Crosby: McDavid's taken game to new level

Like the rest of the hockey world, Sidney Crosby is in awe of what Connor McDavid is doing on a nightly basis this season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain had nothing but praise for his Edmonton Oilers counterpart ahead of their marquee matchup Wednesday.

"He's playing at such a high level, and when someone is playing at the level he's at, it's hard to think that they can find another level," Crosby said, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "I think he's done that. I think that's the most impressive part about it."

McDavid's notched 36 points in 20 games this season, good for third in the league's scoring race. His seemingly weekly highlight-reel goals have earned Crosby's admiration.

"I think it's an appreciation for how difficult it is to make the plays that he does," Crosby said. "The one against New York, that was late in the game too, it was the tying goal. That's the fun part. You don't want to be on the other side of that if you're on the ice, but you have a certain level of appreciation.

"That's fun to see. It's great for the game and it's great to see someone at that level doing what he's doing."

Crosby is referring to McDavid's showstopper against the New York Rangers from early November.

Crosby is off to a relatively slow start this season after undergoing offseason wrist surgery and battling COVID-19. The 34-year-old's notched seven points in 10 games.

McDavid has outscored Crosby 10-4 in head-to-head matchups, but the Penguins have gone 6-0-1 in those games.

The Oilers enter Wednesday's tilt sitting second in the Pacific Division at 15-5-0, while the Penguins occupy fourth in the Metropolitan Division at 10-7-5. The puck drops at 10 p.m. ET.