Despite Kyle Dubas' Roster Rejuvenation, The Penguins Are Still In Trouble If Crosby Can't Score

After two games of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, we know this about the Pittsburgh Penguins: without a step-up performance from superstar center and captain Sidney Crosby, they're done.

This hasn't been an easy season for Crosby. He got hurt on the biggest stage of the sport, being sidelined in Canada's Olympic gold medal game against the United States.

And although nobody is hanging Pittsburgh's two first-round-series losses to Philadelphia on Crosby, it's crystal clear the Penguins are only going to go so far as No. 87 can carry them.

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But for now, Penguins coach Dan Muse needs to do everything in his power to get Crosby in a place where he's contributing points every game during the rest of this series. The pressure on the rest of the Pens' lineup will be eased significantly.

Otherwise, it's going to be game over for Pittsburgh in very short order.

Crosby is currently skating on a line with wingers Bryan Rust and Yegor Chinakov – not exactly an all-world combination. But the brilliance of Crosby is that he makes his linemates better.

So there is reason for optimism that Crosby will come through with some memorable performances against the Flyers and get the Penguins back in a good place in this series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' Power Play Needs To Wake Up

The Pittsburgh Penguins wasted five power-play opportunities and even conceded a shorthanded goal in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Nevertheless, the Flyers exposed the Penguins' lack of depth in Games 1 and 2. And unless they get some stretches of superior play from Crosby, the Pens' boat is almost assuredly going to sink completely out of the playoff picture.

And that means we just might be seeing some of the final playoff games of Crosby's Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy career.

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 12:48 PM.