The Penguins and captain Sidney Crosby are well on their way to win No. 12 on the season as the sixth-year center makes his long-anticipated return to the ice against the Islanders at the Consol Energy Center.
Pittsburgh leads New York 4-0, and Crosby contributed on three of the goals. In the first period, Crosby scored the teams first goal of the game, then assisted on a goal by Brooks Orpik. In the second period, he assisted on Evgeni Malkin's sixth goal of the season, which gave the Pens a 3-0 lead.
Crosby is up to 11:41 of ice time in the game and has registered six shots on goal. He's also won 11 of his 17 faceoffs, good for a .647 win percentage on the night.
Head coach Dan Bylsma said before the game that Crosby would only play about 12 minutes in the game, but in just two periods, he's close to exceeding that total. It'll be interesting to see if the staff decides to shut him down for the finally period with the Penguins comfortably ahead or if they'll see how far Crosby can push his limits by keeping him on a normal schedule.