Sidney Crosby sat out another scrimmage Saturday, the final day of training camp in Cranberry. But the Penguins captain expressed optimism about both his health status and the trajectory of his team during a chat with reporters.
Crosby said he felt “pretty good” after practicing Friday. And he indicated that he plans to practice Monday in Toronto, the hub city for the Eastern Conference. But he was noncommittal about his status for Tuesday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the only exhibition tune-up before the playoffs.
“I’m hoping that I can skate with the team Monday and just kind of take it from there,” Crosby said. “But ideally I’d be able to play in that game. If not, just kind of a day at a time from there. But I’m hoping I can get in that game.”
The star center returned to practice Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. He had not practiced with the team since exiting the July 18 scrimmage with an undisclosed ailment that the Penguins, per NHL rules, cannot comment on.
When Crosby stepped out onto the ice just after practice had started Friday, his Penguins teammates gave him a thunderous round of stick taps. It was clear that all of them were playfully mocking their captain for some reason.
“The boys thought he was a little late for practice,” Jared McCann explained.
Crosby was back between Jake Guentzel and Conor Shear and worked on the top power-play unit Friday. He went the distance in the 55-minute practice.
“I felt pretty good. I had skated on my own on the other [sheet of ice] for a good amount of time,” he said. “So it was just good to get out there with the guys and have a little more game-situation stuff going on. But yeah, I felt good.”
The Penguins still held Crosby out of Saturday’s fourth and final intrasquad scrimmage, a spirited skate featuring dropped gloves and a big third-period comeback. The intensity spiked after Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann almost squared off and Evgeni Malkin’s squad scored five third-period goals to win.
Meanwhile, Crosby skated on an individual basis on the second sheet of ice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, pushing himself for at least an hour. The sweaty center then walked to the main rink to watch part of the scrimmage.
Later, in his first public comments in a dozen days, Crosby gave no indication during a video call that he might not be on the ice Aug. 1, when the Penguins start their qualifying-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
Crosby admitted he was a bit frustrated about being limited during training camp, which kept him out of three scrimmages and a pair of practices. But he felt it was beneficial to at least get in “a good chunk of time” skating by himself.
“I’ve skated on my own for a long time,” said Crosby, presumably referring to his workouts after the regular season was halted. “I didn’t feel like I needed another week of it. But that being said, things are moving in the right direction.”
Crosby feels the same way about the Penguins after watching them work.
He is excited they are as healthy as they have been since their first game back in October. Guentzel has returned to the ice and Crosby, Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz and others have hopefully put significant injuries behind them.
Crosby missed 28 games after undergoing sports hernia surgery in November. He rejoined the lineup Jan. 14, tallying four points that night. While the 32-year-old wasn’t as dominant as he was in 2018-19, when he was the runner-up for the Hart Trophy, he had 11 goals and 30 points in 24 games after coming back.
If Crosby isn’t hindered by an injury throughout the playoffs, the Penguins have the look of a Stanley Cup contender, with a deep roster, speed and star power.
After two weeks of training camp, the captain senses they’re ready to roll.
“Just the excitement, I think that guys are eager to play,” Crosby said. “It’s a different situation. There’s a lot of new things that we’re going to have to deal with. But that being said, guys just seem really passionate and have put in a lot of work, even when it probably wasn’t the easiest thing to do, with the layoff.
“That’s probably the biggest thing, I think for any team including us, it’s just something that you’re going to have to get better as things go along here. With every game, you have to get better. So that will be the big challenge.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: July 25, 2020, 7:30 p.m.
