Penguins News: Sidney Crosby Will Play…Maybe

CRANBERRY, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Penguins may have captain Sidney Crosby in the lineup Saturday when they face the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena.

Or maybe not.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan and Crosby missed practice after flying back to Pittsburgh Friday morning from Boston with Penguins assistant coach David Quinn following Team Canada’s thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Team USA Thursday night in the championship of the Four Nations Face-Off.

Sullivan and Quinn coached Team USA in the Four Nations Face-Off, while Crosby captained Team Canada. When asked about Crosby’s availability, Sullivan hedged.

“Sid and I talked briefly on the plane coming back this morning. We’ll probably make him a game-time decision,” Sullivan said. “He was excused from practice today, but he’s feeling good.”

Crosby should be feeling good. Canada avenged a high-profile loss to Team USA five days prior and won the hyped Four Nations tournament. However, Crosby was clearly playing with an injured arm despite finishing second in the tournament with five points (1-4-5). He had only three shots in four games, and his shot seemed impaired.

Crosby missed the last two Penguins games before the break after what he termed “a tweak” when his arm was caught awkwardly in a collision between a pair of New Jersey Devils players.

“Yes (he’s moving in the right direction health-wise). He obviously played extremely well,” said Sullivan. “In my short conversations with him, he felt pretty good from a health standpoint. So that’s encouraging.”