Comeback Kid tries again
Penguins superstar says he’s feeling ‘normal’ again and could be back in action as soon as Sunday,
PITTSBURGH— Smiling as he spoke, it seemed the weight of the world had left Sidney Crosby’s shoulders.
His headaches have vanished. The soft-tissue issues in his neck are long gone. He feels “normal” again.
The Concussed One can take contact again.
“Until you get better, then you realize what better is and what normal is,” said Crosby. “It’s one of those things when you’re used to having things (one way) for so long, you forget what normal is.”
Crosby got back to normal on Tuesday, taking contact in practice for the first time since December. He wants to get back into game action “the sooner the better” and that could be as early as Sunday. He doesn’t want to miss the playoffs again.
“The only way you’re going to adapt that (to the rigours of the playoffs) is by being in games,” said Crosby. “You can do as much practising as you want and exertion. I’ve pushed myself as hard as I can practice-wise.
“The contact is the big stuff, making sure I get through that. Once I can do that for a few days, I’m just going to jump into games. Really, the sooner the better for that.”
Crosby wouldn’t commit to a date. But he mentioned the team had two more practices before a game against the Rangers on Sunday. A nationally broadcast NBC game, by the way.
“Once I can (handle contact) for a few days, I’m just going to jump into games. Really, the sooner the better for that.”
SIDNEY CROSBY
“No sooner than Sunday, I would say, but I’m not going to sit here and put a date on it,” said Crosby. “It would be total guesswork.”
He said he has been symptom-free — meaning no headaches — for a few days.
“I’ve been through this before, and contact is the big step,” said Crosby. “It’s nice to be symptom-free but it’s not as fulfilling until you get out there (in a game). I just want to make sure I take the right steps and get out there soon.”
Tuesday was merely Day1 of Crosby’s cleared-for-contact life. He took faceoffs, jostled for position, did some one-on-one battles.
“A lot of bumps,” said Crosby. “As soon as they (his teammates) knew I could get hit I was getting a lot of bumps out there in drills. The lineup was a dangerous place to be today. It was fun to be out there with them. Hopefully it’s a regular occurrence.” But, he said, it was only practice. “It was a decent amount (of contact),” said Crosby. “I don’t think you’re ever going to get what you’re going to get in a game. There’s the odd time in practice where that may happen.
“As far as getting an elbow to the head, or a shoulder to the face, it’s not really going to happen in practice. You just want to make sure you go through all the right steps to prepare for a game. Then, when a game comes, you hope everything goes good.” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma didn’t want to get ahead of himself, and doesn’t want Crosby’s impending return to distract the rest of the team. The Pens have a game Wednesday against the Maple Leafs, and Friday against the Panthers. Bylsma didn’t want to get tied down to a particular return date. “Really, it’s more how he feels and how he goes through a few days of practice,” said Bylmsa. “Today wasn’t extensive in terms of getting a lot of contact. We’ll see how (it goes) as we put days together.” Crosby has been skating for weeks in his bid to return a second time from the perplexing injury. He was concussed by a pair of hits, the first on Jan. 1, 2011 against Washington in the Winter Classic and the second four days later against Tampa. Crosby returned in November only to get hit again in December. It was believed he suffered another concussion and proceeded accordingly. Then, after consulting with doctors in Atlanta and Los Angeles and a physical trainer in Utah, the worry was that Crosby had suffered two broken vertebrae in his neck. Ultimately it was determined that he was dealing with a soft tissue injury in the neck, for which he received treatment. “The neck stuff certainly helped,” said Crosby. “It’s all trial and error. There’s no specific treatment that everybody knows is going to work. It’s related to what you feel. I definitely felt like I saw some improvement working on my neck and getting it loose. Was it everything? I don’t know. But it’s something I’ll continue doing.” Crosby said Tuesday the motion in his neck has been fine for some time, and that it was only when his headaches cleared up a few days ago that he actually began to feel much better. He is looking forward to playing — champing at the bit, really — but experienced enough to know he shouldn’t rush anything. “I’ve gone through this once already,” said Crosby. “I know what to expect and how to prepare for it. I’m just trying to focus on what I have to do to get back and making sure when I do get back that I’m ready.”