Evgeni Malkin, technically, was the first one to confirm the news, yelling at the media with a giant smile on his face when he stepped off the ice after the Penguins' morning skate on Wednesday in Raleigh.
“GUYS, he is BACK!" Malkin shouted. "Crosby is BACK!”
Sidney Crosby, indeed, will return to the Penguins' lineup tonight for the first time since he sustained a sprained MCL from a Radko Gudas hit exactly a month ago in the Olympic quarterfinals. He resumed his position as the Penguins' first-line center between Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell in the morning skate, and skated on the top power-play unit as well.
"Excited to get back in it," Crosby said. "You know, just watching these guys, and being on the trip, it's been close. So, just happy to finally be back in there."
Crosby missed 11 games due to his injury, and the Penguins went 5-3-3 in his absence, handling themselves pretty well despite the depleted lineup against some tough opponents.
"It's never easy watching," he said. "But I think you gain even more appreciation when you're up top and you just see on a nightly basis, the way we compete, the way we work, just coming back in games, a lot of different things. So just want to jump in there and contribute as best I can."
Crosby had that view from up top in the press box on Monday in Denver when Malkin had his own return game, scoring twice after missing the previous five games due to suspension. Crosby smiled when I asked about it and said Malkin "set the bar high" for a performance in a return.
"He was great," Crosby said. "I mean, we were skating together there, so to see him come in like that after missing five games was huge."
Crosby rejoins a Penguins team that finds themselves in the same place they were in the standings during the Olympic break -- tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division. He's looking forward to helping them make that push once again.
"You play to play in the playoffs and ultimately win," he said. "It's competitive, you can see on a nightly basis. Everyone's pushing for a few spots. But that's fun as a hockey player, those are the games you want to be in."
THE ASYLUM
Crosby 'happy to finally be back'
Evgeni Malkin, technically, was the first one to confirm the news, yelling at the media with a giant smile on his face when he stepped off the ice after the Penguins' morning skate on Wednesday in Raleigh.
“GUYS, he is BACK!" Malkin shouted. "Crosby is BACK!”
Sidney Crosby, indeed, will return to the Penguins' lineup tonight for the first time since he sustained a sprained MCL from a Radko Gudas hit exactly a month ago in the Olympic quarterfinals. He resumed his position as the Penguins' first-line center between Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell in the morning skate, and skated on the top power-play unit as well.
"Excited to get back in it," Crosby said. "You know, just watching these guys, and being on the trip, it's been close. So, just happy to finally be back in there."
Crosby missed 11 games due to his injury, and the Penguins went 5-3-3 in his absence, handling themselves pretty well despite the depleted lineup against some tough opponents.
"It's never easy watching," he said. "But I think you gain even more appreciation when you're up top and you just see on a nightly basis, the way we compete, the way we work, just coming back in games, a lot of different things. So just want to jump in there and contribute as best I can."
Crosby had that view from up top in the press box on Monday in Denver when Malkin had his own return game, scoring twice after missing the previous five games due to suspension. Crosby smiled when I asked about it and said Malkin "set the bar high" for a performance in a return.
"He was great," Crosby said. "I mean, we were skating together there, so to see him come in like that after missing five games was huge."
Crosby rejoins a Penguins team that finds themselves in the same place they were in the standings during the Olympic break -- tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division. He's looking forward to helping them make that push once again.
"You play to play in the playoffs and ultimately win," he said. "It's competitive, you can see on a nightly basis. Everyone's pushing for a few spots. But that's fun as a hockey player, those are the games you want to be in."
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