from Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Crosby's playoff performance is fair game for criticism. He wasn't very good last season, either, when the Penguins were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final. He didn't have a point in the four games. You expect so much more from the so-called best player in the world, the man who ran away with the NHL scoring title this season and surely will be named the MVP when the league hands out its awards next month.

But many of the personal attacks on Crosby since the Rangers series have been unfair, unjustified and untrue. Talk about way over the top. It has been amazing, yet sad, to watch a sports icon here take such a hard fall. It has been so bad in some places for Crosby that even his dad, Troy, has been a target of blame for being too much of a meddling father. It really has been pretty silly.

Crosby is not a bad guy. He is not a bad teammate. He is not a bad captain or a bad leader. Most of all, he is not a coach-killer.

By playing poorly, Crosby didn't do his bosses any favors. It's fair to think general manager Ray Shero wouldn't have been fired if the Penguins had finished off the Rangers, no matter how they would have done against the Montreal Canadiens in the next round.

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