Sidney Crosby uses his mastery of the bank shot vs. Stars (Video)

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Dallas Stars Thursday night 6-2 and Sidney Crosby continued his hot start to the season by scoring his 16th goal and adding two assists to give him 25 points in 18 games.

Crosby’s goal put him one ahead of Winnipeg Jets rookie Patrik Laine for the NHL’s lead.

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The goal came as many of them do in Crosby’s case — in ridiculous fashion, as he succeeded on his second attempt to bank the puck off Antti Niemi from behind the goal line by batting it out of the air.

It’s important to be aware of all angles as a goal scorer, kids. But Niemi isn’t alone in feeling any shame. This is the third time Crosby has scored like this since September.

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Remember this goal for Canada against Michal Neuvirth and the Czech Republic during the World Cup?

And then there was poor Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks who wasn’t quite quick enough getting reset before Crosby did this:

“You’re just trying to get the puck between him and the net and hoping for a good bounce,” Crosby said after Thursday’s win via the Tribune-Review. “There’s not much room any more. You’ve just got to look for every bit of daylight you can find. (Goalies are) big, and their gear is big. If you can find that little bit of daylight, then hopefully it goes in.”

More often than not in Crosby’s case, it’s going in.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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