from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,
“This is what you dream of as a kid,” Dubinsky said. “You play this game for one reason — to lift that 35-pound (Stanley) Cup. Your top players have to be your best players. If you consider yourself a top player — and I do — I think this team relies on me to do that.”
Dubinsky has limited Crosby to no goals and 12 shots on goal in the first four games. Moreover, he set the tone for the Blue Jackets in the opening game, physically confronting Crosby all over the ice, knocking him down on several occasions and drawing boos from Penguins fans. Dubinsky has 30 hits, and Crosby has received six of them.
“I used Brandon most of the time against Crosby, and that’s not an easy task,” Richards said. “But Dubi is hard on (faceoffs), he plays a physical game and there’s a commitment in his game to playing defense.”
Crosby is so skilled that he can go off at a moment’s notice, but his performance in this series has been so blasé that Penguins coach Dan Bylsma was asked yesterday whether Crosby was injured. Bylsma quickly said that Crosby is healthy, but he included Crosby in a group of Penguins that needs to play with more passion and more of a physical edge.
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