Sidney Crosby Makes Long-Awaited Return for Penguins' Playoff Push
The Pittsburgh Penguins are enjoying a bounce-back season and are aiming for the playoffs. Sidney Crosby finally returned to help with that. The superstar forward has been out since the Olympics, where he missed the final two games with an injury. That includes Canada's overtime loss to the Americans in the gold medal match.
There was some speculation that Crosby could've gutted it out for that game, one of the most important for Team Canada in recent memory. However, if he was out until now (the gold medal match was on February 22), then there's no way he could've played.
Either way, he finally returned as the Penguins push for a division title. Unfortunately, despite that and a goal from Crosby, the Penguins fell to the Carolina Hurricanes, hampering their chances of catching the Canes.
Sidney Crosby returns and scores in overtime loss
The Penguins trailed the Carolina Hurricanes by seven points heading into last night's contest with mere weeks to play. If they were going to catch the Canes, last night was almost a must-win. Unfortunately, they fell short.
Sidney Crosby made his long-awaited return. He also scored and had an assist. It wasn't enough. Now, the Penguins did avoid the worst-case scenario by losing in overtime, but they almost had it won. They also almost made it to a shootout.
K'Andre Miller scored with less than three minutes left to tie it in the third after the Penguins had added two goals to take the lead. Sean Walker scored with less than 30 seconds left in the overtime period to steal a win for the Hurricanes.
"Definitely some rust," Crosby said. "You've just got to find a way to make sure you adapt as soon as possible. Every game is so big. To come back at this point in the year, you've got to find a way to get that timing and make sure my game is where it needs to be."
Crosby was on the ice for about 18 minutes. His 28th goal, the most on the team despite his recent absence, knotted the game at 1 midway through the second period. He also assisted Erik Karlsson in his tying goal in the third period before the Pens took the lead.
Crosby now has 61 points in 57 games. "Some lead changes, things like that," Crosby said. "But sometimes that's what the game dictates and obviously it's about winning at the end of the day, so we've got to find a way to win that game."
Penguins coach Dan Muse was pleased with Crosby's return, noting that the forward didn't take long to get into a rhythm. "I thought that Sid's line was good," he said. Crosby's return was also marked by some time in the penalty box. He sat in the second for a roughing penalty and again in the third for tripping.
Pittsburgh managed to survive Crosby's absence, for the most part. They're aiming to get back in the playoffs this year, and they went 5-3-3 without their captain to stay afloat. As of now, they're in the playoffs, but barely.
They lead the New York Islanders by one point and the Columbus Blue Jackets by two points. Should those two teams pass Pittsburgh, they will fall out of the Metro Division's three spots, and will need to cling to a wild card spot. Still, they're in a good position now.
"It's never easy watching, 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," Crosby said before his return, signaling his desire to get back to helping the Penguins win contests. Though he fell short of that in his first game back, his presence will be a boon.
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