87 Returns

1) The waiting is apparently over. Sidney Crosby will make his long over due/waited for return to the NHL tonight when the NY Islanders enter CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Crosby apparently has been given the "all clear" from his many Dr.s. Having participated in 'contact drill' of increasing intensity the past few weeks, the 24 year old Penguin captain has remained symptom free. Our contacts in Pittsburgh tell us that the team has been "extra cautious", and that Crosby was actually cleared to play over a week ago, but the team was waiting for additional time and the right time/place for the super stars return.

2) The internal thought was that playing his first game on friendly ice against an opponent that is wavering in the standings, who (despite last years fight filled mess of a game last February) lacks overall team toughness and is just the right team to play against right now. Don't expect anyone in the organization to state that publicly, but you can bet your bottom dollar Sid wouldn't be playing his first game in/against Philly! So what should we expect? We at Fauxrumors fully expect that Crosby will show little rust/effects of his time off. He simply is the most talented player in the game and in his prime. We wouldn't be shocked if he has a multi-point game right out of the gate tonight, and be right up with the rest of the league leaders (29 points right now) by the All star break, if not sooner.

3) Of course all of that will depend on his future health. As many of our regular readers will recall we had own own 'expert' comment on his situation a few months ago. http://newfaux.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html Dr. Varga was dead-on in his assessment back then that it would be a minimum of another 2-3 months before we should expect a return. We are hoping that the venerable Dr is dead wrong in his prediction that Crosby will be very vulnerable to a subsequent injury. As we wrote then: As Eric Lindros, Pat Lafontaine and other former star players who have had multiple concussions have found once they return they seem extra prone to re-injuring themselves. Even hits that appear to be routine/innocuous can have severe consequences. Almost all specialists tell Fauxrumors that were Crosby to sustain another significant event (concussion) its all but sure his career would be over. Lets all (regardless of how you feel about the Penguins or Crosby) hope/pray that 87's return is not short lived but the next stage of what has already been an amazing career! We hope to never again see scenes such as we witnessed (below)