TAMPA, Fla. -- Remember when Sidney Crosby went eight playoff games without a goal?
Neither do I.
In the wake of back-to-back wins by the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Tampa Bay Lightning to take a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals -- which resume with Game 4 in Tampa on Friday at 8 p.m. ET -- it's fair to suggest Crosby is playing his finest hockey of the postseason. And it's not just that he has scored in the past two games, including his first-ever overtime goal, in Game 2. It's all the little things the Penguins captain does, and that includes taking part in an optional skate on Thursday.
So, when the Pittsburgh captain talks, we listen. Here are four things Crosby discussed Thursday -- oh, and something someone else said about the star center.
He feels Stamkos' pain
Yes, Crosby does indeed have empathy for what his captain counterpart, Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is going through in trying to come back from surgery to remove a blood clot in his shoulder. Stamkos has yet to play in these playoffs and won't suit up for Game 4.
"[I] can relate to having to watch the playoffs," said Crosby, who missed the 2011 playoffs while recovering from a concussion and witnessed teammate Pascal Dupuis retire this season because of blood clot issues.
"Obviously, having seen up close with Duper, what he went through, how it's a tough situation. It's a lot of waiting and watching. As an athlete, a hockey player, an athlete in general, it's tough when you can't go out there and compete, especially this time of year. So yeah, I can definitely relate to that and feel for him."
What Kessel is really like
Crosby, like many of us, thought teammate Phil Kessel's postgame interview on NBCSN after Wednesday's Game 3 was quite amusing when Pierre McGuire, inquiring about conditioning in the fast-paced game, asked, "How's your breath?" But Kessel thought it was a comment about his bad breath, and answered honestly.
"I mean, first of all it was funny. It was awesome," Crosby said. "I think we've all probably thought to ourselves, 'How do we answer that?' right? It's kind of a tough one to answer and he handled it great; it was pretty funny. Probably perfect that it was Phil because he'd be the one to handle it as good as that, so we had a good laugh over it."
Crosby added that he's not so sure Kessel is misunderstood, just not comfortable in the spotlight, which was intense before he was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I don't think it's because of how things went in Toronto necessarily, I think it's just because he doesn't necessarily want to be in front of the camera or need that every day," Crosby said. "I think he's a pretty laid-back, easygoing guy, he's pretty funny, good guy to be around. You don't always see certain sides of people in the media when you're doing interviews. You're talking about hockey every day, you don't see other sides of people. For Phil, he's a pretty funny guy and I think you got a little bit of that with that interview."
Momentum can be fickle
As good as the Penguins were in the second period of their 4-2 victory in Game 3, Crosby said they can't take anything for granted.
"It's encouraging and I think you see the momentum that it builds," Crosby said. "That period's a perfect example of it. That being said, you can play really good periods and sometimes the puck doesn't bounce that way or they're able to create some of their pressure, so you don't really see it quite as clear as that. It's playoff hockey, and you want to go out there with the intentions of creating that kind of momentum. It doesn't always happen, but I think we had the right mindset to put ourselves in a position to have those kinds of shifts."
Hornqvist is a shot-blocking beast
Crosby was optimistic that linemate Patric Hornqvist, who was having his hand examined Thursday after blocking a shot in the third period of Game 3, would be able to play Friday night in Game 4, especially given his work ethic and fearlessness.
"We're happy he's feeling OK," Crosby said. "You'd be really hard-pressed to find someone who [blocks shots] that consistently. I mean, it's one thing late in games -- everyone's kind of laying down blocking everything -- but he does it every single shift. ... The way he competes in front of the net and kind of the beating he takes is pretty tough, and he just gets back up and does it the next shift."
And Guerin says ... Crosby is buying in
Crosby's former teammate Bill Guerin, with whom Crosby won a Stanley Cup in 2009, is now the Penguins' assistant general manager (and no doubt will be courted by NHL teams for a front-office position). He said Crosby's maturity and commitment to head coach Mike Sullivan's systems are a key factor in the Penguins' success this spring.
"He's matured not just as a player but as a person," Guerin said. "What our team's all about is very important: How we are. Not that it wasn't like that before, but I think it's even more so now.
"His buy-in for Sully right now has been incredible. It's crucial. We can't do anything without it. He's the captain of the team. He's our leading scorer every year. He's our best player. It's crucial. ... And that goes for every team. If you don't have the top guys buy-in, you're not going anywhere."
Guerin thinks Crosby's ability to handle the fluctuations of the season is also a reflection of his maturity.
"The difference between him now and then is when he's not scoring, his attitude's different," Guerin said. "Hey, listen, he's a human being and he gets frustrated just like everybody else, and you know what? Yeah, he might smash his stick but everybody does that. It's just not as magnified as when everybody does it. It's magnified when he does it. So, you've got to understand that there's a big-time human element to it. I think the ups and downs he's handled so, so well this year."