Increasingly Desperate Sharks Accuse Penguins of “Cheating”

Logan Couture pictured with Sidney Crosby

After dropping the first two Stanley Cup Final games against the Pittsburgh Penguins in particularly gut-wrenching fashion, San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture employed a tactic favored by losers—he accused the winners of cheating.

Or at least something he imagines constitutes cheating.

Logan Couture pictured left

Following their overtime defeat in Game 2, Couture was asked about the success Pens captain Sidney Crosby has had against the Sharks thus far on faceoffs. And this is what he had to say:

“He cheats. He gets away with that. He’s Sidney Crosby.

He times them, and yet they don’t kick him out for some reason; probably because of who he is.”

There’s no question that Crosby has stepped up his faceoff game. In the postseason he has an impressive 52.7 percent success rate, but was 56 percent against the Sharks in Game 1 and an astonishing 71 percent in Game 2.

Image via Zimbio

There’s no question that Crosby has stepped up his faceoff game. In the postseason he has an impressive 52.7 percent success rate, but was 56 percent against the Sharks in Game 1 and an astonishing 71 percent in Game 2.

For Couture to suggest not only that Crosby “times” the puck drop, but also that doing so constitutes an actionable cheating offense is absurd. Not even SB Nation Sharks blogger Jake Sundstrom is buying Couture’s crybaby nonsense. Says Sundstrom:

The thing is that Couture is almost certainly right — Crosby absolutely cheats on face offs. How can I be so confident about that? Because literally everyone who’s worth a damn in the faceoff circle cheats. Everyone tries to time their faceoff wins, which is why you see so many guys get kicked out of faceoffs.

This is a pretty good read on how Crosby can be so damn successful in the faceoff circle. As far as him cheating? Well… right. If you’re not cheating you’re not trying. Maybe Couture should give it some thought so he can win more than 40 percent of his draws in the next game.

My thoughts exactly. Couture needs to focus on his own game because it’s going to take a lot more than lame accusations to beat this Penguins team.