Evgeni Malkin goes 360 to put one past Carey Price in the shootout.

Brooks Orpik makes his case for hit of the year with an open-ice check on Daniel Paille.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang lays a big hit on Mikhail Grabovski.

Per NHL.com:

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby skated Monday prior to the team’s practice at Consol Energy Center.

Crosby, who has been out of the lineup since early December but started skating on his own again in the past few weeks, was on the ice with two other injured Penguins, forward Jordan Staal and defenseman Simon Despres, as well as strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are still playing great thanks to Evgeni Malkin. There are types of Sportsbook bonuses if you want to make some cash on them!

It was announced over the weekend that Crosby was recovering from a neck injury as well as the post-concussion symptoms that have limited him to just eight games over the past year. Crosby had visited Dr. Robert S. Bray, a neurological spine specialist based in Los Angeles who made the diagnosis.

Speaking to a small group of reporters after the Board of Governors meeting at the Fairmount Hotel in Ottawa on Saturday morning, Penguins general manager Ray Shero said Crosby had returned from Los Angeles and will meet with his team of concussion specialists this week.

“Hopefully we’ll see next week where he is. We’ll get the reports from California and compare those to what has been done so far,” Shero said. “With Sidney, we want to continue to look to see how we can get this under control and manageable and get him to play. Like I said before, he’s not going to (play) until the symptoms subside. Hopefully, we’ll have him back at some point soon.”

Crosby has not played since Pittsburgh’s game against Boston on Dec. 5, after which it was reported that he was suffering from concussion-related symptoms, including balance issues. He missed nearly 11 months from last January to November because of a concussion that was caused by a pair of hits in back-to-back games. He was diagnosed on Jan. 6 and immediately shut down.

Per TSN:

Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal, who has emerged as a top offensive threat this season, will take his high-skill game to Ottawa for the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game.

The NHL announced Wednesday that Neal will replace Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who opted out of the All-Star Weekend festivities.

Neal, who had just one goal in 20 games after joining the Penguins last season, went into the All-Star break tied for second in the League with 27 goals, and tied for the League lead with 13 power-play goals.

His goal Tuesday against St. Louis put him one ahead of fellow All-Star Evgeni Malkin for the team lead in goals, and he’s second to Malkin on the team with 47 points. The goal also was the 100th of his NHL career.

With 27 goals in 49 games, Neal has tied his career high, set in 78 games in 2009-10.

Neal is the fourth replacement player named to the All-Star roster. On Monday, Letang and Edmonton forward Jordan Eberle were added as injury replacements for Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and Minnesota forward Mikko Koivu, and on Tuesday, Philadelphia’s Scott Hartnell was added in place of Chicago forward Jonathan Toews. Also on Monday, Minnesota forward Nick Johnson was added to the rookie group in place of injured Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Ovechkin removed himself from the All-Star events Tuesday. He had been handed a three-game suspension by the NHL on Monday for a charging incident with Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek during Sunday’s game between the Capitals and Penguins, and Capitals General Manager George McPhee said Ovechkin didn’t feel comfortable going to Ottawa as a suspended player.

“Because he’s a suspended player he doesn’t feel he deserves to be there, so he’s not going to go,” McPhee said. “He doesn’t want to be a distraction to the event. … You know what all the questions are going to be, so it is a great event and he doesn’t want that distraction and we don’t want it, either.”

McPhee said the Capitals stand behind Ovechkin’s decision.

There was no League rule prohibiting Ovechkin from taking part in any of the All-Star Weekend events.

After a dizzying display of moves, Evgeni Malkin heads to the net and jams it home to win it for the Penguins in OT.

Per NHL.com:

Sidney Crosby‘s next stop on his path back to playing has taken him to California.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Saturday that Crosby arrived in California on Friday to see Dr. Robert S. Bray, a neurological spine specialist, as he attempts to come back from concussion-like symptoms.

“Sidney is meeting with some of the top specialists in the country as he continues his recovery,” Ray Shero, the Penguins’ general manager, said in the news release.

Crosby hasn’t played since Dec. 5. He had played in eight games, scoring 12 points, after returning from a concussion. He began to experience symptoms again after a contest against the Boston Bruins and has now missed 39 games this season.

The Penguins’ captain traveled with the team to Washington and Florida and skated with the team for two days before going to Atlanta to see Dr. Ted Carrick, a specialist in chiropractic neurology. The Penguins said Crosby spent several days with Dr. Carrick before heading to California to visit with Dr. Bray, who is founding director and CEO of the D.I.S.C. Sports and Spine Center. He worked with the U.S. Olympic team at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Evgeni Malkin intercepts the puck, dangles around the defense and then backhands a roofer to put the Penguins up 3-1.