Is there ever a time to bench Crosby?

[L2TG]

Hey boys,

"Including the playoffs, Sidney Crosby has 11 goals in his past 50 games. This is a pretty alarming statistic".

That being said, I'm starting to think Crosby is benchable at the moment. I mean last night I benched him for Stepan and he got me a -3 while Stepan went ape shit and put up a hattrick with a SHP. For tomorrow I have:

Crosby @ NJ
Stepan @ DAL
Kopitar @ CGY

Based on the matchups I really like Stepan and Kopitar. They're both on FIRE as of late whereas Crosby has actually been detrimental more than anything. I know most of you are going to say MUST START and such... but 11 goals in past 50 games is no joke. Something is seriously wrong here. Thoughts? My teeam and league settings are in SIG.

You can blame it on injuries, you can blame it on inconsistent linemates... but from a player of his standard you expect him to make things happen regardless. Btw, Crosby is my fav player so hard for me to say all this.

[FinnishFlash]

He also has 40 assists in those 50 games. Obviously a PPG pace is "disappointing" as a Crosby owner, but neither of Stepan or Kopitar will produce at a PPG pace over an entire season (maybe close but not quite PPG). Their ceilings are Crosbys floor. There's always going to be nights like you've said, where the player 99% of us would start has the worse night, but that's fantasy. Essentially I'm just saying, if you have Crosby, you start him!

[Joe13]

He also has 40 assists in those 50 games.

50 points in his last 50 games... c'mon, yes, our expectations are higher but no way Kopi or Stepan gonna overcome ppg. Start him! His matchup is pretty damn good as well.

[Godin]

I might consider it if he had a broken leg.

[Kane Ryker]

The moment you bench him he'll pop 2G and 2 A's in a game. Everyone has ups and downs in either the goals category or assists category, but you can't bench him. You own him as most likely your #1 pick or if you traded for him you gave up a huge package to acquire him. Either way you plug him into your starting lineup day in and day out.

[Rylant]

For me, its one of those cases where I would rather play him and have him do poorly, than to bench him and have him light it up. Crosby is one of not many, who has the ability to score 5 points in a game. Wouldn't you feel sick if he had a great game, like we all know he can, while riding the pine on your bench?

Rylant

[pmorrow]

I know what you mean as Crosby has been frustrating at times this season...the lack of goals lately has been pretty ugly. But it's still Crosby and nobody would be surprised if he put up 5 points some night. So I can't recommend benching him - I never will that's for sure.

[icet88]

I wonder if we could be seeing the decline in Crosby's game that Ovechkin experienced a few years back after Bodreau. Ovie was never able to recover to the 100 point mark since then.
Other than the lack of goals, the lack of consistency is also a big concern. In previous seasons, even when Crosby slowed down, he was still able to get at least a point in the vast majority of games.
He has 13 zero point games out of 32 games played. Hopefully it's just an off year, but something doesn't feel right this season.

[blayze]

I bench him during weeks where he only plays 2 games. That's about the only time...

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

He had 7 goals in the first 8 games this year....which means 3 in his last 24. He has 69 shots over those 24 games, just under 3 per game, but he's only shooting 4.5%. No points on the powerplay in the last 12 games, and no PPG in the last 17.

He had 33 points in his first 22 games....a 123 point pace. The points slump began right around the start of December, shortly before he missed some time with the mumps. The lack of goal scoring overall is a little weird, but I wouldn't be worrying about it.

[pmorrow]

He had 7 goals in the first 8 games this year....which means 3 in his last 24. He has 69 shots over those 24 games, just under 3 per game, but he's only shooting 4.5%. No points on the powerplay in the last 12 games, and no PPG in the last 17.

He had 33 points in his first 22 games....a 123 point pace. The points slump began right around the start of December, shortly before he missed some time with the mumps. The lack of goal scoring overall is a little weird, but I wouldn't be worrying about it.

There's your explanation right there. Bad bounces.

[wendelclark17]

I would never bench Crosby in any league. As long as he is in the Pens lineup he would be in mine. Over the course of the season he always comes good so you just have to keep him in there in my opinion.

[Axeman33]

I would never bench Crosby in any league. As long as he is in the Pens lineup he would be in mine. Over the course of the season he always comes good so you just have to keep him in there in my opinion.

My thoughts exactly. I don't care if he's in a slump, he's in my lineup.

[Shoeless]

Sure there is a time to bench Crosby, when he goes -3 on a night and his replacement gets a hat trick. The tough part is figuring out which nights those are.

[Lemmy]

If your tanking for Mcdavid you can bench him every second night or week for that matter. If not never, I mean ever bench Crosby.

If you are losing faith trade him to get guys you think will get it done, because a top player needs to play in real life and fantasy.

He can win games in real life and win weeks in fantasy leagues with a big night. Not many players in the NHL can do this on any given night.