With Sidney Crosby out from suffering a serious concussion and possibly being unable to return to the rest of the playoffs, the big question has been whether the Pittsburgh Penguins can survive without him. The simple answer? Perhaps.

Sidney Crosby out

The Hart Trophy finalist has never played better. Crosby had four goals and seven assists across Games 2 to 7 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored two goals in 52 seconds in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals. Sidney Crosby set up goals for Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel. And he backchecked and broke up passes like a champ.

Overcoming the loss of a star player would be a tremendous challenge for any team, but the Penguins are not like other teams. In an article by Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, coach Mike Sullivan is adamant that “[persevering] is just what this team does. I think this group has so much character and talent that we are able to endure the injuries we have.”

There’s always Malkin

Evgeni Malkin is as yet uninjured and leads all NHL playoff scorers with 15 points in eight games. Sullivan pointed out that Game 3 could’ve gone either way. But Malkin kept it alive by scoring with 1:53 left in regulation, forcing overtime.

Malkin and Crosby are both dominant players, but Malkin can well and truly take on the alpha role with Crosby absent. According to Kevin Allen of USA Today Sports, all Sullivan has to do is decide whether to keep or break the Malkin/Phil Kessel partnership in order for there be a scoring balance. Sullivan believes “they’ve been a threat”, so keeping this pair together may be in the team’s best interests.

Malkin at his peak, takes on opponents with strong physicality. He works hard to get open and gain possession of the puck. In simple terms, he does things his way. Which is usually the right way.

The statistics say one thing, but Fleury can beat them

Regardless of Crosby’s absence, Dave Holcomb of The Hockey Writers feels statistically, the Penguins chance of survival may not be as favourable as they were last season. “Pittsburgh is still usually the faster team, but, at least in the playoffs, they haven’t controlled the puck and recorded more shots than opponents”.

Losing defender Kris Letang has hit the team hard too, but fans need not to despair. With a .933 save percentage, Marc-Andre Fleury’s ability to remain dominant while replacing Letang is promising. Pittsburgh controlling possession is paramount if they’re going to win at least 10 playoff games. In any case, Fleury is still an elite Vezina-material goaltender who is capable of stepping up to the challenge.

More time in the offensive zone please

Pittsburgh blocked 62 shots in the first two games as opposed to Washington blocking 18. But the Penguins’ advantage may be attributed to the fact that there simply aren’t as many shots from the opponents getting through. However, the Penguins are finding themselves in the defensive zone too many times. They need to find a way to play more in the offensive zone. This is to avoid losing more players to blocking shots, as they already did with Patric Hornqvist, Tom Kuhnhackl and Aron Hainsey.

Sullivan told the Washington Post he agrees they should be on the offensive but feels the team has been performing adequately while on the defensive.

“Do we want our guys to be in lanes and blocking shots as often as we have in the early part of this series? No, we’d prefer not to. But having said that, if we’re defending in our end zone, part of the strategy of defending is making sure you’re denying opportunities for the puck to get to the scoring area.”

The Penguins’ advancement through the playoffs now seem to rely heavily on Malkin and Fleury with Sidney Crosby out. Both players have proven on countless occasions that they can handle the pressure. And with the help of their very capable teammates, the Penguins certainly have a fighting chance.

by Yvonne Hew – contributor