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Host, TSN The Reporters with Dave Hodge

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Thumbs down to those who believe there is never room to wonder if something is wrong with Sidney Crosby. The suggestion that his game seems to lack something — lately, that something has been goal-scoring — is seen as a knock against the player who is considered the world’s best.

But unbiased hockey watchers are so familiar with Crosby’s game, and so awestruck by his talents when they’re on full display, that they’re able to tell the difference when something is missing.

When Crosby scored just once in last season’s playoffs, it turned out he was bothered by a wrist injury. Now, after a stretch of 19 games that has seen him score only two goals, it is revealed that he hasn’t been feeling well, tests have been done and he has been held out of Pittsburgh’s last two games.  

Through it all, he’s still Sidney Crosby, the NHL’s reigning MVP and scoring champion and a candidate to repeat those honours, so how much can be wrong? Well, that’s exactly the point — how much is wrong? It’s a legitimate question, not an insult.

If ever there was a futile battle, this is it, but thumbs down to the NHL’s “loser point”, the third point in the three-point game.

I realized that few others care about this anymore when the Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit 2-1 in a Wednesday night shootout, and, given the fact that the Red Wings took 42 of the 61 shots that preceded the tiebreaker contest, the reaction was that Detroit was deserving of a point. I concluded that the three-point game had gained acceptance, and then I realized that I should have been saying that a long time ago, because it has existed for 10 years.

It affects the standings in no small way. The Florida Panthers are sitting in a wild-card playoff spot thanks to eight points gained in overtime and shootout losses. They have the same number of points as the Boston Bruins, but if all games were worth two points, Florida would trail Boston by six points.

There are no points awarded to NBA or NFL teams that lose in overtime, or to MLB teams that lose in extra innings, and that’s because those sports do it the simple way, and I suggest, the correct way — they count wins and losses.