NHL playoffs: Crosby skates, no timetable for return
PITTSBURGH— Sidney Crosby was in full pads and skating with his Penguins teammates during Thursday’s off-day work, just days after he’d sustained the fourth reported concussion of his career.
The Hart Trophy nominee was forced out of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal on Monday after he was hit in the head by the stick of Caps star Alex Ovechkin and then crosschecked high by defenceman Matt Niskanen. The team announced on Tuesday that Crosby had sustained a concussion in the 3-2 overtime loss.
Coach Mike Sullivan offered no timetable on his captain’s return. Game 5 goes Saturday, with the Pens leading the best-of-seven series 3-1.
“He’s in the process of rehabbing and we’ll just leave it at that,” Sullivan said. “It’s a day-to-day process.”
Crosby missed a good chunk of two seasons after he battled post-concussion syndrome following a collision, also against the Capitals, in 2011. The Pens were also without Crosby for the first game of this regular season due to a concussion.
Now, with the Penguins looking to wrap up the series on the road on Saturday night without Crosby.
The group that earned a grimy OT victory on Wednesday against increasingly baffled Washington spent most of the night comfortably buried in its own end. Pittsburgh blocked 24 shots while steering net-front traffic away from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to take a 3-1 series lead as star Sidney Crosby watched in a suit while recovering from a concussion.
“We win games different ways,” Sullivan said. “Some games we win blocking shots and killing penalties. Other games we win off our counterattack or power play.”
In Game 4, it was a little bit of everything. Washington went 0 for 4 with the man advantage. Pittsburgh’s first goal came on a Patric Hornqvist breakaway set up by a beautiful stretch pass from Olli Maatta.
Throw in another spectacular performance by Fleury and a lock down third period in which the Capitals only managed to get eight shots all the way to the net and Pittsburgh is on the verge of eliminating the Presidents’ Trophy winners for the second straight season and the ninth time in 10 playoff meetings.