Sidney Crosby will not play Thursday for Penguins in season opener
By Sammi Silber
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss the team’s season opener against Washington.
Penguins’ center Sidney Crosby was diagnosed with a concussion Monday. Following Wednesday’s practice, Mike Sullivan announced Crosby will not play Thursday as Pittsburgh will raise their Stanley Cup banner prior to puck drop against the Capitals.
Despite the fact that he’ll miss the team’s first game, there are positive signs that he will return soon. Prior to the morning skate, Crosby skated on his own for around thirty minutes, then joined the team for practice.
Mike Sullivan says Sidney Crosby won't play Thursday
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) October 12, 2016
While he did spend some time sitting and standing around, he worked on one-timers and skated on the top line with Conor Sheary and Patric Hornqvist. Crosby also spent time on the first power-play unit. When skating, Crosby does not appear to be taking things slow and is looking to get right back into the swing of things.
Crosby is coming off a sensational 2015-16 campaign, one where he posted 36 goals and 85 points. Not to mention, he led the Penguins to their second Stanley Cup in seven years and won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP.
Not only that, Crosby also had a great World Cup of Hockey tournament, where he captained Team Canada to a championship win. The 29-year-old led all skaters with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in six tourney games.
Hopefully, Crosby isn’t out for too much longer. While the Penguins can make do with the likes of Chris Letang and Evgeni Makin, losing Crosby long-term will put the team back.
Bryan Rust will also miss the season opener but skated Wednesday as well.