Coming back from concussion, he led forwards in ice time in loss to Capitals

WASHINGTON — Given the way Game 6 ended up playing out for the Penguins Saturday night, the biggest moment for them may have come a few hours before the puck was dropped at Verizon Center.

hat’s when captain Sidney Crosby was officially cleared to return to action.

Crosby ended up missing just one game with a concussion he sustained in Game 3 Monday. He led Penguins forwards in ice time Saturday with 19:10, registering three shots, eight shot attempts and an assist on Phil Kessel’s goahead power-play goal early in the second period.

Of course, for as relieved as Crosby was to be back on the ice, he couldn’t get his mind off the fact that the Penguins came away losers, 4-2, and allowed the Capitals to force a Game 6 back in Pittsburgh Monday.

“I felt good,” Crosby said. “There were some chances there. We just missed. Some nights, you just don’t execute as well. I think there were some chances to be had there a few times and we just didn’t execute.”

Crosby said he has generally “felt good” for the past few days, since Matt Niskanen caught him with a cross-check to the head early in Game 3. He passed his baseline test Friday afternoon and, after another symptom-free day Saturday, was good to go for Game 5.

“He’s a competitor, he wants to be out there,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “It was good that he was cleared and able to play. Obviously, we wanted to get this win, but it’s definitely good to have him and [Conor Sheary] both back.”

Crosby said he tried not to