Is the NHL really back until the Pittsburgh Penguins have their first injury scare? If so, it’s the game again.
Captain Sidney Crosby left the bench early in the “second period” of a scrimmage between teams on Saturday morning. Crosby looked strong in the first part of practice along with his line mates Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel. The team then left the ice for about 15 minutes for the ice to return to the surface.
When they returned, Crosby did not stay long. Without any apparent or obvious actual incident, Crosby withdrew from the bench and returned to the locker room. It was over for the day and I wouldn’t be back for the last 25 minutes of practice.
Sheary suggested after words the good word to hear about “maintenance”, which means less of a problem.
Sheary says she believes leaving Crosby was just a “matter of maintenance.” #Feathers
– Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 18, 2020
However, the official word of the team will be fastened on all injuries, especially in this climate. Coach Mike Sullivan never looked for helpful details on injuries in normal times, and now doubly so, as he can resort to the league’s new policy for basically not disclosing any information to fans about the player’s condition in the wake of the COVID pandemic. .
Coach Sullivan on Sidney Crosby leaving the game early: “Because the league has come up with these rules, we are not allowed to comment.”
– Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 18, 2020
Being prudent and conservative is the right move here, if that’s what it was. The Pens play their exhibition game against the Flyers in 10 days. In two weeks (14 days) is the scheduled start of Game 1 of the game against the Montreal Canadiens. There’s no need to push or push yourself too hard in an early boot camp practice.
Really, the only way to know is to see if Crosby can join the Pens on the ice for his next practice. If so, this was a very minor problem. If not, it will be “wait and see” until it does, because not much official information is likely to come out to give updates.
