VIDEO: Penguins' Crosby on scoring 3 points in series vs. Rangers: 'it was not a lack of effort'
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was held pointless in his team's Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday and finished the series with one goal and two assists.
After the game, Crosby said "I would have liked to have scored more and contributed more, it was not a lack of effort." He also admitted his personal lack of production makes the early playoff exit even harder to take.
Sidney Crosby: "It’s tough losing as it is, but when you’re not able to contribute as much as you’d like, it’s even tougher." #Penguins
— Shelly Anderson (@pgshelly) May 14, 2014
Crosby's post-game comments can be viewed here:
[Courtesy Penguins.NHL.com]
Crosby finished the postseason with the lone goal and nine assists, a scoring rate far below his 104 points in 80 games during the regular season. The game's premier player did register 80 shot attempts in 13 games, and continues leads all players in the postseason with a 61.6 five-on-five Corsi for percentage (per Extra Skater).
This gives credence to Crosby's claim that he did everything he could to help his team win, but he ultimately done in by a shooting percentage of 2.6.
Teammate Matt Niskanen came to his captain's defense after the game while acknowledging that criticism will fall unjustly fall on Crosby's shoulders. "It’s understandable that people are going to look in his direction," Niskanen said. "That’s the nature of the beast. Is it fair? Probably not. That’s just the way it is. That’s the world we live in."
Depending on the changes occur within the organization over the summer, the Penguins world may look very different when training camp begins in September.