Concussed Crosby skates with Penguins, no word on return

Crosby returned to the lineup March 15.

The Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to win without injured star Sidney Crosby.

Crosby was out of action for nearly a year after suffering a pair of head injuries in early 2011. “It’s kind of an amateur play by me there … I really felt ill”, Ray Shero said. We’ve been friends for a long time. He’s not obviously trying to hurt Crosby in that situation. There were signs even then that he was ready to be a big-game player. He was a stand-up captain for Ray Shero. For a prospect to get on the Penguins’ list, he needed to have a mix of skill, a consistent pace to his game, hockey sense, competitiveness and the ability to play without fear of confrontation.

And now, to see this.

Nashville Predators left wing Austin Watson (51) blocks a shot by St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91), of Russian Federation, during the third period in Game 4 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn.

The Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to get revenge on the Washington Capitals after what happened in game 3.

Even without Crosby, the Penguins won’t lack for star power.

Crosby has dealt with multiple concussions during his career, including one against Washington in the 2011 Winter Classic that he needed almost two years to fully recover from. But the shots the Caps do yield are some of the most risky in the game – breakaways, rebounds and power plays. He suffered another concussion last October but only missed two weeks of action.

“He was out of school for two months”, Ray Shero recounted. “Having gone through that as a parent, well …” “He doesn’t get fazed by Crosby”. Bonino did nothing wrong, just as Nick Foligno didn’t when the Penguins were sent to the box after his emmy worthy performance in round one. “You can’t replace him”. The Caps need more from him, but they also need more from center Nicklas Backstrom, whom some were touting as an MVP candidate this season. But at times it’s been a bit of surprise that they’ve gotten this far. “I keep telling people, ‘I hope they don’t wake us up from this dream'”. “We talked about how things were. There’s some gritty players on both sides who have to be watched, it’s so important to be aware of the personnel who come over the boards at any given time”, says Fraser.

Senators coach Guy Boucher said Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan were day-to-day before noting he “did not see” Ryan “not playing” Game 4.

For years, Eric Lindros had preached open-mindedness when it came to seeking concussion treatments.

That was six years ago, yet here we are now and the same story seems to be playing out once again.

Ovechkin admitted that watching Crosby go down was hard to watch.

“We had some good chances we didn’t bury, and we’re sitting here now down 3-1”, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.

“Sid skated this morning”. “More or less (it’s a) first reaction”. The fact that he was back on the ice is a huge step, to be sure. He can do things with the puck on his stick that not many players in the league can do, but he also sometimes can go overboard with the possession, to the detriment of the team (especially in Sullivan’s up-tempo system).

For Ray Shero, the answer is yes. As if sensing a change in the dynamic of the series, Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin went back out for a brief postgame skate on Monday night and was one of a handful of regulars who showed up for an optional skate on Tuesday. “Look at the Flyers-Boston final of 1974. Yeah, they targeted him”. The Sens and Rangers are tied at two games each following New York’s 4-1 win at Madison Square Garden Thursday night.