Crosby tired but healthy after season debut




Tired. In the best way possible.
“Obviously, it’s been a long time since I played,” Crosby said.
Funny, it didn’t look like it.
Crosby returned from a 10-month layoff while recovering from concussion-like symptoms to score two goals and add two assists in a 5-0 romp over the cheap New York Islanders jersey on Monday.
The spectacular performance left Crosby emotionally drained. Erasing nearly a year of doubt and worry will do that.
Yet there appeared to be no hangover. Crosby joined his teammates in a spirited hour-long practice Tuesday morning, with his legs, his lungs and—most importantly—his head feeling just fine after his first game in 320 days.
The 24-year-old felt no recurrence of the “fogginess” that kept him sidelined for nearly a year after sustaining head shots in consecutive games last January.
Although he will continue to be monitored, he doesn’t expect to check in with his medical team each day to give them an update.
“Unless there’s really something I need to go to them for I don’t see it being a constant thing,” Crosby said.
Fantastic news for the Penguins. For the rest of the NHL? Not so much.
Crosby’s breathless debut already has cheap nhl kids and youth jersey him fielding questions on whether he can win the league scoring title. He trails Toronto’s Phil Kessel by 25 points with three quarters of the season to go.
“That’d be great, but I don’t think that’s possible,” he said. “It’s not even something on my radar.”
He’s more concerned with getting his legs back.
Adrenaline fueled Crosby during most of his nearly 16 minutes on the ice against the overmatched Islanders. It will fade soon enough, perhaps as early as Wednesday when the Penguins host St. Louis.
“There are things that as the games go on I’m going to have to improve and get better, but it’s only going to happen through playing,” Crosby said.
Even if it means he has to shake off coach Dave Bylsma to do it. Bylsma felt Crosby’s 15:54 of ice time was just about right but pointed out nearly half of it came in the first period, including a power play shift Crosby earned by basically ignoring his coach.
Bylsma was preparing to call for a line change when the penalty was called. Youth Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby jersey started toward the bench, heard the whistle and immediately veered in the direction of the faceoff dot.
The way his superstar was playing, Bylsma knew he had no chance of winning the argument.
Crosby scored his first goal of the season on his third shift, beating three Islander defenders to the net before flipping a backhand over the glove of New York goaltender Anders Nilsson(notes). He later added assists on goals by Evgeni Malkin(notes) and Brooks Orpik(notes) before collecting his second goal on a relatively innocent backhand that caromed off Nilsson and into the net.
More impressive than Crosby’s seemingly boundless energy to Bylsma is the way he played. He didn’t force anything and fit in perfectly alongside usual linemates Pascal Dupuis(notes) and Chris Kunitz(notes).
“It looks different, but it’s not off the gameplan,” Bylsma said. “It’s not taking chances. It’s the way we want to play as a team.”
Even if for a night it was all about Sid the Kid, who was so fired up after scoring his first goal since Dec. 28, 2010 he let loose a not-so mild profanity.
The outburst from the cheap NHL jerseys typically reserved Crosby drew a laugh from his teammates and a sheepish postgame apology from their captain.