BLUEBERRY, Pa. – Sidney Crosby He participated in practice with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, the first time he has skated with the team since Saturday.
Crosby did not play a scrimmage on Thursday and was on the ice about 30 minutes before practice on Wednesday, his first time skating since leaving a scrimmage on Saturday for undisclosed reasons.
As part of the NHL Back to Play Plan, a team may not disclose information about the player’s injuries or illnesses.
Evan Rodrigues replaced Crosby in a line with left wing Jake Guentzel and right wing Conor Sheary on scrimmage Thursday.
Ahead Patric Hornqvist was on a line with the center Jared McCann and Patrick Marleau after him and the defender Juuso Riikola I practiced with the main group for the first time at training camp on Wednesday. Riikola was paired with Chad Ruhwedel in scrimmage
Nine penguins were cleared to practice Monday after being out of the first week of training camp due to possible secondary exposure to a person who had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Crosby scored 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) in 41 games before the season stopped on March 12 due to concerns about the coronavirus. He was injured on November 9, underwent central muscle surgery on November 14, and missed 28 games before returning to score four points (one goal, three assists) in a 7-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on 14 from January.
The Penguins (40-23-6, .623 percentage points) enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the No. 12 seed, the Montreal Canadiens (31-31-9, .500) The best series of 5 will be played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the central city of the Eastern Conference, starting August 1.
The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the loser will have a chance to pick No. 1 in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, to be held on August 10.
When Pittsburgh opened training camp on July 13, Crosby said he wanted to take the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time.
“You have a career, or a short window in your career, to be able [win the Cup]”Crosby said.” Every time you get a chance to play, play for the Stanley Cup, you want to take advantage of it. It is not easy, but it is certainly a great feeling. We have felt it before and we know what is needed. We have a great opportunity. I think that is his goal every year, and we are in a position to compete for him. We have to find a way to do it. “
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