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Sidney Crosby voted ‘Most Complete Player’ in NHLPA Player Poll

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

Crosby has been voted the most complete player in the poll for a sixth straight season.

Sidney Crosby has received high recognition from his peers in across the National Hockey League as he’s once again been voted the ‘Most Complete Player’ in the annual NHLPA Player Poll.

Crosby has been voted the most complete player in the poll for a sixth straight season.

There’s no question that this @penguins Cap can do it all

With 20 NHL seasons under No. 87’s belt, there’s no question why Sidney Crosby gets the nod for most complete player. #NHLPAPlayerPoll pic.twitter.com/08TcLLPjF8

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) April 15, 2025​

He received a total of 33.81% of the vote this season, ahead of Aleksander Barkov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Anze Kopitar.

Crosby was also recognized as player most others would pick if they needed to win a faceoff with 20.39% of the vote, ahead of Ryan O’Reilly, Anze Kopitar, Jordan Staal, and Aleksander Barkov.

Lastly, Crosby led the poll among those asked who the smartest player in the league is, with 27.02% of the vote, ahead of Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, Aleksander Barkov, and Adam Fox.

Crosby was also recognized as the 4th highest picked player when asked who the best overall forward is and the 5th highest picked player when asked who the best playmaker is.

To view the complete results of the 2024-25 NHLPA Player Poll, click here.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/16...ted-most-complete-player-in-nhlpa-player-poll

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Washington Capitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4/17/2025

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

One more time, it’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!

Who: Washington Capitals (51-21-9, 111 points, 1st place Metropolitan Division @ Pittsburgh Penguins (33-36-12, 78 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Nationally broadcast game on ESPN, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: Today is the end of the line for the 57th team in Penguin history who will miss the playoffs for a third straight season. The team gets ready for breakdown day and a long summer to rest, rehab and start training to do it all over again next fall.

Opponent Track: It’ll be a mostly meaningless game tonight for the Caps too but for a very different reason. As the No. 1 seed in the East Washington will be focused on what they need to do for the playoffs and their main goal for tonight should be making sure no one gets hurt and the team is ready to go for the postseason.

Season Series: The Pens won the first PIT/WSH game back in early November, but since then the Caps beat them 4-1 in January and 8-3 in February. Tonight offers a small measure of revenge and a chance to split the season series at two wins a piece if the Pens can get the victory.

Getting to know the Capitals​

Projected lines (based on Tuesday’s game)

FORWARDS

Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Anthony Beauvillier

Connor McMichael - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson

Andrew Mangiapane - Lars Eller - Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Taylor Raddysh

DEFENSEMEN

Rasmus Sandin / Matt Roy

Alex Alexeyev / Trevor van Riemsdyk

Martin Fehervary / Dylan McIlrath

Goalies: Charlie Lindgren and Clay Stephenson

Scratches: Jacob Chychrun (playoff maintenance), John Carlson (playoff maintenance), Logan Thompson, Aliaksei Protas, Ethen Frank

IR: Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Sonny Milano

—The Caps have taken their foot off the gas, Ovechkin, and Carlson have gotten games off recently. But there’s been some involuntary misses with Thompson, Chychrun and Protas a little banged up (or “ill” in Chychrun’s case) at this time of year when absences to key players becomes scary. Taking only an optional practice yesterday, we don’t know much about who the Caps may or may not dress tonight.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb)

—As is the case most first place teams in the division and conference, plenty of players have had career-seasons. Strome, Protas, Dubois, Wilson, McMichael and Chychrun all have set highs in goals and/or points this season. Ovechkin’s out here scoring 43 goals in 64 games at age-39, truly incredible best case scenario situation almost all the way across the board for the Caps to have so many players perform so well together and at the same time. The result has been a force multiplier to turn a team that barely made it into the playoffs last season into the top seed in the East this time around.

—Catching up with old friends: Beauvillier got off to a nice start after his trade deadline day move to Washington but has no points in his last eight games and 0G+1A in the last 10, but still has been playing in a 12-14 minute lower line role (aside from scrambling around during end of season rest games)...Similarly, Eller has no points in his last nine games and only 0G+1A in the last 10 and hasn’t done much as of late either. Saving it for the games that count, no doubt.

—By the way, the highest the second round pick the Pens will receive from the Caps in this draft for the Beauvillier trade will be 59th overall, which will happen if the Caps are eliminated during the first two round of the playoffs...The pick moves to 61 or 62 if Washington loses in the Conference Final (depending on whether or not Winnipeg makes it to the SCF or not). The pick turns into No. 63 if the Caps lose in the Stanley Cup Final and it would be 64 if..well let’s not even think about it moving to 64.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines (from practice yesterday)

FORWARDS

Ville Koivunen - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell

Connor Dewar - Joona Koppanen - Philip Tomasino

P.O. Joseph - Vasily Ponomarev - Valtteri Puustinen

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Conor Timmins

Ryan Graves / Vladislav Kolyachonok or Filip Kral

Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Vladislav Kolyachonok or Filip Kral, Tommy Novak (lower body, out for season), Boko Imama (bicep surgery, out for season), Blake Lizotte (out for season), Noel Acciari (out for season), Rutger McGroarty (foot, out for NHL season), Kris Letang (heart surgery)

—Kevin Hayes missed both days of practice since Sunday’s game and is officially day-to-day, per Mike Sullivan yesterday. Being as today’s the last day left in the season, who even knows?

—After missing the last 19 games, P.O. Joseph might be back in time for the finale. Good on him for working to get back and maybe one more chance to play a game with the Penguins. Joseph worked nominally as a forward during line rushes yesterday in practice, so again it’s a who knows situation. The Pens might dress 11F/7D if Hayes is out, but they may or may not play Joseph that much as a swing forward or a defender. It’s the last day, so to match the note from above, who knows!

—The good news, or I suppose as good as news can be regarding a heart surgery, is that the procedure Kris Letang had done on Monday was an on-going topic that he and his doctors had been considering for some time and not a sudden or emergency procedure that abruptly popped up.

Mike Sullivan said Kris Letang is doing well and was at the rink today. "I think he's pleased that he ultimately made the decision to do it, and move by it." More from the Penguins head coach on the defenseman's procedure https://t.co/7eflSS4QiO pic.twitter.com/yvzBS29Yhl

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) April 16, 2025​

Draft ramifications​

Today is the last day of the NHL regular season. We know the Penguins are locked into a seventh place finish in the Metropolitan Division, even if they lose and the Flyers win today to have both teams end up at 78 points, Pittsburgh will stay ahead on the tiebreaker. Via Tankathon:

Here’s the latest scenarios for how the Pens could end up. Long story short, for the best draft slot, Pens’ fans should be cheering hard for the Sabres tonight. And they’re playing the Flyers anyways so that won’t be too difficult to do.

7th spot
—Pens lose in regulation tonight AND Buffalo wins or loses in overtime/shootout (vs PHI)
—Pens lose in OT/SO AND Buffalo wins

8th spot
—Pens win in OT/SO
—Pens lose in regulation/OT/SO AND Buffalo loses in regulation

9th spot
—Pens win in regulation

The lottery draft will set the final order. The Pens are going to have between a 5.0 - 6.5% chance of winning the lottery and moving up to the first or second pick regardless of where they finish.

One more for Sid..​

From the Pens:

Sidney Crosby is statistically having one of the best seasons in NHL history by a player in their age 37 season or older as his 89 points are the sixth most in a single season in league history:

Most Points in Single Season at Age 37 or Older, NHL History

Player Age Year Points

Gordie Howe 40 1968-69 103
Joe Sakic 37 2006-07 100
Johnny Bucyk 37 1972-73 93
Mario Lemieux 37 2002-03 91
Wayne Gretzky 37 1997-98 90
Sidney Crosby 37 2024-25 89
Jean Ratelle 37 1977-78 84

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/17...ington-capitals-pittsburgh-penguins-4-17-2025

 

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Pens Points: That’s All, Folks

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

The 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins season has come to an end.

Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning...​

The Pittsburgh Penguins closed out the 2024-25 season on Thursday night with a final game against longtime rivals Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. And while I hoped for a final loss to improve the draft odds, the Penguins, ever the professionals, played to win, and win they did, beating Washington 5-2. [Recap]

The Pittsburgh team made one last regular-season roster transaction, recalling former first-rounder Sam Poulin from the AHL. Poulin was featured on the fourth line last night. [Trib Live]

Thursday night’s game was the 73rd career meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The 2024-25 season will be remembered for the records and milestones both players set, and as they met each other again, the rivals who have interlinked for 20 years have a great mutual respect for one another. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...​

New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin was reportedly accused of sexual assault by a former team employee in a since-settled lawsuit, it was revealed on Thursday. [Yahoo! Sports]

Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl secured the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s top goalscorer (52), while Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov captured the Art Ross Trophy for the second straight season, ending the season with 121 points (37 goals and 84 assists). [Sportsnet]

Here is the full schedule for Round 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. [NHL]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/18...sby-ovechkin-nhl-panarin-stanley-cup-playoffs

 

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NHL Playoffs: Western Conference first round predictions

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images

Who will win in the first round of the playoffs?

First, if you haven’t joined our NHL Bracket Challenge, don’t rip these predictions off. Or go ahead and take ‘em, what can I do about it. But join anyways and make your own selections.

We’ll start with the Western Conference today, since it has the first two games of the playoffs kicking off tonight.

Winnipeg Jets (1st Central) vs. St. Louis Blues (Wild Card 2)

This might be one of the more blasé matchups that isn’t drawing a lot of buzz, so maybe it will surprise by giving some juice.

The Jets enter the playoffs with a league-high 56 wins and 116 points in the standings. The Blues made the postseason in large part due to a late-season 12 game winning streak that makes them one of the more intriguing teams around due to peaking at the right time. It’s worth wondering if that peak is over since STL had a 1-2-1 record in their last four games and could be missing Dylan Holloway for this series (Holloway was injured and hasn’t played since taking a hit from none other than Rutger McGroaty of the Penguins earlier this month).

The Athletic summed this matchup up well in saying, “the Blues are a threat, but this is still Winnipeg’s series to lose.”

Connor Hellebuyck has been amazing as one of the sport’s top netminders but hasn’t had the best run in the playoffs lately with a 2-8 record in the last two seasons and .870ish save percentage along the way. The level of competition explains part of that with Winnipeg out-manned against Vegas in ‘23 and Colorado last spring and Hellebuyck having no chance to shine. That won’t be happening again in the first round this year, the Jets are a better and deeper team throughout the lineups so this one looks like it could be straight forward.

Prediction: Jets in 5

Dallas Stars (2nd Central) vs. Colorado Avalanche (3rd Central)

Talk about a powerhouse opening round matchup featuring two 100+ point teams. Someone’s offseason is going to start very early but the winner might take some momentum in passing a very difficult first test in the Mikko Rantanen Bowl. Rantanen started the season in Colorado but ends up playing for the Stars now, how much of an impact that will have as a potential difference-maker will be a fun key to watch unfold.

Dallas has limped into the playoffs with a 3-5-2 record in their last 10 games. The questions around the availability of (no pun) star defender Miko Heiskanen is another critical factor. Without Heiskanen the Stars have looked ordinary, but with him at full power they swing towards being one of the best in the league.

If Heiskanen is missing or limited, Dallas will have a hard time slowing Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar down. Those two have helped the Avs get out of the first round of the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, it’s usually a good bet to advance Colorado. (Dallas is no slouch themselves in that department with a 2-1 first series record and two straight seasons of winning the first round)

This series could be considered a true coin flip for who advances but we’ll take the team entering with better health. As an observer and fan of the sport, the main item to cheer for would be getting a Game 7 out of this series, that would be some tremendous theater.

Prediction: Avalanche in 7

Vegas Golden Knights (1st Pacific) vs. Minnesota Wild (Wild Card 1)

On paper this series looks like a mismatch. The Knights are a deeper and more consistent team. The Wild only have a few legit offensive threats, the dangerous Kirill Kaprizov is an outlier on a Minnesota team that finished 25th in the NHL in scoring this season and makes you wonder how they even got into the playoffs with Kaprizov missing an even half of the season (41 games played).

Surprises can always happen in a NHL playoff series but it would take a significant one here for Minnesota to defeat a stronger opponent, maybe even hanging with them for a while would be an achievement.

This one looks open and shut, Vegas gets a great reward for winning the division by having an easier playoff matchup than the one we’re about to get to talking about..

Prediction: Golden Knights in 5

Los Angeles Kings (2nd Pacific) vs. Edmonton Oilers (3rd Pacific)

For the fourth straight season the Kings and Oilers will lock horns in the first round of the playoffs. So far Connor McDavid and the Oilers are 3-0 in these matchups but they have major injury concerns of their own, most notably key defenseman Mattias Ekholm expected out for all of this round.

Los Angeles is one of the NHL’s best defensive teams, their 206 goals allowed in the regular season ranked second in the West behind only Winnipeg. The Kings are built to shut teams down but that hasn’t held up to keep McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in check during the postseason. Last year McDavid put up 12 points in six playoff games against LA, Draisaitl was right behind him with 10. The year before in 2023 it was even more with McDavid producing 12 points in just five games (and Draisaitl notching 11).

It’s been proven time and again that the Edmonton’s edge in star power defeats LA’s greatest strength. Maybe the Kings having a home ice advantage will matter — the LA was an amazing 31-6-4 at home this season to lead the NHL in points earned and tie with Carolina for most home wins. But can a Los Angeles team that ranks seventh among playoff teams in the West in goals during the regular season really be able to keep up with the Oil when No. 97 and 29 flip it into playoff mode? It hasn’t broken that way yet in this matchup, we’re not going to predict it to start now.

Prediction: Oilers in 6

—

That adds up to a fairly chalk-y first round outlook. Gee, what could go wrong? The good or bad thing depending on perspective is that the divisional 2 vs 3 matchups in the first round tend to lead to some amazing matchups and the potential for some of the best hockey of the year. That shouldn’t disappoint or be any different this year.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/19/24411175/nhl-playoffs-western-conference-first-round-predictions