Pittsburgh Penguins eagerly awaiting Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin return –NHL offseason Update
No matter how good Pittsburgh Penguins can play against all the teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), they are still awaiting the return of their top two players who can truly lead them to another Stanley Cup championship, namely, Sidney Crosby and
Evgeni Malkin.
Last postseason, Pittsburgh entered the playoffs as the fifth number team and faced off against Buffalo Sabres in round-one of the Eastern Conference playoffs. They were nearly eliminated, but managed to make a comeback in the final two matchups and advanced
into round-two and were finally defeated by Tampa Bay Lightning in another close seven-game series.
Again comes the statement, that no matter how good Pittsburgh can perform with the two shooters, they still want them back with a passion, but it is not something under head coach, Dan Bylsma’s control.
"I can't wave a wand and tell you how it's going to play out", Bylsma said. "He's progressed and he's worked, and he's worked harder in some areas than he has in the past. He's gone down that road."
Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby went out with a severe concussion after back-to-back hits on January and Evgeni Malkin was ousted after he tore two knee ligaments.
"If you have a concussion, you don't think about it a month later when you've played for 10 games. It's not like any other injury", said Bylsma, a former NHL player. "There's a level of confidence and a little bit of time when you're checking your knee out,
but there's also a time when you jump in the water and you're swimming".
Both players are expected to fully recover before the start of the new season, which kicks off in October, but it is not certain whether either will be able to join early or a little later on, maybe a few weeks on.
Last season, Crosby was limited to only 41 games but still put in an amazing, 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists), while Malkin potted 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games played.
Only time will be the finalising decider on when the two players will come back and perform for a club that has beckoned for their return for so long.
Tags: