Saturday was one small step for Sidney Crosby … and one giant leap for the NHL.
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Photo Session
Sid takes a moment before jumping on the ice.
Crosby shuts the door behind him: Let’s hope there’s no turning back.
Eyes & cameras are on him at all times.
It doesn’t take long to see the intensity that makes Sid who he is.
The white-helmeted Sid sails one wide of the goal.
Even the US Navy is looking for a puck from Sid.
No one glides like Crosby does and I mean that as a complement.
Coach Dan Bylsma addresses the top line of the day – Malkin, Kennedy & Sullivan.
Thanks to my green-sweatered father for helping me out with the photos – he even took a picture of himself on the jumbotron!.
Sid Story
Saturday was all about Sidney Crosby and his return to the ice. Not surprisingly, he was worth the wait.
At 12:02:40 PM or thereabouts, the CONSOL Energy Center crowd stood on its feet as “The Ferrari” made his way down the runway on onto the player’s bench area.
Penguins coach Dan Bylsma shared a smile with Crosby and the superstar center stepped onto the ice shortly thereafter.
Crosby moved as if he hadn’t missed a skate. Rousing cheers erupted whenever Sid put the puck into the net. Even as he stood along the boards, fans acted as if they were glimpsing the fifth Beatle.
He also addressed the media after his practice session.
On how hard he worked:
“I worked as hard as I possibly could out there. (First time I’ve done that) for that period of time. That’s the longest I went at that pace. It felt good.”
Regarding opinions from concussion specialist, Mr. Carrick, and the rest of the organization:
"There’s no division. I don’t really know where that came from. I think as far as the final say, that’s going to be our team doctor (Dr. Charles Burke). At the end of the day, he’s got to be the one who clears me to play. It will be up to him. There’s constant communication and everyone will be well aware of everything before each step is made."
Crosby, on how he felt symptom-free Saturday but will need several days to better gauge his recovery:
"I think it’s going to be a little more than that. It’s one day and I’m glad I felt good, but I think with that being said, I have to see after the next few days here."
Plans on skating Sunday and taking his recovery on a day-to-day basis:
"Yep. That’s the plan. I don’t know what group. I’ll let coach answer that. That’s pretty much the plan. It’s going to be a day-to-day thing. I won’t be able to give you a seven-day outlook, really. It’s going to be just day-to-day and talk with the coach and see what he thinks. This is camp too and guys need to work on being physical and have that intensity. If it makes sense for me to be in certain drills and not others, we’ll kind of communicate through that."
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*****
Cheers!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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