from Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,
NHL teams are enduring a power outage this season in general, and this month in particular. March is on pace to represent the NHL's lowest-scoring month since December 2003.
The 2003-04 season infamously produced some of the most unimpressive offensive totals in NHL history.
Only 4.95 goals are being scored per game in March.
This season is being defined by goaltending, team defense and a lack of power plays. Many other stars around the NHL are noticing the elephant in the room: Scoring goals is harder than ever.
“I've noticed a change just in the few years I've been in the league,” Dallas forward Tyler Seguin said. “As long as I've been around, it's never been like this. No one's doing much in the scoring race. What can you do? It's so hard to score. Every game is a chess match right now, especially when you're playing a good team. Everyone is playing tight defensively.”
Crosby leads the NHL with 74 points. The winner of the Art Ross Trophy — Crosby leads Washington's Alex Ovechkin and the Islanders' John Tavares by one point — almost certainly won't reach 100 points. The last NHL scoring champion who failed to reach 100 points in an 82-game season was Martin St. Louis in 2004.
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