Crosby 'looks good' at morning skate, still unsure on return
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Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
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TAMPA, Fla. -- Penguins winger Arron Asham flanked Sidney Crosby for various drills at the game-day skate Thursday morning at the St. Pete Times Forum.
"He looks good. I'm pretty sure he could lace them up tonight and play and be a force," Asham gushed.
"He's just so much better than everyone else. He can be out for a year and he'd probably come back and still lead the league [in scoring]. He's just that talented."
Although for some -- including Crosby --it might feel as if it has been a year since a concussion knocked the star center out of hockey, it has been a bit shy of three months. And, despite his glowing assessment, Asham, who also had a concussion this season, knew Crosby wouldn't be in the lineup Thursday night against Tampa Bay. He also knew no one can say when Crosby will return.
Including Crosby
"It's a matter for me of making sure that I'm healthy. If that takes two months, then it takes two months. If it doesn't, great. I can't really control that," Crosby said after joining his teammates for a game-day skate for the first time since Jan. 5.
Crosby, who was on the ice for about an hour, participated in drills and skated hard. He called it "a lot of fun."
He has not been cleared for a non-game-day practice or contact. General manager Ray Shero said Wednesday he doesn't expect Crosby to play in the regular season. The playoffs begin in less than two weeks.
"I've just got to do the right things to try to feel good and get back to where I need to be," said Crosby, who was leading the NHL -- and still leads his team -- with 66 points in 41 games when he got hurt.
"I'm not looking too far ahead at all. I'm just trying to look at these little opportunities as a good chance to get back with the guys. At the same time, [game-day skates are] a small step, with a lot to go."
Lately, Crosby hasn't had the headaches and other symptoms that plagued him after he took hits to the head in back-to-back games from David Steckel, then of Washington, in the Jan. 1 outdoor Winter Classic and from Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman four nights later.
"No, it's been good," Crosby said. "It's been really good."
It might never be known exactly how or when Crosby got the concussion, although the popular theory is it stemmed from Steckel's hit, with a delayed onset of symptoms, and was exacerbated by Hedman's hit.
First Published April 1, 2011 12:00 am
