It is no surprise that Sidney Crosby had a really rough start to the season, but has he really lost his touch as some would suggest? I say no, that's insane and here's why:
Even in one of the 'worst' seasons of his career Crosby has scored over 30 goals, is fifth in the NHL in points, ninth in goals and 12th in assists. He averages 1.33 points per game in his career, but he is only (only being used loosely) averaging 1.04 points per game in the 2015-16 season.
Crosby's numbers are down a little but this year, but I think I know why. The short answer is unsuitability. The Penguins have had two different head coaches this year and Crosby hasn't had
the same wingers on his line almost all year.
Dan Bylsma coached Sidney for most of his career and he was on a line with Pascal Dupree and Chris Kunitz for a number of year.
This year the Penguins fired their then head coach Mike Johnston and brought in Mike Sullivan. Sidney also hasn't had a consistent line at all. He's played with Kunitz, Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist, among others, in a large number of different combinations. With different coaches and a revolving door of wingers, any player would struggle to find consistency.
Lately we have seen Crosby start to return to his old form and I think it's because he's had enough time to get used to what Sullivan's system and how his line-mates play. So Sidney Crosby is not regressing, not yet at least.
I agree Crosby is not slowing down he has doubled his goals in the second half of the season and was named as one of the NHL's Stars of the week and was number one.
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