PENGUINS Rookie Crosby has exceeded all his expectations

He's even been playing better under new head coach Michel Therrien.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Sidney Crosby says he still feels like a rookie in this, his first NHL season. He just hasn't been playing like one -- especially lately.
Only months after his 18th birthday, the No. 1 draft pick center has generally matched or exceeded most of the somewhat-unreasonable expectations placed upon him, with 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points in 36 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"He's probably better than everyone expected," said winger Tomas Surovy, who recently was placed on a line with Crosby after being recalled from the American Hockey League. "Every day, every game you see him getting better, and he's already better than everyone expected."
Averaging a point per game through the season's first 31 games, Crosby has nine (five goals, four assists) in five contests since Michel Therrien replaced Eddie Olczyk as head coach Dec. 15.
His five-game scoring streak matches his longest since he opened his career by collecting a point in each of his first six games.
"I'm feeling a lot more comfortable," Crosby said. "I think you never want to forget you're a rookie. You should savor the experience every night. I don't want to play like one, though. I want to play like I've been here a while."
Elevated play under Therrien
Crosby, like the rest of his team, appears to have elevated his play under Therrien, who has a more disciplinarian style and a stricter system than did Olczyk.
Though the Penguins have won only one of Therrien's first five games, they earned points in three of them and all of the losses came by only one goal.
Individually, Crosby is plus-six in Therrien's five games as coach after being a minus-11 through 31 games.
He has recently been playing on a line with veteran Ziggy Palffy and Surovy, who has always been a prolific scorer at the minor-league level.
The three combined for four goals and four assists in Thursday night's 6-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
"Sometimes chemistry has got to be there between players," Therrien said. "Since we put those players together, the chemistry seems to be there."
Never had same line
Under Olczyk, Crosby seemed to have a different linemate every game, starting the season as part of a unit with veterans Mark Recchi and John LeClair and then playing with Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and rookie Erik Christensen.
Therrien said he prefers to have continuity among his line combinations, but things could change with the return of players from injury -- most notably Lemieux, who is out indefinitely with an irregular heartbeat.
"I like the way they play together, and right now they're clicking," Therrien said. "Will we keep it [together] for many games? I don't know. I like Mario there, too. But right now I think it's working well for us."
Has long way to go
Despite his early success, Crosby has a long way to go to catch teammates like Lemieux (690 career goals), Recchi (467), LeClair (388) and Palffy (329) -- a fact that he said keeps him motivated.
"I just keep trying to push myself," Crosby said. "Especially being around guys who have been in the league so long, you want to put yourself at that level. I'm trying to build my game more to be more consistently playing at that level."