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 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.

Per NHL.com:

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma announced Wednesday night that Sidney Crosby is joining the Penguins for their current road swing and will begin skating on his own during a two-game trip to Florida this weekend.

The Penguins play against the Capitals at the Verizon Center on Wednesday night, then head south for games Friday night at Florida and Sunday afternoon at Tampa Bay.

“Tonight, Sidney Crosby will be joining us on the road trip,” Bylsma told the media prior to the Penguins’ game against the Capitals. “He will be skating during this trip. He also will at some point and time address the media as well. No set plan, but this will happen in the next few days.

Sidney Crosby

Center – PIT

GOALS: 2 | ASST: 10 | PTS: 12
SOG: 31 | +/-: 7

However, Bylsma added that there is still no timetable for Crosby’s return to the lineup.

“(Crosby) has been working out with light exercises in the weight room and on the bike,” Bylsma said. “We’ll be glad to see him on the ice.”

Crosby has not played since Dec. 5 and last practiced with the Penguins two days later. There’s been little news from the Penguins about their captain since then, other than Bylsma saying two weeks ago that Crosby was still having concussion-like symptoms.

Crosby, who was in the press box prior to Wednesday’s game, was sidelined by a concussion from Jan. 5 through Nov. 21, when he made a spectacular return with two goals and two assists against the New York Islanders. He had 12 points in eight games before being sidelined again.

Bylsma also said that Dustin Jeffrey will return to the lineup Wednesday against the Capitals and skate between Pascal Dupuis and Tyler Kennedy. Jeffrey hasn’t played since Nov. 3 due to a knee injury.

However, Bylsma said rookie defenseman Simon Despres, who was recalled to play in Tuesday’s game against Ottawa, suffered a sprained knee and will be out two to four weeks. He played only three minutes during the 5-1 loss to the Senators and was ruled to have a lower-body injury during the second period.

After a great defensive play, Sideny Crosby stays with the play and dishes a great backhand pass to Craig Adams for a 1-0 lead.

Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma addresses the Penguins before Sidney Crosby’s first game back in almost 11 months.

Sidney Crosby gets back into his routine in preparation for his first game of the 2011-2012 NHL season.

Sidney Crosby controls the puck and fires a backhand that finds its way past Rick Anders Nilsson.

Sidney Crosby sets-up a Brooks Orpik one-timer blast from the point in his first game back from injury in 10 months.

Sidney Crosby powers thru the neutral zone and goes top-shelf on the backhand for his 1st goal of the season.

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins enter a rowdy Consol Energy Center before Crosby’s first game back from injury.

Sidney Crosby addresses the media following his four point performance in his first NHL game in 10 months.

Per NHL.com:

The suspense is over. So are the months of waiting. Sidney Crosby is ready to play hockey again.

It’s the moment Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins — as well as the NHL and many of its fans — have been waiting for since the sport’s most recognized star was diagnosed with a concussion Jan. 6 following hard hits in successive games.

Sidney Crosby is back.

Finally, there’s no more speculation about the return date, no more nervous anticipation about whether No. 87 might not return until next week or next month. The Penguins’ captain was cleared Sunday by concussion specialist Michael “Micky” Collins and team doctor Charles “Chip” Burke, and he will play Monday night against the New York Islanders at Consol Energy Center.

The 7 p.m. game will be televised nationally by Versus in the United States and CBC in Canada. The NHL Network and NHL.com will have extensive coverage featuring full pre- and post-game coverage, Crosby’s reaction following the morning skate and on-site analysis from Network analyst Barry Melrose and NHL.com senior reporter Dan Rosen.

Across the street they’re taking the roof off the under-demolition Civic Arena, where the Penguins played for 43 years, but the Penguins fans might threaten to lift the roof off Consol once Crosby hits the ice for the pre-game warm-ups.

“When he hops out before that game and comes out the tunnel, the building is going to go crazy,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Sunday. “It’s going to be something of a challenge for our guys to not go out and be spectators but, when he touches the puck for the first time, it’s going to energize the crowd, and we’re going to feed off the excitement in the building.”

It won’t just be the fans who are excited as the iconic Crosby — who at this time a year ago was in the midst of a 25-game scoring streak — makes the NHL’s most-anticipated comeback since Penguins star Mario Lemieux ended his 44-month retirement on Dec. 27, 2000 — scoring in the first-half-minute he was on the ice.

Bylsma, after speaking with his superstar on Sunday, likened Crosby’s excitement level to that of his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, against the New Jersey Devils.

“He’s excited and he’s anxious. He’s been wanting to play hockey for a long time,” Bylsma said. “Now that he is scheduled to play, the anticipation is coming to the forefront and he’s excited.”

And why not?

There have been hints since Crosby last spoke to reporters on Nov. 7 that his comeback was near; after that, he declined to speak, saying he wouldn’t do so until there was a change in his status –or, until he was ready to return.

“He has been progressing and getting closer,” Bylsma said.

Still, even his teammates didn’t know when it might happen; center Jordan Staal recently joked that “you guys (reporters) know as much as we do,” because his teammates were reluctant to press Crosby for details.

The Penguins expect this to be worth the wait.

At this time a year ago, Crosby, then 23, was on pace for the NHL’s highest-scoring season in 15 years, piling up 32 goals and 66 points in 41 games. But his season ended abruptly after hard hits leveled by the Capitals’ David Steckel on Jan. 1 in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and the Lightning’s Victor Hedman on Jan. 5 left him with the first concussion of his career.

Initially, the Penguins didn’t expect him to be as sidelined as long as he was — the rest of that season and the first quarter of this season — but concussions vary in severity. Crosby’s concussion affected his vestibular system, the part of the brain that affects movement and stability, thus creating an extended layoff.

Crosby returned to practice nearly three months later, on March 31, with some hope that he might be available during the playoffs. But after his concussion symptoms returned in mid-April and the Penguins were eliminated in the opening round by Tampa Bay, Crosby’s layoff extended into the offseason.

There were some setbacks then, too, as he experienced headaches, dizziness and a sensitivity to bright light and loud noises occasionally throughout much of the summer. But Crosby said he has been symptom-free since a few weeks before training camp started Sept. 17.

Since camp opened, Crosby often has been dazzling, showing off his speed, amazingly quick hands, lightning-like reaction and playmaking skills. Even Bylsma said he did some “pretty crazy things.”

What Crosby has needed most since the season opened Oct. 6 was patience.

Crosby knew he needed time to get reacquainted with every aspect of the game, to return to game speed, to regain his timing and reflexes. He never believed his career was in jeopardy of being over — despite the occasional rumor to the contrary — and neither did the Penguins.

“Not whatsoever. Not at all,” said Crosby, who did not speak to reporters on Sunday and won’t again until after the pregame skate Monday.

Now, the question is when he can get back to the level he was playing at a year ago. For now, he will play with the same linemates he had most of last season, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. James Neal, who has 12 goals, was expected to be on Crosby’s line but, for now, will stay on a very productive line with Evgeni Malkin and Steve Sullivan.

“There will be some time before he totally feels comfortable and (gets) back to the level he was playing when he was on that points streak,” Bylsma said. “But it’s easy to see in practice that he’s the best player on the ice, with his speed and the way he plays the game. He’ll bring that to the game tomorrow, but it will take some time.”

“But he’s going to get there,” Neal said.

Bylsma also doesn’t expect Crosby to initially play the 20 minutes or so a game he averaged last season, though the coach said power-play time could affect that.

“It will be watched and monitored,” Bylsma said. “We’ll see how he’s doing, (watch) his conditioning level. When you get those guys, they always want to go out for one more shift. We may have to tie him to the bench a little bit.”

Good luck with that. Crosby didn’t wait this long to spend it sitting. It’s part of the reason why he was the last player off the ice at numerous practices this fall, never wanting to waste a minute of his on-ice time

What the Penguins couldn’t replicate in practice was the kind of hitting that occurs during an NHL game, even after Crosby was cleared Oct. 13 for contact during practice. Crosby was hit during practice in puck-battle drills and on rushes to the net, but nothing like he will experience in games.

“I don’t think he got any crushing blows,” Bylsma said. “But he certainly had a fair amount of contact, around the net. He hit the ice a few times. … He’s done about as much as you can do in practice. But he’s a hard guy to hit, and a hard guy to go after and hit hard.”

Crosby will be returning to a slightly different game, too. Since Brendan Shanahan took over as the NHL’s Vice President of Player Safety, there has been an emphasis on eliminating the type of head shots that can cause concussions. The Penguins and Crosby are very much in favor.

Crosby will return after missing his 100th career game to injury during his career, the Penguins’ 3-2 loss at Florida on Saturday night. Still, the Penguins have proven to be remarkably resilient without their star; they are 34-19-8 without Crosby the last two seasons, a record any team would take.

Despite losing their last two, the Penguins are 11-6-3 for 25 points, tying them with Philadelphia for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division, going into a three-game homestand against the Islanders, Blues and Senators.

There is a level of anticipation the Penguins will be even better now that their former Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, Stanley Cup winner and Olympic champion is playing again.

Yes, the wait is over.

“Our team has learned to be a good team. Our team believed we could be a good team.  Our team really focused on how we need to play, and that’s been a strength of the guys in that room,” Bylsma said. “This year, with the anticipation of getting Evgeni Malkin back and getting Sidney Crosby back, there’s a feeling that we could be a real good team.”

Per NHL.com:

For the first time since he was cleared for full-contact practice last month, Sidney Crosby isn’t ruling himself out of a Pittsburgh Penguins game.

He also isn’t penciling himself in for Friday’s home game against Dallas, saying that his status remains day to day as he mends from the concussion that has sidelined him for 10 months.

Only it appears the day of his return is growing closer.

Crosby went shoulder-to-shoulder and skated stride for stride with his teammates during an off-day practice Monday here at the Iceoplex at Southpointe rink, but said nothing has changed concerning his return.

Except that — and this was a change — he acknowledged there was a chance he could play this week.

“That’s a possibility,” Crosby said of the Stars game. “Just like however many games left there are (also are a possibility). … Everyone else’s guesses are as good as mine.”

Last week, by contrast, he said there was no chance he would play in games at San Jose and Los Angeles.

Crosby accompanied the Penguins on their two-game West Coast road swing last weekend, only to return before the team’s 3-2 shootout victory against the Kings on Saturday so he could meet with his concussion specialists.

Crosby’s unscheduled trip back to Pittsburgh created speculation that he was targeting Friday’s game as his return date. But Crosby and Penguins coach Dan Bylsma insisted Monday there was nothing to read into the timing of the evaluation.

“We are not waiting for an epiphany to make a decision,” Bylsma said. “He’s progressing. He’s going down that road. I’ll reiterate to you again, there is not a timetable or a date right now that we know and you don’t. He’s continuing to practice with the team. He got back out there (on the ice) after the weekend, and he’ll to continue to practice with the team this week.”

Crosby also said there was nothing unusual about the timing of his medical visit except that he wanted his schedule clear for team-building exercises Monday and Tuesday. The Penguins participated in military-type exercises during past seasons, but Bylsma hinted that these would be a little different and would involve wives and girlfriends.

“We’re going to be busy,” Crosby said. “There’s no use staying out there (in Los Angeles) for a morning skate when I can get an appointment and get some good days in here.”

As for what occurs during his evaluations, Crosby said, “I just tell them how I feel. That’s usually how it goes, giving feedback and letting them know how I’m feeling. They usually have tests or ways of evaluating. It’s kind of a combination of what I’m telling them and their expert opinion.”

Despite Crosby’s limited contact to date during practice, Bylsma said he is intentionally trying to match Crosby against “people that will be inclined to bump him.” However, one of them was expected to be defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who is mending from a broken wrist that will keep him out about six weeks.

Crosby last played Jan. 5, when he received a second hard hit in as many games. At the time, he led all NHL players with 32 goals and 66 points in 41 games. He resumed skating with his teammates in late March, but had a setback a few weeks later and never was close to returning to game action last season.

He hasn’t missed any practices due to the concussion since training camp began in mid-September, and was cleared for contact during practice Oct. 13. He has had no concussion-related symptoms for more than two months, and Crosby continues to do everything except play as he patiently awaits medical clearance to resume his exceptional career.

“I’m just going to get a good week of practice here, that’s for sure, and see how everything goes,” Crosby said.

Per NHL.com:

Sidney Crosby is a full go — at least for practice.

Crosby took a long-awaited step in his recovery from a concussion on Thursday, participating in the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ morning skate without limitations, and without the white no-contact helmet he has worn since the start of training camp.

“Yeah, it’s full contact, so it’s a good step in the right direction,” Crosby said following his first full-scale practice since January. “It’s a big step … it’s a big one and we’ll see how things go.”

The next step: Getting cleared for games, though neither Crosby nor coach Dan Bylsma would guess when that might be. All they know is that Crosby’s return is a lot closer than it was only a few days ago.

“Usually you’re a little hesitant, that’s normal. … I might have to do something to get them to hit me, maybe. Maybe have to bump them a little bit and get them going. (Get it as) close to a game situation as we can get it.” – Sidney Crosby on his teammates reluctance to hit a player returning from injury

“I’m not going to give you a timetable and I’m not going to make one right now,” Bylsma said. “Going through training camp, (after) where he came from, was significant and helped with that process. He’s been with a line, he’s been in full drills, even in some drills that had contact although he had the non-contact helmet. It’s significantly different than coming back halfway through season. That helps with the situation.”

What doesn’t help is the Penguins are playing 13 games in October, a crowded schedule that doesn’t allow for a lot of practice time. That means Bylsma might have to create morning skate situations where Crosby can get bumped around, jostled and treated like any other player.

Even if Crosby hasn’t been any other player since the day he broke into the NHL at age 18 in 2005, winning the Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal and most major NHL postseason awards by the age of 22.

He was the runaway leader in the NHL scoring race with 66 points, with 32 goals, in 41 games last season before hard hits in successive games Jan. 1 and Jan. 5 left him with a concussion. He has been recuperating ever since, withstanding stretches in which he fought through concussion-related symptoms that included headaches, dizziness and sensitivity to light and loud noise.

Crosby joked he might have to instigate some contact himself, given that teammates usually are reluctant to hit a player who is coming back from an injury.

“Usually you’re a little hesitant, that’s normal. … I might have to do something to get them to hit me, maybe,” Crosby said. “Maybe have to bump them a little bit and get them going. (Get it as) close to a game situation as we can get it.”

Evgeni Malkin, questionable for Thursday’s game because of lower-body soreness, also took part in the morning skate and the line rushes, suggesting he might be able to play. Malkin has missed the last two games.