Sidney Crosby is going to try this again

The Rangers are real excited about welcoming Sid back

For the second time this season, Sidney Crosby is making a much-anticipated return to the ice after being forced to miss significant time with concussion-like symptoms. The Kid will take the ice tonight in Madison Square Garden against the Eastern Conference leading New York Rangers in a pivotal matchup for the top seed in the East. Then Pens are confident that Crosby has fully recoverd from his concussion-like symptoms, for realsies this time, and hope to get him worked up to full speed for a deep playoff run. With only 14 games left in the regular season, is it enough time for Crosby to get his game-legs back? How will his return impact the red-hot Pens down the stretch? Does Pittsburgh really need Crosby back? Has the technology for a bubble wrap helmet finally been perfected? No, to the last one, but let’s delve deeper on those others.

When too slow isn’t slow enough: Crosby out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms

COME AT ME BRO! Wait, no, not that hard...

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: due to concussion-like symptoms, Sidney Crosby is off the ice indefinitely. After a ten month layoff, Crosby finally made his return to the ice November 21, where he came back with a splash, scoring 2 goals to go along with 2 assists, putting the rest of the league on notice that the Kid had returned. However, Crosby hasn’t played since the Pens 3-1 loss to Boston last week, and was diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms this weekend, despite tests coming up negative for a concussion. Two questions to answer: When will we see Crosby on the ice again (that question sure sounds familiar), and WHO TOUCHED HIM?!?

Sid the Kid finally has his mind right

With the extra time off, Crosby has been working on a pretty good "Blue Steel"

The last time Sidney Crosby skated in an NHL game was January 5, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Since then, he has been held out with concussion-like symptoms, his return always promised to be just around the corner, but never coming. He sat for the end of last season, and continued to sit while the Pens were bounced from the playoffs. We expected him to return after taking the offseason to recover, but still he sat as the season began. Maybe tomorrow, they said, but tomorrow came and went and people began to wonder if they would ever see the Kid skate again. Good news, everyone! Or bad news if you don’t like him and enjoyed having him in civvies, I guess. Sidney Crosby will be seeing his first game action in ten months tonight against the New York Islanders.

Sidney Crosby returns…at some point…maybe

"You wanna get in there Sid?" "Mmmmm, nope..."

Sidney Crosby has not skated in a game since January 5, 2011 when he was diagnosed with a concussion that was affecting the part of his brain that controls his balance and ability to stand upright. Pittsburgh quickly put “The Kid” on the shelf and vowed not to bring him off until he was back to 100%.  At the time, the thought was he would be ready for the playoffs, but Crosby stopped practicing during the Pens first round playoff-loss to Tampa Bay after his concussion symptoms came back. That pushed his probable return to the beginning of this season, but the Penguins again pushed as they opened the season without their star and captain. Recently, Crosby has been cleared to skate and practice with his team, up to and including “light” contact, but there was still no definitive timetable for his return. Yesterday, Sidney Crosby did not rule himself out for an upcoming game this Friday at home against the Dallas Stars. He didn’t really rule himself “in” either, but if we’ve learned anything from this injury, it’s that we move forward with baby steps, people.

Crosby cleared to let teammates touch him, no word on when other teams can get a piece of that…

"it's a big one and we'll see how things go"

Yeah, it’s full contact, so it’s a good step in the right direction…it’s a big one and we’ll see how things go.

Sidney Crosby, NHL.com

Judging by how conservative and cautious the past 10 months of his recovery to playing full speed, high intensity, CONTACT, professional hockey have been, I’d say be prepared to give it to him nice and slow.

This is exactly the approach the Pittsburgh Penguins have adopted in regard to Crosby’s return to the NHL line-up, NEVER to return to the depths of injured reserve HELL!! Right?  Oh wait, that’s not exactly how it works.

The Caps & Pens put their squabbles aside for a greater good

Neener neener neener, I'm on your side (broke-ass English)

This is the typical scene one has come to expect from a match-up between two of the NHL’s most prolific, dramatic and inspiring young teams – the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.  What has become quite the emotional and aggressive contest in the past has also failed to portray much more than a heated jawing between the two teams’ most prolific stars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, respectively. With Crosby still lingeringly (read: publicly, unabashedly, conservatively) absent from the Penguins line-up, it is hard to imagine that this will be the story for their upcoming exhibition scheduled for Thursday October 13th at 7:00 PM EST, courtesy of NHL Net-US (sorry everyone else).

Pens worry if taken out of box, Sidney Crosby will decrease in value

"NOT THE FACE!!"

The NHL season kicked off last night with three games, the night cap being the Pittsburgh Penguins facing off against the Vancouver Canucks. The Pens blew a lead before winning in a shootout, but the big story from last night was the continued absence of Sidney Crosby, considered by many to be the best hockey player in the world and the most famous face of the NHL. Crosby hasn’t played a game since January 5, after suffering a concussion. The star always seemed to be on the verge of coming back last season, but was never cleared, even as the Pens fell in the playoffs. So the question for this season is quickly becoming, when will Sid the Kid play again?