Well in '08 the Pens lost to Detroit - THE powerhouse of the league - but at least Crosby contributed 4 points to their two wins, and two points in their final two losses. Had 7 points in 4 wins against Philly in the series leading up, too.
And even in '09 against Detroit (again a top Western seed), at least he contributed 3 points in their 4 wins that series, too. In fact, before facing Detroit he only went 2 games without a point through the first 3 rounds. Forsberg doesn't have a 3 series stretch like that anywhere in his entire playoff resume. Washington was 2nd seed in the East that year, though, so what's not to like about 13 points against them in that series (7 points in 4 wins)? Philly was virtually indistinguishable from the Pens in the regular season standings, for that matter, and he tagged them with 6 points in their 4 wins in that series.
I'm sorry, but how do you go from chiding me for pointing out the difference in defensive strength between the teams Forsberg faced and the teams Crosby faced three days ago to talking about the Washington Capitals as if being the 2nd Seed is more relevant than being the 20th ranked defensive team?
Do you think we're too clueless to know that defensive ranks are more relevant than seeding when it comes to limiting scoring? Ovechkin scoring 14 points in that series isn't going to negatively impact Crosby's ability to put up 13 points - but it's a good indication as to why Washington was the #2 seed.
Again...
2002 - 20 Games
Los Angeles - 190 GA (7 points in 6 games)
San Jose - 199 GA (12 points in 7 games)
Detroit - 187 GA (8 points in 7 games)
20 ESP, 7 PPP, 4 GWG, 3 Overtime Points
2008 - 20 Games
Ottawa - 247 GA (8 points in 4 games)
New York - 199 GA (6 points in 5 games)
Philadelphia - 233 GA (7 points in 5 games)
Detroit - 184 GA (6 points in 6 games)
10 ESP, 14 PPP, 3 Empty Net Points, 1 GWG, 1 Overtime Point
2009 - 24 Games
Philadelphia - 238 GA (8 points in 6 games)
Washington - 245 GA (13 points in 7 games)
Carolina - 226 GA (9 points in 4 games)
Detroit - 244 GA (3 points in 7 games)
19 ESP, 10 PPP, 2 Empty Net Points, 2 GWG, 1 Overtime Point
Crosby was not shooting on defensive juggernauts. All three teams Forsberg shot on surrendered fewer than 200 goals in the season. Crosby only faced two such teams out of the eight (the next best defensive team was at 226 GA), and was held to 12 points in 11 games in those contests. If you want to argue that Detroit in 2009 was better than their GA indicates, fine, but they stopped Crosby even worse than that while Lidstrom and Datsyuk were playing hurt.
You really must have your head in the sand to think that 13 points in 7 games against Washington (245 GA) is more notable than 12 points in 7 games against San Jose (199 GA), where Forsberg scored three GWGs, including the overtime goal in Game 6 and the single goal in a 1-0 Game 7.
Crosby in 2008 wasn't even breaking through 5-on-5 matchups to get the majority of his points. In addition to his 14 PPP, three of his ESP were shot into an empty net (as were 2 more in 2009; all of Forsberg's points went through a goaltender), meaning that he had just 10 actual 5-on-5 points in 20 games to Forsberg's 20 in 20. You can't brag about him beating defensive matchups when he only records 37% of his points in that type of setting.
Forsberg has the same raw points-per-game as Crosby in 2008 and a better raw points-per-game than Crosby in 2009. Forsberg recorded 1.35 points-per-game against goaltenders in 2002; Crosby had 1.20 in 2008 and 1.21 in 2009. The teams Forsberg shot on averaged 192 GA; Crosby's averaged 216 GA in 2008 and 238 GA in 2009. Forsberg was less reliant on 5-on-4 situations to produce his offense. He was a bigger clutch scorer.
Losing as a 19-point underdog to the 2002 Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals doesn't change the fact that Forsberg had a better playoff run in his 20 games than Crosby did in 2008 (20 games) or 2009 (24 games). If pounding on teams like Ottawa (2008) and Washington (2009) who gave up 3 goals per game on average in the regular season - or peppering empty nets on even-strength wasn't enough to boost Crosby's points-per-game above Forsberg's, then the win for Forsberg here should be clear.
It doesn't necessarily make him the better player overall, but yes, Forsberg has the best playoff run.