NHL playoff scores 2016: Those Sidney Crosby narratives are bad and you should feel bad for believing them

There has never been anything wrong with Sidney Crosby, despite what the narratives have said.

You might have heard, but up until Monday night, Crosby hadn't scored since April 21 against the Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Considering how high-caliber of a player Crosby is, it'd usually be concerning if suddenly one of the best players in the NHL dropped off the map and was held scoreless in eight games.

However, just looking at the zeroes in the goals column, like Jeremy Roenick of NBCSN's broadcast team clearly has, is the easiest -- and worst -- narrative to fall back on.

"If I were Sidney Crosby right now, I'd watch the work ethic that Jonathan Drouin has on a nightly basis." - @Jeremy_Roenick

— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) May 17, 2016

Yes, that right there is an actual quote from Roenick on the broadcast just hours before Crosby's overtime goal that kept the Penguins from losing back-to-back games for the first time since January. What already was the hottest of takes became quite the mockery after Crosby gave the Penguins the 3-2 victory on his sixth shot of the night.

I get it, the goal drought narrative is the easiest to fall into. Crosby hasn't been producing like he did in the regular season -- which has him nominated for the Hart Trophy, mind you -- but the Penguins have been doing fine even without his scoring touch. Even if he isn't putting the puck in the net himself, he is still helping; he has eight assists in 13 games, and with his four goals so far in these playoffs, he is just below a point-per-game pace.

But thankfully, the narrative came to a head then died all within the span of one evening. We can now go about our lives knowing that Crosby's work ethic is just fine, thank you very much Jeremy Roenick.

Penguins 3, Lightning 2 (OT)

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1. Matt Cullen is an ageless wonder

Maybe he's not on the level of Jaromir Jagr, but 39-year-old Cullen has managed to score four goals on the fourth line so far in these playoffs. Not only that, Cullen has kept up with the blinding speed of the Penguins and has yet to look out of place on a Pittsburgh squad with some big young guns.

2. The freak injuries happened before the game

Remember the four separate injuries of Game 1? There was almost a repeat after Ryan Callahan was ruled out with the flu late in warmups, then Patric Hornqvist took a puck to the head and was missing until puck drop.

Stralman is in. Callahan (flu) is out. No Bishop. No Stamkos.

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) May 17, 2016

No word on Hornqvist yet. Took puck to head in warmup. Left ice. Didn't return. One of two Penguins who doesn't wear helmet in warmups.

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) May 16, 2016

3. Andrei Vasilevskiy had himself one hell of a game

The 21-year-old netminder faced 41 Penguins shots through the 60 minutes and change in the loss, and he won't get nearly enough credit for keeping the Lightning alive so they could even sniff overtime. It's hard to fault him totally for any of the three goals given up, as the Lighting defense were pretty absent on each goal. Vasilevskiy even denied narrative-killer Crosby earlier in the game on one of the best stops this series has seen thus far. Too bad Tampa Bay wasn't able to match his performance in goal.

Remember Tony, AKA @soloucity on Twitter, who fell in love with hockey during the Blues/Blackhawks Game 7? We're dedicating a section in our recaps to the gems of his Twitter account during the playoffs.

i actually heard about him few years ago in the Olympics https://t.co/WqEuJRyCAw

— Tony X. (@soIoucity) May 17, 2016

Phil Kessel ties a career-high for goals in a single postseason (6). #Pens have won 16 of last 17 games when he scores a goal.

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 17, 2016