of posts, he’s had a lot of chances and they just haven’t gone in. Now, you can see the confidence for him. He’s burying, he’s getting a lot of opportunities. Creating a lot of offensive zone (time), wearing (opponents) down. He’s getting tough matchups every night. He’s playing a great game right now. Even before that, when pucks weren’t going in, he was getting a lot of chances and driving play for us. It’s good to see him get rewarded with a hat trick (Friday night).”

That reward came with a bit of luck. At least as far as the third goal — which involved another empty net — was concerned.

From his own right circle, Crosby turned up ice and tried to bank a pass across the ice off the right wing boards. The puck missed the intended target — linemate Bryan Rust — and deflected into the vacant cage.

Crosby admitted his impression of Fast Eddie Felson, as impressive as it seemed, was unintentional.

“I was just trying to throw it over there so (Rust) could skate into it,” Crosby said. “I didn’t even expect it to go in. … I missed him. I was more upset that I (potentially) was going to get an icing out of it. For it to go in was a big bonus.”

That type of bonus was largely beyond Crosby’s grasp through the initial stages of his season, even if he was mostly satisfied with the process.

“It would be nice to see more go in before. But I wouldn’t say I let it change the way I played or affect me too much. You understand if you keep getting chances or looks, you’ve got to trust that it will go in. Easier said than done sometimes. But I think for the most part, I just tried to kind of play the right way, play through it and take whatever play was there.

“Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. There’s no real explanation. It just is the way it is.”

Note: The Penguins canceled a scheduled practice Saturday.

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