Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby is sizzling, Ben Kindel brings power-play brilliance and more Penguins thoughts

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 9-4-2, top of the NHL. Sidney Crosby is the league’s leading goal-scorer at 11. The (unexpected) situation fairly begs for refreshing Penguins notes!

• Crosby is also just two points off the NHL’s points lead. Even for him, he’s sizzling. If Crosby drags this rag-tag Penguins team into the playoffs, he could get his third NHL MVP. At 38, that would make him the NHL’s oldest MVP ever. (Crosby should already have three or four.)

• Thursday’s 5-3 victory over Washington wasn’t a great win. But it would have been a bad loss. The Penguins blew a 3-0 lead for a second consecutive game but this time rallied to grab the two points. That result didn’t save the Penguins’ season, but it kept their hot start from officially turning to excrement. The dressing room was more relieved than happy.

• Rookie forward Ben Kindel was brilliant on the power play Thursday, decent in his debut on Crosby’s line. He needs to get closer to Crosby when the Penguins get the puck down low playing five-on-five. But Kindel is already sublime with the man advantage — mostly on the left half-wall but also rotating with Bryan Rust into the bumper spot. Kindel’s puck movement and ability to patiently clear space befits a 10-year veteran. Kindel should not come off the top power play when Rickard Rakell is healthy. Only Mario Lemieux coming out of retirement again should displace Kindel. His power-play IQ is tops on the team. Kindel was directing Erik Karlsson where to go at one point.

• Kindel is the current power-play catalyst. Crosby leads the NHL in man-advantage goals with six. But don’t discount Evgeni Malkin’s role in the Penguins’ 35.9% conversion rate, No. 1 in the league. Malkin’s puck movement and precision have been big factors. He’s got seven power-play points. His cross-ice dish to Rust for Thursday’s winning power-play goal was wondrous.

• The Penguins had two monstrous penalty kills Thursday with the score tied 3-3 in the third period. Forward Connor Dewar did a lot of the heavy lifting.

• Karlsson has played more good games this season than he did in his prior two years with the Penguins. He’s more responsible defensively but still makes plays. Coach Dan Muse has reeled Karlsson in just enough.

• It’s been years since the Penguins have had anyone consistently go hard to the net like winger Anthony Mantha. Mantha has seven goals and seems born again after surgery to repair a torn ACL last year. He puts opponents in the net along with the puck.

• The Penguins can score: Their 54 goals rank second most in the NHL. But how quickly their defensive structure can abandon them is frightening. Their defensive corps isn’t good. Their neutral-zone mistakes can be nauseating. Their penchant for stupid plays multiplies when they have a lead and feel their oats. Their 9-4-2 mark has a shaky foundation.

• To wit, the Penguins allowed four goals in 10 minutes, 12 seconds Monday at Toronto, three goals in 10:14 on Thursday versus Washington. They need to work on that.

• Rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke has been a healthy scratch in five of the Penguins’ last eight games and has struggled mightily when he has played. But I still wouldn’t send Brunicke back to Major Junior. I’ve got faith in his talent and attitude, and Brunicke just won’t improve by returning to that level.

• Washington’s Alex Ovechkin got a standing ovation Thursday when his 900th career goal was shown on the Jumbotron, and rightly so. He’s a true all-time great and a worthy foe.

• Had Lemieux stayed healthy, he’d have scored 900 goals. Maybe a thousand.

• Crosby and Ovechkin played against each other for the 99th time Thursday. They play twice more this season, a home-and-home on consecutive nights in April. It might be the best individual rivalry in hockey history. The only thing left for them to do is fight.

• As this space previously noted, phenom goalie Sergei Murashov should have made his NHL debut Thursday. The Penguins erred stupidly by not playing him. It was a chance to create the kind of great moment the franchise is built upon. The win doesn’t justify not starting him. If Muse sticks to his goaltending rotation, Murashov won’t make his home debut until Nov. 21. There won’t be half the buzz. Everybody will have already seen him play on TV.

• Arturs Silovs played OK in goal Thursday, making 28 saves. My demand that Murashov should have played doesn’t reflect badly on him. Silovs was good enough, if not great.

• Thursday was the Penguins’ first sellout of the regular season. (In addition to Marc-Andre Fleury’s exhibition game return.) The crowd was boosted by lots of Washington fans. But the Penguins have played to just 84.7% of capacity, second-worst in the NHL. The hot start isn’t enough of a draw, nor is the team’s old-timey star power. Different hype seems needed.

• Saturday’s game at New Jersey will tell a tale. The teams are tied at the top of the NHL with 20 points. The Devils are a difficult matchup. They have a deep roster, which the Penguins don’t. The Devils’ whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A bit of star power anchored by center Jack Hughes. Their goaltending isn’t great, but whose is?