Click here to submit your question

Q: While time will tell, do you think the Penguins are being a bit premature allowing Sidney Crosby to return to the lineup?

Joe Baran, Thorndale, Pa

MOLINARI: No. The only real surprise about Crosby coming back for the Penguins' 2-0 victory in Tampa Tuesday night was that he did it without getting in a few full practices with his teammates. Most observers had expected Crosby to do so that he could give his injured left a final test in something approximating game conditions.

The timing of his comeback is not viewed suspiciously here for one key reason: Not because there's irrefutable evidence that Crosby's high ankle sprain won't recur or be a factor for the balance of this season -- modern medicine hasn't quite reached the point where it can provide such assurances -- but because there's nothing to suggest that Crosby hasn't recovered as much as he is going to, at least in the relatively short term.

While the moderator of this forum hardly qualifies as an expert on high ankle sprains (heck, he barely qualifies as a layman), people who know about such things have said that this is one of the those injuries in which the guy who is doing the healing is best-qualified to determine when he has progressed to a point where it is reasonable for him to attempt a comeback.

Crosby returned six weeks and four days after he was injured; the rather bleak prognosis issued after he was hurt while sliding feet-first into the boards at Mellon Arena Jan. 18 was that he would be out for six to eight weeks. That Crosby's return came within the timeframe projected by the medical professionals treating him is one piece of evidence that he did not return before it was reasonable for him to attempt to do so.

And the fact that the Penguins went 11-6-4 in his absence -- a truly remarkable feat, given all of the significant personnel they were missing at various points during those 21 games -- presumably removed any temptation management might have had to be short-sighted and prod him to get back into the lineup sooner than he might have been inclined to if the team had been sputtering along below .500 in his absence.

Now, there's no way of knowing whether Crosby's damaged right leg will betray him at some point -- remember, Max Talbot played four games after returning from a high ankle sprain earlier this season, only to reinjure it and have to sit out 13 more -- but even if that worst-case scenario plays out, it will be awfully difficult to link it to Crosby trying to play on it before it was wise to do so.

Q: I recall the 2006 Olympics, when Evgeni Malkin had a real mean streak. He still shows that from time to time, as seen with Alexei Kovalev several games back. Has Malkin ever dropped the gloves in the NHL? Obviously, this is not the role best-suited for him, but do you see him dropping the gloves at some point?

Dave, Denver

MOLINARI: Malkin had not been issued a major penalty since entering the NHL, so no scuffle in which he has been involved has escalated into a fight. (Not one in which he was a participant, anyway.)

Malkin is big, strong and competitive, so it's not surprising that he won't shy away from physical confrontations, although it's worth pointing out that fighting is not tolerated in international hockey the way it is in North American professional and major-junior leagues, so fighting isn't a significant part of his background.

Although there are times when fighting can't be avoided -- witness Crosby's bout with Boston defenseman Andrew Ference earlier this season, which came about even though neither has a history of fighting -- it really is in the Penguins' interest to dissuade Malkin (and any of their other highly skilled players) from getting caught up in one, whenever possible.

Not only because the other team almost certainly will come out of the skirmish in better shape, from a personnel standpoint -- think Bruins coach Claude Julien was upset about losing Ference when Crosby was off the ice at the same time? -- but because having Malkin or Crosby or whoever break a hand or get some other fight-related injury could be a significant setback for the Penguins, who already have had to cope with more than their share of key injuries this winter.