Leave it to captain Sidney Crosby to keep the Pittsburgh Penguins in the postseason race.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins took a harsh blow when they announced that forward Jake Guentzel would be out of the lineup for four weeks with an upper-body injury. Considering their place in the standings and the importance of the player, the injury made the likelihood of the Penguins going on a run pretty slim.

If there is one player you should never doubt, however, it’s Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby. In the first game without Guentzel in the lineup, Crosby hit a new gear in an already stellar season.

Crosby scored twice against the Chicago Blackhawks, including his game-opening goal just 15 seconds into the match. He wasted no time in showing who can be leaned on in times of trouble.

Without Guentzel in the lineup and the Penguins' playoff hopes not completely lost,  Crosby looks determined to take over. It wouldn’t be anything new for Crosby, as he and Evgeni Malkin have been known to step up when one another goes down with injuries.

The next month could be something special from Crosby. Tacking on two goals in Chicago puts the captain at 30 on the season for the 12^th time in his career, and his 54 points lead the Penguins.

Earlier in the season, there was serious discussion about Crosby deserving to be in the Hart Trophy conversation as the league MVP. While that talk faded for a bit, if he can singlehandedly pull the Penguins back into playoff contention, there is no doubt those talks will spark again.

Crosby has already put the Penguins on his back this year, but with Guentzel down and their playoff lives on the line, expect Crosby to find new levels of dominance.

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