Sidney Crosby did a little early trick-or-treating at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota Tuesday night.
The Wild should have shut the lights off and pretended no one was home.
Minnesota plopped four points (one goal, three assists) into Sid The Kid's goodie bag, while sidekick Evgeni Malkin rotted his teeth with a sweet two-goal night of his own.
Once all the lights were turned off, the Pittsburgh Penguins made off with two points in a 4-2 victory and are suddenly looking like last year's team.
Speaking of the 2006-'07 Penguins, poolies in keeper leagues everywhere have been haunted by the sluggish starts of both the Penguins and Crosby himself.
Seven points in his last three games, after 10 in his first eight, gives Crosby 17 overall, putting the Pens' captain back at the point-and-a-half per game clip he finished with last season.
Malkin put up two markers along with an assist to push his totals to five goals and 11 assists on the year.
As a team, though, the Pens shouldn't start believing their own press just yet. This is not the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens (who lost just eight times) masquerading as a .500 hockey team.
Pittsburgh has given up one more goal than they have scored thus far (34 for, 35 against) and nearly everyone on the roster is in the minus column.
Marc-Andre Fleury has been horrendous between the pipes, sporting a 3.50 goals against average and the shame of being yanked twice in favor of backup Dany Sabourin in nine starts. This is not good news to fantasy owners expecting him to exceed his outstanding 2006-'07 campaign.
In his defense — or lack thereof — the Pens team D is full of more holes than an O.J. Simpson alibi.
They've coughed up an alarming 30-plus shots per game and have looked lost in their own end during a 6-4-1 start.
Here's a look at the Penguins roster, from a fantasy standpoint:
- Petr Sykora — six goals including four on the powerplay to go along with four assists, minus-5 (trade for him)
- Sergei Gonchar — nine points, minus-5 (potential trade bait)
- Ryan Whitney — three goals, three assists and minus-2 (keeper)
- Jordan Staal — one goal and one assist, minus-4 (trade bait)
- Maxim Talbot - four goals (sleeper pick, make a move for him)