Putting Sidney Crosbys incredible goal-scoring pace in persp

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Putting Sidney Crosbys incredible goal-scoring pace in persp

Sidney Crosby is a pretty good hockey player. Yes, alert the ma ses.

But it's not just that the Penguins star has been playing up to his typical high standards during the 2016-17 season he has been better than ever at putting the puck in the net.

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Crosby continued to distance himself from the rest of the NHL's top goal scorers with another goal on Tuesday against the Devils in a 5-2 Pittsburgh win. Crosby smacked a shot past Devils goaltender Cory Schneider off a beautiful Earl Weaver Jersey feed from Conor Sheary.

Fun fact: Sidney Crosby has 25 goals this season (an NHL-best). No other player has 20.

Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins)

In addition to the goal, Crosby had two a sists, and finished plus-2 in nearly 17 minutes of ice time. "The Kid" is right in the thick of the points race and is on track to score more goals in a single season than he ever has in his 11-year career.

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Let's take a look at how Crosby has taken his game to another level:

25

With asecond-period goal against the Devils, Crosby now has 25 goals in 30 Renato Nunez Jersey games. No other NHL player has scored 20 goals. He alsoholds the No. 1 spot despite mi sing the first six games of the season.

63

At his current pace, Crosby will finish the season with 63goals. That would easily eclipse the highest total of his career (51 goals in 2009-10) and would be the most goals scored in a season since Alex Ovechkinnetted 65 in 2007-08.Crosby would join Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos as the only players to score 60 or more goals in a single season since1997.

23.8

Crosby is also on pace forthe highest shooting percentage of his career. He's currently at 23.8 percent on 105 Baltimore Orioles Jersey shots, well ahead of the 19.9 percent he posted in 41 games during the 2010-11 season before symptoms stemming from a serious concu sion kept him off the ice.

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0.53

While Crosby is averaging a career-high 0.83 goals per game, his a sists per game have actually dropped to a career-low 0.53. Evgeni Malkin and Phil Ke sel have picked up the slack in that department, both placing in the top 10 on the NHL a sists list. Those averages would keep Crosby at 1.36 points per game, slightly above his career J.J. Hardy Jersey rate (1.328). Crosby is fifth all time in points per game behind Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bo sy and Bobby Orr.

Aside from the numbers, opposing players have noticed subtle changes in Crosby's evolving game.

"You see a lot of his goals this year are deflections and tips," Devils winger Taylor Hall told Jeremy Hellickson Jersey . "It's obviously something he's worked at, and in the new NHL, teams are so good at defending, you've got to find new ways to score, and he's obviously doing that this year."

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Bruins winger Brad Marchandeven went so far as to sayCrosby is "on another level."

"Some of the goals he gets now, the goals behind the net,out of the air, some of the plays he makes I think he surprises people every year, especially with the talent that he has," Marchand said (via )."You think you've seen it all until he pulls another trick out of the bag."

As mentioned, Crosby's goal pace has kept him firmly in the points race. He is tied with Malkin at 41 points, and is on pace for the sixth 100-point season of his career.

The Penguins teammates are right behind Oilers phenom Connor McDavid, who leads the league with 42 points. John Means Jersey It should be a fun ride asMcDavid attemptsto hold on to the top spot with Crosby and Malkin chasing him down.

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