Sidney Crosby's second second coming continues to go well, as the Pittsburgh Penguins' captain picked up another multi-point game, notching 3 assists in a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Two of those helpers came on goals by Matt Cooke, who has scored four times since being gifted Sidney Crosby as a centre two games ago.
But the Crosby-Cooke combination isn't the only Pittsburgh twosome that should concern other Eastern Conference teams these days. Judging from this powerplay hookup, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin remain just as formidable together as ever:
Crosby does some incredible work to fend off his check and fire that cross-ice feed in traffic. What a pass. (Note: According to Wysh, a Penguins fan claims she "almost had a baby" on this pass. That, my friends, is a successful pass.)
But Malkin's one-timer is perfectly placed as well. What a shot.
Crosby's 3-point night gave him 5 points in two games since returning, and 17 on the year. That puts him on pace for 34 points in this injury-shortened campaign. If that doesn't blow your mind, consider: Crosby is averaging 1.7 points per game this season, far and away the best in the NHL. (He's trailed by teammate Evgeni Malkin at 1.38 and fellow Pennsylvanian Claude Giroux at 1.22.)
Granted, we're drawing from a 10-game sample size and you'd have to expect him to tail off a little (right?... right?), but the guy has missed nearly a full calendar year of hockey and, through 10 games, he's producing at the highest point per game pace since Mario Lemieux posted a 1.76 PPG in 2000-01. That's stunning.
The Pittsburgh Penguins look untouchable right now. En route to their 11th straight win, they outshot the Devils 44-14.
(Bonus material: check out New Jersey's green St. Patrick's Day shorts in the clip. Aw yeah.)
Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney