It's not that Sidney Crosby hadn't missed some games before this.
Fact is, injuries and illness have forced him to sit out more than 200 since he entered the NHL.
But the bout with COVID-19 that prevented him from playing in the first five games this month -- and to stay largely idle while he was self-isolating -- was a bit different from the medical issues he'd experienced previously.
"It's not a typical thing, where you just sit around for 10 days and jump on the ice," Crosby said after the Penguins' game-day skate at PPG Paints Arena. "Typically, even when you're hurt, you're kind of ramping up to get ready. It's totally something new that they just have to figure out along the way and try to manage trying to get back into game shape and get to where you need to be, but that doesn't happen in one practice or one game."
Crosby, who had missed the first seven games of the season while recovering from wrist surgery, played for the second time in 2021-22 on Sunday, during a 6-1 loss in Washington.
"I didn't expect to feel great," he said. "And I didn't."
Crosby logged 16 minutes and 57 seconds of ice time against the Capitals, 2:12 of which came during the Penguins' two power plays.
They failed to score on either, running their current drought with the extra man to 0-for-25 over the past eight games as they prepare to face the Sabres tonight at 7:08.
Crosby, though, doesn't seem overly concerned about the Penguins' inability to score with the man-advantage in recent weeks.
"We've had some really good looks," he said. "It just comes down to execution. That's always the case with the power play."
A goal or two with the extra man would come in handy now and then, and might help the Penguins climb out of seventh place in the Metropolitan Division. They are just 2-5-2 in their past nine games, and recognize the importance of stringing together a few victories before the gap between them and the clubs they're chasing gets to be too great.
"We know the situation," Crosby said. "We feel like we've got to find some desperation, urgency here. Just being where we are and the situation we're in ... we've been fighting here since Game 1, whether it be injuries or the virus.
"I think there's excitement knowing that we have a full group. But we also know we have some work to do. It's not all going to come back in one game, but I think we know that we have to start grabbing some points here."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Mike Sullivan said that Crosby and Brian Dumoulin exited the COVID-19 protocol in time to be available for the Penguins' game in Montreal Thursday, but that Canadian regulations will prevent him from being behind the bench then.
• Brian Boyle, one of just eight players to appear in each of the first 14 games, looks as if he will be a healthy scratch tonight. He took a few turns as the eighth defenseman during the skate. Sullivan noted that Boyle, normally the fourth-line center, also can play the wing.
• Tristan Jarry is expected to make his second consecutive start in goal.
• Evan Rodrigues said he "definitely" is comfortable when he rotates back to the point during power plays, having worked there during his final season-plus at Boston University. "To this day, I've always enjoyed playing defense, because you get to see the whole ice," he said. "My body stature (5 foot 11, 184 pounds) might not be the best for it, but I've always enjoyed it. The whole game is in front of you."
• Buffalo is off to a solid start, going 6-6-2 to sit alongside the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings. The Sabres aren't Stanley Cup contenders, but they definitely have upgraded their play after several miserable seasons. "They're a talented team," Sullivan said. "They play with a free spirit. I think their coaching staff has done a really good job in implementing a game plan, and it looks like they're buying in. They play a speed game. They have a dangerous transition game."
• Personnel combinations:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brock McGinn
Dominik Simon-Evan Rodrigues-Danton Heinen
Extras: Brian Boyle, Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Mike Matheson-Chad Ruhwedel
Extra: Mark Friedman
No. 1 power play: Crosby, Carter, Letang, Rust, Guentzel
No. 2 power play: Marino, Rodrigues, Kapanen, Zucker, Heinen
