Pittsburgh Penguins’ coach Dan Bylsma confirms Evgeni Malkin healthy, Sidney Crosby normalizing
Pittsburgh Penguins’ head coach, Dan Bylsma, confirmed reports about the team’s top players that missed the playoffs due to injuries, centre Evgeni Malkin and captain, Sidney Crosby, will be ready and healthy before the 2011-2012 season begins.
Malkin was only able to play 43 games in the last season due to torn ligaments in his right knee which caused him to miss nearly half of the regular season and the playoffs.
In that duration, the second overall pick of the 2004 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft posted 37 points, including 15 goals and 22 assists.
"He was progressing as if that was a real possibility", Bylsma said. "He was doing really well, strength wise, and he was ahead of schedule".
Crosby, the 23-year-old sensation and first overall pick of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft played only 41 games and remained out due to concussion related problems.
The Canadian native from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, was rumoured to make a comeback on numerous occasions, but due to doctor’s advice, he stayed out totally. He finished the past regular season with an astonishing 66 points, 32 goals and 34 assists.
"The doctors here cleared him to go home and work out as he normally would be working out". Bylsma said. "He's been working out two times a day and progressing along his normal road of normal summer activity”.
Looking at Pittsburgh’s line-up as it entered the playoffs in fourth place of the Eastern Conference, it was easily forecasted that it would not be able to go deep without its two top players.
However, Penguins managed to put Tampa Bay Lightning on the verge of elimination after game four, but shockingly lost three straight games after that to be eliminated from the first round.
Both, Malkin and Crosby, still have about two and a half months to fully recover and get back into playing position for the new season, and having them back will surely put Pittsburgh in a better place than before.
Further updates about their condition are expected in the upcoming weeks of the NHL offseason.
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