BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ever since his son was little, Troy Crosby tried to stress the importance of having a good backhand.
Not only as a helpful hockey dad, but as a former goaltender, drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, who was keenly aware of what drives his kind crazy.
“I remember my dad telling me to try and be comfortable on your backhand,” Sidney Crosby said. “It’s an important skill. I think it was something that probably came easy to me. Some guys are more comfortable there. That was the case.”
Crosby’s backhander has always been better than that of his peers, and that has become even more obvious during his goal-scoring resurgence this season, the second 40-goal season of his career and his best total (41) since scoring 51 in 2009-10.