Daily Faceoff Show: Pittsburgh Penguins Expect Sidney Crosby Back This Week
If you’re a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, have we got some good news for you.
It’s expected that the team will be getting back superstar forward Sidney Crosby this week, The Athletic’s Rob Rossi reported on the Daily Faceoff Show Monday morning.
“I’ll say this — I ran into Sidney Crosby’s father Troy for the first time since the pandemic and he’s in Pittsburgh along with his wife, and they’re in for a week,” said Rossi. “I’m guessing they came here because they expect to see their son play hockey within that week.
“Crosby did workout on the ice with a couple of teammates and then participated in practice. My guess is he’s not going to be a go against Tampa (Tuesday), but I think after that, I think we start getting into the guessing game. They’ve got five games left on this homestand and I was told going into this that Crosby would play at some point on this homestand. I still think we’re going to see that. My guess for a targeted date is closer to the weekend.”
The biggest block for Crosby right now is getting physical contact on his wrist, added Rossi, and making sure it gets properly tested before he returns to a game.
On the show, Rossi also talked about the hot start for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have jumped out to a tremendous 3-0-2 start this year. Questions have floated around about head coach Mike Sullivan potentially being a hot-seat candidate to lose his job, but Rossi isn’t so convinced.
“I think so much attention has been focused on the first-round exits and that’s fair, the expectation is pretty high. Each of the last two postseasons this guy has had goaltenders have sub-.900 save percentage,” said Rossi. “I don’t know a coach that can overcome that.
“They’ve led the league in man-games lost to injury cumulative over the last two years. They’ve been sixth overall in points percentage over that span. What they’re doing this year, it’s not just they’re 3-0-2 — they’re 3-0-2 against teams that four of these teams have had goalies that have won Vezina trophies. They’ve done this against Tampa Bay and Toronto — two teams that have high expectations and were well thought of coming in, and Flordia that’s looking like a team that can contend for a Stanley Cup. I think it’s a testament to Mike Sullivan that he’s getting buy-in from everybody.”
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.