from Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

The Penguins have had some amazing streaks over the years. The 1991-92 team won its final 11 playoff games to win the franchise’s second consecutive Stanley Cup. The 1992-93 team won an NHL-record 17 regular-season games in a row down the stretch. The 2008-09 team went 18-3-4 in the regular season after Dan Bylsma took over as coach on its way to a third Cup. The 2015-16 team went 33-16-5 in the regular season after Mike Sullivan took over on its way to a fourth Cup.

What we just watched from the Penguins deserves to be on that list.

The team went 18-6-4 without Sidney Crosby, who returned Tuesday night, played a team-high 17:36 among forwards and had a goal and three assists in — what else? — another Penguins win, 7-3 against the Minnesota Wild.

The Penguins have been remarkably successful without Crosby in the past, going 115-60-24 in the 199 regular-season games he has missed. But this team is different. The streak this season was astonishing when you consider much of it was accomplished with several other players injured, key defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz, All-Star winger Jake Guentzel and rugged forward Patric Hornqvist among them.

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