Sidney Crosby Cleared To Practice

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Sidney Crosby’s doctors have cleared him to return to practice with his teammates, and he will travel to Florida to practice with the Penguins. Although this is great new, no one is expecting Crosby to return in the regular season. GM Ray Shero said “I have no expectations of him coming back in the regular season. I don’t believe that’s going to happen.”

Shero didn’t sound very optimistic about the playoffs either, he said “In terms of playing in the playoffs, that’s still two or three weeks away. I don’t want to take away any hope from the players, but to return to game action for the Stanley Cup Playoffs takes a certain level of fitness and game-ready, and he is certainly not close to that at this point.”

Coach Dan Bylsma said he was happy for Crosby, and that there is still a long road in front of him. He said “I think the biggest thing is for Sidney. I think this has been a long process, and it’s a daily process and it’s a gradual process, so to have some progression where you are getting better and you know that — that’s a good thing. He’s still cautiously optimistic about the future, but really, there’s no timetable going forward. This is just one more step. There’s probably another three steps after this that have to (happen) and there’s no timetable for any of those.”

Bylsma also talked as though they were assuming Crosby wouldn’t be back for the regular season. He said “Ray and I have not had discussions about the start of playoffs, first round, second round. We’re just happy to see him get on the ice with a few teammates now. He’s going to progress for the morning skate and we have no anticipation for when the next step is and where that might be down the road, if at all this year.”

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury talked about how having Crosby around is a real boost for the Penguins. He said “It’s pretty cool. It seems like he’s been having fun, smiling. Hopefully he just keeps getting better and he joins the team whenever he’s healthy. For anybody on the team, I think it would be exciting to see him back. That’s a big boost for everybody.”

The Penguins are 19-12-5 since losing Crosby and have found a way to stay within striking distance of the top spot in the Eastern Conference without both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who is out for the season with a knee injury. The Penguins are just four points behind the East-leading Philadelphia Flyers.

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