Sidney Crosby is facing an accusation of being a “cheater” on faceoffs from one of his Stanley Cup opponents.
Crosby helped set up the winning goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday when he won a faceoff and passed to Kris Letang, who set up Conor Sheary for the goal.
Entering Wednesday, Crosby was winning 51.7 percent of his faceoffs this postseason. That’s not a staggering amount, but his faceoff win to set up Sheary’s goal had San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture steamed. After the game, Couture called Crosby a cheater on faceoffs.
Logan Couture on Crosby in the faceoff circle pic.twitter.com/Ye2CwznDPS
— Sean Leahy (@Sean_Leahy) June 2, 2016
Crosby won 17 of 24 (70.8 percent) faceoffs Wednesday, while Couture was 6-for-15 (40 percent). His frustration is understandable given the circumstances and lack of success in Game 2, but he’s probably focusing on the wrong thing.
While Crosby’s reputation probably helps him not get calls from referees, there are many more players better than him on faceoffs, including his own teammate, Matt Cullen.
