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TAMPA, Fla. -- Sidney Crosby's limp was not nearly as striking as it had been 16 hours earlier.

The swelling in his left foot was not as severe as he expected.

The pain was not as intense as he feared.

But his prognosis, at least for the short term, remained as blurry as ever.

Penguins officials are describing Crosby as questionable for their game against Tampa Bay 5 p.m. today at the St. Pete Times Forum. Crosby said yesterday that his participation hinges on whether he can get his swollen foot into a skate, and whether he's able to deal with the pain that would accompany playing on such an injury.

"I'll see [tonight] how I feel," he said. "[The swelling is] not too bad. It's just tender. We'll just have to see when I put my skate on."

If Crosby tries to play, equipment manager Steve Latin might fashion a pad to protect the bruised area of his foot, although some players are reluctant to use those.

A CT scan at a Tampa hospital yesterday, like X-rays taken shortly after Crosby was injured when he blocked a shot 8¹/₂ minutes into the third period of the Penguins' 6-3 loss at Florida Friday, turned up no evidence of a fracture.

	SCOUTING REPORT Matchup: Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning, 5:08 p.m. today, St. Pete Times Forum. TV, Radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WWSW-FM (94.5). Probable goaltenders: Jocelyn Thibault for Penguins. John Grahame for Lightning. Penguins: Are 1-8, with one tie, in past 10 games in Tampa. ... Have not allowed power-play goal in four of past five games. ... RW Mark Recchi has one point in past nine games and is minus-14 during that span. Lightning: Is 5-5-1 at Forum, fourth-worst home record in Eastern Conference. ... Has 10-1 record when holding opponents to fewer than three goals. ... Is least-penalized team in NHL, averaging 11.7 minutes per game. Hidden stat: Lightning is 36-1-3 in past 40 games when C Brad Richards gets goal.

The Penguins traveled across the state immediately after that game, and Crosby stayed up until 4 a.m. yesterday icing the injury in an effort to limit the swelling.

"Right now, the swelling is the main thing," he said. "There's no real muscle [where the shot struck his foot]. It's mostly bone."

After having the CT scan yesterday, Crosby made it to the arena in time to watch most of the Penguins' afternoon practice. He was wearing a pair of black dress shoes, with no socks, and said he had no trouble getting the shoe on.

"It's a little stiff, but it's better," he said. "My shoe doesn't really go over where I got hit."

Coach Eddie Olczyk plugged John LeClair into Crosby's spot at left wing on the No. 1 line with Erik Christensen and Ziggy Palffy during yesterday's practice. The reality, though, is that regardless of who would be chosen to fill in for Crosby, his absence would be an enormous problem for the Penguins.

Crosby is tied with Palffy for the team scoring lead and, 23 games into the season, is almost universally regarded as the Penguins' best player. He has a team-high 12 goals -- 10 in the past 11 games -- and has had his ice time rise to the point where he is averaging just under 19 minutes per game.

For an 18-year-old to be in the NHL is fairly unusual. For one to occupy the prominent niche Crosby has staked out with the Penguins is almost unheard of.

"This kid's a phenom," Mario Lemieux said. "He's shown so far that he's one of the best in the league, at 18 years old.

"He's a big part of the team. Anytime you lose a top guy -- at five-on-five, especially, and on the power play -- it's a big loss."

Crosby characterized his injury as "just one of those things that happens," and said this is not the first time he has been hurt by a puck.

"I've had a few shots [in the foot] before," he said. "That one was probably the hardest I've ever been hit. So I'm probably more nervous about [this] one than other ones."

Although he is not particularly large (5 feet 11, 193 pounds), Crosby has been durable and relatively healthy throughout his time in organized hockey. He had a separated shoulder and a knee injury while playing junior hockey, but never missed more than four games because of injury.

Crosby was to join his teammates for a meal last night. Odds are he was the only one who gave serious thought to strapping an ice bag to his foot before leaving for the restaurant.

"You just have to make sure you're doing things to take care of it," he said. "And hope you heal."