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Question: Watching Sidney Crosby's injury, one has to wonder if he tends to go down to the ice a bit too frequently. It does provide some great highlight-reel goals, but perhaps this injury will cause him to reconsider this style. Watching him often "fly" into goal posts and the end boards, I have worried if he would get injured. He is so strong on his skates that I find it hard to believe opponents are able to knock him down that easily.

Kim, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

MOLINARI: Crosby doesn't leave his feet, whether it's to go into a full-fledged sprawl or simply to drop to one knee, because he's interested in making it into the day's highlights show. He does it when he believes that's the way to maximize his chances of making a particular play, usually to capitalize on a scoring opportunity.

As Crosby discovered (or perhaps was reminded) last Friday night, there are risks to leaving one's feet, but it's worth noting that he didn't do it voluntarily, having had his skates taken out from under him. Remember, Tampa Bay defenseman Paul Ranger picked up a slashing minor on the play.

Also, there did not appear to be anything particularly ominous about the sequence that ended with Crosby getting a high ankle sprain. He wasn't moving particularly fast -- there have been times when he's hit the boards so hard, one half-expects him to burst into flames -- and seemed to have ample time to prepare for the impact he knew was coming.

Unfortunately for Crosby, there are indications his focus shifted as he was nearing the boards, quite possibly because he wanted to see how the play that was now behind him finished, and his right skate ended up in an awkward position when he made contact.

That was a painful (for Crosby) and costly (for him and the team) lesson, but don't expect it to change the way Crosby goes about his work. Next time he's in a game, he'll leave his feet in a nanosecond if he believes that's the right play to make.

Question: Call me crazy but, the Crosby injury could possibly benefit these young guys by learning how to play without him so they won't rely on him so much when he comes back. Have to look for a silver lining, huh?

George Bertha, York, Pa.

MOLINARI: Geez, George, that's not looking for a silver lining; that's knitting one from scratch.

Now, it's completely understandable that the Penguins, their fans and anyone else with an emotional stake in how the team fares would want to put any possible positive spin on the Crosby situation, but there simply is no upside to them being forced to get by without their best player, whether it's for a day or a week or a month or a year.

The Penguins are in a furious fight for first place in the Atlantic Division; if Crosby misses a dozen games and the Penguins finish in second place instead of first by a point or two, that could easily make the difference between having, say, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and being No. 7. In that scenario, the silver lining wouldn't look so shiny.

That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with all concerned trying to make the best of a bad situation. Crosby wasn't injured because anyone associated with his team wanted him to be, and focusing on any unfortunate realities of having to play without him won't shave even five seconds off his recovery period. (Then again, if the Penguins do decide they can get by quite nicely without him, perhaps they could get a nice middle-round draft choice or two for him before the trade deadline.)