Sullivan: Crosby handled Game 6 abuse well
OTTAWA – On the very first shift of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night, Sidney Crosby took an elbow to the chin from Ottawa forward Mark Stone. He slowly skated to the bench, shaking his head in disgust.
It only got worse from there.
After Crosby scored in the previous three games, the Senators seemed to make a concerted effort to rough up the Penguins captain in Game 6 as much as they could.
During a scrum at the end of the second period, Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot, with his gloves off, raked Crosby's face.
Late in the third period, while Crosby stood along the boards just outside of the offensive zone, Methot took jabs at his chest with the blade of his stick while Mike Hoffman, seated on the bench, sprayed a water bottle on his back.
Meeting with reporters at the team hotel before boarding a flight to Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning, coach Mike Sullivan said he thought Crosby handled the treatment well.
"It's nothing new to Sid," Sullivan said. "Most teams in the league try to go after him. They're trying to get him off his game. I thought he was extremely focused. He played really hard. He had a number of high-quality chances. The puck didn't go in for him last night, but if he gets that many high-quality chances in a game, he's a guy that usually converts.
"I thought he handled it extremely well. He was focused, he was determined, and he played the game the right way."
Crosby's goal streak ended, but he had six shots in Game 6. While he was on the ice at even strength, the Penguins outshot the Senators, 23-11.
A similar performance would go a long way toward helping the Penguins overcome the pesky Senators in a Game 7 showdown Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.
"He's an exceptional leader," teammate Matt Cullen said. "Obviously his play speaks for itself. He seems to rise up in these occasions and we've seen it. His play elevates when the stakes are high."
Crosby had two goals and an assist in the first Game 7 he played in his career, a 6-2 victory over Washington in the second round in 2009. He was held scoreless in his past four winner-take-all games, then recorded an assist in a 2-0 victory over Washington last round. The Penguins won four of the six games.
Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.
