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Morning roundtable: Sidney Crosby, Justin Williams, Patrick Kane the top clutch players in the game

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Who's the greatest clutch player in the game today?

Joe McDonald: There's no doubt it's Sidney Crosby. He does so many things that help make his teammates better, and it equals success for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Most of what he accomplishes does not show up on the score sheet or in any analytical category. Case in point: During the Stanley Cup finals last spring, had the Penguins clinched the series in Game 5, it's possible Pittsburgh forward Phil Kessel could have won the Conn Smythe Trophy. However, only minutes into Game 6, it was evident that Crosby was playing at a level that no one else on the ice could match. His teammates fed off that performance, and Crosby led the Penguins to a championship. It's not always about who scores the most in the critical situations. A player's determination and the ability to make everyone around him better define clutch.

Craig Custance: Analytics experts would certainly question whether clutch even exists in hockey, and it's a fair debate. Sometimes, it's just good players getting lots of opportunities in big situations that help create the legend. That said, how can you argue against Washington Capitals forward Justin Williams' performance time and time again in big situations? He has seven goals and 14 points in seven career Game 7s. He's won three Stanley Cups, and watching his reaction when he won the Conn Smythe in 2014 was about the coolest thing you could witness. With the run the Capitals are on right now, it's a good bet he has another clutch moment or two this spring.

Scott Burnside: Hard to argue Craig's pick of Williams as this generation's version of Claude Lemieux (but with a much nicer disposition). But how about Patrick Kane? I think of moments during all three Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup runs starting in 2010, when it was Kane who was the catalyst to overcoming adversity and finding a way to reverse the flow. In 123 career playoff games, he has an incredible 121 points. He has scored five goals in overtime, has 11 winning goals in the postseason and was named Conn Smythe Trophy winner after Chicago's Cup win in 2013. If that's not the definition of clutch, I'm not sure what is.

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