PITTSBURGH — When Sidney Crosby, who is the runaway leader in the fans’ All-Star ballotting, brings his 19-game point-scoring streak onto the ice here Wednesday night for the Penguins against the Rangers, he will primarily be matched against defenseman Marc Staal, another All Star-in waiting.
At least according to Rangers head coach John Tortorella, that is.
“When I look at the defensemen in this league, yes, I would consider [Staal] an All-Star,” Tortorella said at the morning optional skate. “I get to watch Marc 24 hours a day and am very fortunate to do that.
“He’s been more consistent this year. He has range, he has an added bite to his game, which we’ve talked about. He begged us to put him on the power play, which we’ve been doing more of, and that’s helped his confidence.
“Marc Staal is a huge part of the core of our team.”
The 23-year-old, who is in his fourth NHL season, will skate with shutdown-pair partner Dan Girardi against the Pittsburgh line that is expected to feature Crosby on the middle and Evgeni Malkin on the flank. Staal and Girardi were matched against Columbus’ Rick Nash on Saturday and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on Sunday.
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Chris Drury, sidelined with a broken finger since playing his only game of the season Oct. 15, will return to the lineup. Drury, who will skate with Sean Avery and Erik Christensen, is expected to be spotted on the penalty kill and will be used in key faceoff situations calling for a righty. Todd White will be scratched to accommodate Drury’s return.
Crosby, who leads the NHL in goals (26) and points (53) is working on a 19-game point-scoring streak in which he has recorded 38 points (20-18). Only Dany Heatley (22 games in 2005-06) Paul Stastny (20 games in 2006-07) have had longer such streaks since the lockout.