Sidney Crosby participates in Penguins' practice; 1st time since November
The Penguins didn’t need anyone to ride into practice on a white horse to save the day during Monday’s practice.
But they certainly could have used an emotional boost.
After all, it had only been approximately 14 hours since all-star forward Jake Guentzel left the ice after crashing violently into the end boards of PPG Paints Arena. The collision led to Guentzel undergoing surgery on his right shoulder and potentially being sidelined four to six months.
They got a pick-me-up in the form of a white jersey.
Captain Sidney Crosby participated in practice in Cranberry on Tuesday for the first time since aggravating a core muscle injury on Nov. 9.
Crosby wore a white jersey to indicate no contract during the session, which was geared more towards individual skills than team-focused activities.
Afterward, Crosby noted he only took part in the practice as a matter of logistics due to limited ice time at the team’s facility in Cranberry and suggested he would be skating own his own (or with a coach) prior to practices as soon as Wednesday.
Crosby said there is no time table for his return to the lineup.
Regardless, it was a welcome sign for his teammates who were still a little shaken by Guentzel’s potentially season-ending injury.
“Sid is such a great leader for this team and and our guys look up to him so much,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “The timing of him joining us was, I think, appropriate for the group. I know our guys certainly get excited when he’s on the ice.”
“It’s always great to have him on the ice,” forward Sam Lafferty said. “It’s the first time in a while. When he’s out there, you know practice is just at a different level. He makes everybody better. So it’s awesome to see him out there.”
Crosby pumped the breaks on tying any significance to his participation in practice to a potential return to the lineup.
“It just takes time,” Crosby said. “You just need to heal. You need time to do that. With each week, it’s gotten better and better and progressed. So that’s the most important thing.
“You just listen to your body. It’s like any injury. You know when you can push it and when you can’t. With every week, I’ve been able to do more and more. That’s positive. The team is playing unbelievable. For the last, however long, even prior to when I got hurt, just guys going down left and right and (the team is) still finding ways to win. So that’s been great to see. I want to be back as soon as possible. Still really no time line.”
Crosby left the lineup during a 3-2 shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks at PPG Paints Arena when he got tangled up with Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson and fell into the boards awkwardly.
He indicated the injury was amplified by his tumble in that game.
“It was bugging me a bit,” Crosby said. “It was something that probably took what happened in that game to put it over the edge. It’s just something that I had to deal with.”
In 17 games this season, Crosby has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists). Despite the injury, he felt well enough to remain in the lineup before aggravating it Nov. 9.
“If you can play, you can play,” Crosby said. “That’s really what it comes down to. Either you can play or you can’t. I got to the point after Chicago where I couldn’t.”
Despite his injury, to say nothing of other maladies to teammates such as defenseman Brian Dumoulin or forward Patric Hornqvist, the team has gone 14-5-3 since Nov. 9.
“Just the way everybody stepped up,” Crosby said. “Whether it’s (Guentzel) or (Bryan Rust) or (Evgeni Malkin). (Defenseman Kris Letang). Guys that know that, they have to step up. They’ve done that. But then there’s been other guys that have stepped up at different points. Whoever has been in the net has found a way. Just seeing the collective effort that’s it’s taken to this point, it’s been great to see. You want to be a part of that. It’s gotten us through a lot of these injuries.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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