In a playoff series: Forsberg/Sakic or Crosby/Malkin

[Ben White]

Which one, two punch would you personally choose for a 7 games playoff run?

And now we're not supposed to present all the Conn Smythes, their Conn Smythe worthy runs or cups from the past. We're just looking at which players you would like to have on your team going into a playoff series if you had them primed and healthy.

Click to read more...

 

[SB84]

Prime and healthy Malkin tips this in favour of Pitt for me. 3 Conn Smythe's between them.

 

[Plural]

Flip a coin basically. Malkin and Sakic have the best full playoff run but all 4 at their best can be difference makers.

 

[daver]

Very close. Crosby and Malkin are more proven to be able to carry their lines offensively more so than Forsberg and Sakic.

 

[bobholly39]

Penguin Players are simply better players.
They also have better career playoffs I think.

It's not like Sakic/Forsberg aren't also fantastic for playoffs - but I just see Pittsburgh duo as better.

 

[jw2]

I'm taking the Avs.

 

[K Fleur]

This was an interesting question 2 years ago.

 

[Laineux]

Crosby and Malkin.

Prime and healthy and Crosby is always arguably the best player on the planet. Peak may be one thing, but since when were Foppa/Sakic consistently the best or even that close in their prime?

Sidney Crosby has seven top-5 Hart finishes. Sakic has one and got it older than Crosby is now. That's not even going to the seasons Crosby's lost to injury.

Foppa and Sakic basically have a couple of seasons at the level Crosby has sustained for his entire career.

 

[Ben White]

I said leave the trophies out. They are mostly about what sort of successful games you could string together for different reasons + health + team mates health + luck etc.

Now take a look at this:
Forsberg: 151 games, 64 goals, 107 assists, 171 points, 1.13 ppg Ranks: 9th all time
Crosby: 148 games, 57 goals, 107 assists, 164 points, 1.108 ppg Ranks: 12th all time
Sakic: 172 games, 84 goals, 104 assists, 188 points, 1.093 ppg Ranks: 14th all time
Malkin: 149 games, 58 goals, 99 assists, 157 points, 1.054 ppg Ranks: 20th all time

Obviously anyone saying Pens AINEC is out to lunch...

 

[VoluntaryDom]

the pens duo

 

[Laineux]

I said leave the trophies out. They are mostly about what sort of successful games you could string together for different reasons + health + team mates health + luck

Sure, and Crosby has lead the league in ppg six times. Sakic never.


Crosby's had one of the worst luck ever in terms of trophies so when it's one sided even by trophy counting...

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Why do I feel like people are carrying Crosby/Malkin's regular season performances forward in the playoffs here.

Crosby has two Smythes and there's no denying that but they are, IMHOtep, underwhelming when measured against his raw ability. A Smythe from Crosby ought to look like his 2009 performance. Malkin wasn't Smythe-worthy or necessarily a force to be reckoned with over the entire duration of any of their runs since 2009; he ran over some teams but disappeared against others.

Sakic had three years that would've possibly won the 2016 and 2017 Smythes, and that's NOT counting 1996. And Forsberg is Forsberg, the fact that he had two separate instances of leading the playoffs in scoring without reaching the finals speaks for itself.

Remember also that Sakic landed a playoff contending team eight years into his career - after six straight years of 90+ points (on pace in '95). Colorado also had their playoff success run straight through the DPE, so it's not like either Sakic or Forsberg are running on inflated numbers in that respect compared to Crosby and Malkin.

Maybe the Pens duo win here but it is EXTREMELY close, and both Crosby and Malkin have the back-9 of their careers to take the luster off of their current numbers.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Crosby and Malkin, not close.

 

[nowhereman]

Call me crazy but I'll go with the better players here.

Crosby and Malkin, without hesitation.

This was an interesting question 2 years ago.

This kind of proves what most everyone who didn't have a vendetta against Sid/Geno has always thought: give them a decent team/goaltender to play with and they'd bring multiple Cups to the Pens. Too bad it took a while.

Imagine what they could do with a team like the late-90s/early 2000s Avs?

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Call me crazy but I'll go with the better players here.

Crosby and Malkin, without hesitation.


This kind of proves what most everyone who didn't have a vendetta against Sid/Geno has always thought: give them a decent team/goaltender to play with and they'd bring multiple Cups to the Pens. Too bad it took a while.

Imagine what they could do with a team like the late-90s/early 2000s Avs?

This is silly. The 2016 Pens were the best postseason team since the 2008 Wings and it was NOT riding on the backs of Malkin and Crosby like 2008 and 2009.

 

[Son Goku]

Why do I feel like people are carrying Crosby/Malkin's regular season performances forward in the playoffs here.

Crosby has two Smythes and there's no denying that but they are, IMHOtep, underwhelming when measured against his raw ability. A Smythe from Crosby ought to look like his 2009 performance. Malkin wasn't Smythe-worthy or necessarily a force to be reckoned with over the entire duration of any of their runs since 2009; he ran over some teams but disappeared against others.

Sakic had three years that would've possibly won the 2016 and 2017 Smythes, and that's NOT counting 1996. And Forsberg is Forsberg, the fact that he had two separate instances of leading the playoffs in scoring without reaching the finals speaks for itself.

Remember also that Sakic landed a playoff contending team eight years into his career - after six straight years of 90+ points (on pace in '95). Colorado also had their playoff success run straight through the DPE, so it's not like either Sakic or Forsberg are running on inflated numbers in that respect compared to Crosby and Malkin.

Maybe the Pens duo win here but it is EXTREMELY close, and both Crosby and Malkin have the back-9 of their careers to take the luster off of their current numbers.

We're also saying in their prime and healthy, when they're both healthy and not nursing an injury they always produce.

 

[Son Goku]

This is silly. The 2016 Pens were the best postseason team since the 2008 Wings and it was NOT riding on the backs of Malkin and Crosby like 2008 and 2009.

No but they were the main catalysts for both runs along with Guentzel and Kessel. You can't punish them for having a deep team.

 

[authentic]

Penguin Players are simply better players.
They also have better career playoffs I think.

It's not like Sakic/Forsberg aren't also fantastic for playoffs - but I just see Pittsburgh duo as better.

Neither Crosby or Malkin were better than Forsberg in the playoffs. I would maybe give a sliight edge to Sakic and Forsberg actually, but this is one of those cases where you could literally just flip a coin and see how it plays out.

 

[authentic]

Crosby and Malkin.

Prime and healthy and Crosby is always arguably the best player on the planet. Peak may be one thing, but since when were Foppa/Sakic consistently the best or even that close in their prime?

Sidney Crosby has seven top-5 Hart finishes. Sakic has one and got it older than Crosby is now. That's not even going to the seasons Crosby's lost to injury.

Foppa and Sakic basically have a couple of seasons at the level Crosby has sustained for his entire career.

In the playoffs? For as long and as consistently and Crosby and Malkin have been. Go check their playoff stats compare to others of the era, and also consider they were better defensive players than Crosby and Malkin, but of course they also had much more support for the most part.

 

[authentic]

Why do I feel like people are carrying Crosby/Malkin's regular season performances forward in the playoffs here.

Crosby has two Smythes and there's no denying that but they are, IMHOtep, underwhelming when measured against his raw ability. A Smythe from Crosby ought to look like his 2009 performance. Malkin wasn't Smythe-worthy or necessarily a force to be reckoned with over the entire duration of any of their runs since 2009; he ran over some teams but disappeared against others.

Sakic had three years that would've possibly won the 2016 and 2017 Smythes, and that's NOT counting 1996. And Forsberg is Forsberg, the fact that he had two separate instances of leading the playoffs in scoring without reaching the finals speaks for itself.

Remember also that Sakic landed a playoff contending team eight years into his career - after six straight years of 90+ points (on pace in '95). Colorado also had their playoff success run straight through the DPE, so it's not like either Sakic or Forsberg are running on inflated numbers in that respect compared to Crosby and Malkin.

Maybe the Pens duo win here but it is EXTREMELY close, and both Crosby and Malkin have the back-9 of their careers to take the luster off of their current numbers.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking here. Infact scoring for a lot years in the playoffs in the dead puck era was considerably lower than any Crosby and Malkin have played it. There were several where the league average goals per game was actually below 5.

 

[authentic]

Crosby and Malkin, not close.

Someone's out to lunch, no offense.

 

[authentic]

Call me crazy but I'll go with the better players here.

Crosby and Malkin, without hesitation.


This kind of proves what most everyone who didn't have a vendetta against Sid/Geno has always thought: give them a decent team/goaltender to play with and they'd bring multiple Cups to the Pens. Too bad it took a while.

Imagine what they could do with a team like the late-90s/early 2000s Avs?

They would also be up against Detroit and New Jersey at the time though, but I get your point. I do believe that just considering their playoff play they are basically a wash, obviously if you throw in the regular season Crosby tips the scales in favour of the Pens duo. Forsberg and Sakic can be quite underrated on this board though.

 

[Ben White]

Crosby and Malkin, not close.

Didn't I just post the playoff stats for all four? Maybe you just didn't read them?

 

[hockeykicker]

Didn't I just post the playoff stats for all four? Maybe you just didn't read them?

from you:

Forsberg: 151 games, 64 goals, 107 assists, 171 points, 1.13 ppg Ranks: 9th all time
Crosby: 148 games, 57 goals, 107 assists, 164 points, 1.108 ppg Ranks: 12th all time
Sakic: 172 games, 84 goals, 104 assists, 188 points, 1.093 ppg Ranks: 14th all time
Malkin: 149 games, 58 goals, 99 assists, 157 points, 1.054 ppg Ranks: 20th all time

as much as i hate to admit it, malkin can easily get 31 points in 23 games
and heck crosby could pull off 7 points in 3 games

 

[authentic]

from you:

Forsberg: 151 games, 64 goals, 107 assists, 171 points, 1.13 ppg Ranks: 9th all time
Crosby: 148 games, 57 goals, 107 assists, 164 points, 1.108 ppg Ranks: 12th all time
Sakic: 172 games, 84 goals, 104 assists, 188 points, 1.093 ppg Ranks: 14th all time
Malkin: 149 games, 58 goals, 99 assists, 157 points, 1.054 ppg Ranks: 20th all time

as much as i hate to admit it, malkin can easily get 31 points in 23 games
and heck crosby could pull off 7 points in 3 games

And for all those who harp on Forsberg's goal scoring ability it is cool to see he has been better there than both Crosby and Malkin.