By Brian Metzer
Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby took the ice this morning for the first time since being knocked out of action in early January. The wounded bird was in full gear and skated for about 15 minutes, stickhandling around cones and shooting pucks.
As you might have gathered in the update that I posted yesterday, I had a feeling that this was on the horizon. In fact, as I laid in bed dealing with the insomnia that was brought on by the clocks springing forward I got a vibe that it would be this week… on a day that I would ball and chained to a desk at my day job dealing with payroll. Who knew that I would be correct!
Great news for Sid, the Penguins and everyone involved with the team. Obviously there is a long road ahead of Crosby before he can officially make his return to the line-up, but this a very positive step.
The team also saw some other wounded warriors take the ice this morning… Eric Tangradi, who has been out with a concussion of his own since 2/11/11, is skating with Brooks Orpik and Mike Comrie. All three were in full gear…
Big ups to my peeps Michelle Crechiolo and Sam Kasan over at the Penguins official site for getting this info out ASAP! And as the Mighty, Mighty Bostones would say… they’ve got pictures to prove it!
You can check them out here: and here: Crosby skates! and here: Crosby skates! Pt 2
Oh Brian…that’s the best news I’ve heard since Jan. 5. How awesome and how glad he must’ve been to hit the ice. Now, whenever he starts playing (and I know it’s not yet) won’t he be so apprehensive of other hits; and there are probably some players out there who would target him. I would be paranoid. Do you think being apprehensive will change his way of playing. Thanks Brian for keeping us posted. Great article as always.
Francine