Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby is hockey's most unique superstar ever

The best sports story in town wears No. 87, and it’s not Rodney Williams. We lead off refreshing Pittsburgh Penguins notes with a healthy dose of the captain.

• Sidney Crosby skating madly to negate an icing call in the waning moments of the Penguins’ 6-5 victory at Boston on Thursday illustrates what makes him hockey’s most unique superstar ever. That crazy, team-first desire. No knock on Mario Lemieux, but he wouldn’t have done that. (Lemieux would have scored into the empty net, though.)

• Crosby also had the winning goal and two assists and won 16 of 22 faceoffs. Crosby won the draw on his deciding tally. He’s on pace for 49 goals and 91 points. Crosby is making all of it seem routine at age 36. Connor McJesus won’t still be taking over games at that age. He probably still won’t have any Stanley Cups, either.

• Crosby is the Penguins’ best player almost every night. At 36. Let that sink in.

• Crosby won’t come close to winning NHL MVP. That makes the award a joke, which it often is. (1988-89. Never forget.)

• Crosby made the NHL All-Star event. He’s not fond of participating. It’s in Toronto, so it will be a media frenzy. Which won’t make him like it better.

• The Penguins blew a 5-2 lead Thursday and seemed headed for a soul-crushing loss. But the Penguins are a borderline playoff team, so all that matters is the points. You don’t need a Picasso. Same goes for rallying from a 4-1 deficit but still losing at home to Washington, 4-3, on Tuesday. No such thing as moral victories. (Crosby was insanely good in that game, too.)

• Kris Letang got burned by Boston’s Brad Marchand for a highlight-reel goal Thursday. Marchand’s a great player. That happens. Letang also had three assists. On the nights Crosby isn’t the Penguins’ best player, it’s usually Letang.

• Marcus Pettersson is so good defensively and reads his partner so well that whoever he’s in tandem with plays much better than he does otherwise. Pettersson’s value to the Penguins can’t be understated.

• John Ludvig is on long-term injured reserve. His spot on defense has been taken by P.O Joseph. That’s like replacing a battering ram with a feather duster.

Related

• Penguins' offense comes to rescue in wild 6-5 win over Boston
• Navigating challenging year, Penguins' P.O Joseph embraces elevated defensive role
• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby selected as All-Star for 10th time

• The Penguins’ power play still stinks. It ranks 26th in the NHL with a conversion rate of 14.4%. But it’s not even as good as that meager number. It’s a disorganized mess. It generates no momentum. Last year it was 14th in the league at 21.7%. How did the power play add Erik Karlsson, the best point man of his generation, and plummet like that?

• Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic recently have demonstrated why neither is a truly legit No. 1 goalie, specifically their lack of consistency. So split the workload. Less is more for both. Realize that and exploit it.

• Drew O’Connor is starting to use his size (6-foot-3, 190 pounds). He has three goals in his last six games. If O’Connor isn’t careful, he might turn into a legit NHL winger.

• Ryan Graves has been indescribably bad since joining the Penguins. It’s tough to watch. He’s clumsy, meek and clearly devoid of confidence. Graves was a solid defenseman with Colorado and New Jersey. The Penguins can’t scratch him. Graves just has to figure it out.

• After a good start, winger Reilly Smith has two goals in 27 games. He looks like he’d rather be in Vegas. (Hey, me, too.) Smith won a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights last season. Getting traded immediately after was undoubtedly tough. But the Penguins are Smith’s fifth team. He needs to get over it.

• This is a lengthier column for later, but if the Penguins aren’t locked into a playoff spot when the March 8 trade deadline approaches, Jake Guentzel must be dealt. He’s going to be a free agent in the offseason. You can’t let Guentzel walk and bring zero return if the Penguins won’t make postseason impact. Guentzel might fetch first- and second-round picks. Or the Penguins could re-up Guentzel long-term and never, ever really change or rebuild a team that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018. (The Penguins and Guentzel’s agent are not currently talking.)