Sidney Crosby in search of scoring touch as Game 6 looms

Sidney Crosby hovered in the left circle, waited forthe pass from assistant coach Rick Tocchet before firing a laserintothe far corner of the empty net.

Then the Penguins captain did it again. And again. And again,once rifling the puck with so much velocity it becamelodged betweenthe twine, a reminder that Crosby's shot when fully unleashed remains one of the NHL'sbest. The trick is finding the time, theroom and just as important, the initiative to let it looseduring a game.

It's not happening with any great regularity for Crosby duringhis team's hotly contested Eastern Conference semifinalagainstWashington. Through 15-plus periods and 133 shifts, Crosby hasonly 11 shots and none of themhas found a way past Capitalsgoaltender Braden Holtby.

And while Pittsburgh's depth has helped carry the Penguins to a3-2 lead over the Presidents' Trophy winners headinginto Tuesdaynight's Game 6, Crosby is well aware it will take more than the twoassists he's put up for thePenguins to advance to the East finalsagainst Tampa Bay.

"You definitely want to score more," Crosby said Monday. "Ithink you always want more but I think we've generatedsome decentchances. We've still got to find a way to produce more, whether it'sgenerate chances or executewhen we do get them. I would say that'show we view it. I think we can get better."

It's not that Crosby has been ineffective. His mere presence isenough to open up opportunities for teammates. PatricHornqvistburied the overtime winner in Game 4 thanks in large part to Holtbybeing so focused on Crosby parkedin front of the net the goaltendercouldn't make it across the crease in time to stop the shot from theright circle.

Yet neither Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin who has a goal and anassist in the series has been able to match the dynamicplay ofWashington's Alexander Ovechkin, who set the tone early in Game 5and scored a goal and an assist forthe second time in three gamesas the Capitals fought off elimination.

Crosby, Malkin still effective

Still, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan is quick to defend thetandem that generates relentless defensive attention fromopponents.

"These guys have had an impact on the game," Sullivan said.

"They may not have had the off production everybody growsaccustomed to but they certainly have made an impact ontheseries."

It's telling that perhaps the series' biggest subplot the rapidmaturation of 21-year-old Penguins goalie Matt Murraywhile fillingin for Marc-Andre Fleury has taken a backseat to Crosby and Malkinregaining their scoring touch.Sullivan, who has often remained coyabout his personnel decisions, cut short any potential drama bynamingMurray the starter for Game 6.

And he spent several minutes protecting his stars.

"They share a tremendous amount of responsibility for our groupand they're doing everything within their power tohelpour teamwin," Sullivan said. "We know it, our players know it ... [but]this team isn't about any one or twoplayers."

Good thing, because the return of Washington defenceman BrooksOrpik following a three-game suspension for anillegal hit onPittsburgh's Olli Maatta gives the Capitals another big body tosteer Malkin and Crosby out of the way. It'sa task Washingtonhandled capably even with Orpik out of the lineup.

"I think we've just been keying in on him and trying to limithis space and his time," Holtby said. "He's still making someplays, but we're doing a pretty good job of coming back as afive-man unit so that there's not too many optionsopen for him."

Focused on 'playing the right way'

Crosby becoming a little more selfish might help, too. From theday he arrived in December, Sullivan has preached theimportance ofgetting the puck to the net rather than search for the perfect play,a trap both Crosby and Malkin havesuccumbed to at times duringtheir careers in part because their talent and vision allow them totake risks otherswould not.

Sullivan calls it "playing the right way," a mantra that's beenrepeated so often over the last five months forward Eric Fehrjoked"it's something that's a part of our everyday life now, making surethat we're reminding ourselves that a shot isnever a bad play."

A creed Crosby insists is getting through even if the pucks fornow are not.

"Over the course of the game there's always times you could lookback and say, 'I could have shot that maybe,"' he said.

"Ourfocus, our mentality has been to finish at the net and createchances there. A lot of the pucks at the net arefrom second, thirdchances. We have a feeling for that."