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“It’s probably wrong to say they didn’t mesh,” said Pens coach Mike Johnston. “We didn’t get off to a great start the first few games, so I decided to change some lines up. That’s natural. As a coach you’re looking for something different, a new look.

“Phil had some phenomenal chances in those games that they played together. Some Grade A chances that normally he wouldn’t miss. So now that we know how they play together, you’ve got that in the bank … let’s see how he does with Geno (Malkin).”

Crosby, as you’d expect, takes the responsibility personally, says he needs to be more consistent, shoot more, work harder.

His teammates aren’t buying it.

“We ultimately do need him to score for us to be successful, but right now, it’s more of a case of ‘When is it going to happen?’ Everyone expects it to be the next game, or the one after that,” said Lovejoy.

“But we’ve won seven of our last eight. If we were struggling it would be a bigger deal.”

“I think you guys are getting a bigger kick out of it than we do,” Dupuis said. “Obviously you’ve got to talk about it because he hasn’t gone through anything like that before, but within the team it’s not like we’re panicking.”

Kessel has been pretty good, albeit better with Malkin, who leads the team with 10 points.

But much like Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall — who started the season together, then were separated and immediately won NHL rookie of the month and player of the week honours on different lines — it’s not guaranteed to last. Nothing is, in hockey.