The Pittsburgh Penguins will enter into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the second-best team overall. They accomplished this all without their captain Sidney Crosby for most of the final stretch of the season. Pittsburgh was forced to play on after Crosby took a puck to the face and suffered a broken jaw. While his return to playing this season was deemed questionable at best, Crosby intends on being on the ice next week for Game 1 of the playoffs.
Crosby will be seeking to get medical clearance this week with the hopes of resuming practice on Thursday or Friday. He has not been on the ice since March 30. If he is given full medical clearance, Crosby will likely dress for the playoffs, something that seemed unlikely when the accident first occurred. Crosby had surgery on his jaw, along with extensive dental work after a large number of teeth were knocked out. Doctors used titanium plates to place Crosby's jaw back together since it fractured into multiple pieces. When he returns to play, he will be expected to wear a plastic shield that protects his jaw.
Crosby has not practiced with his teammates, but has been seen skating on the ice since the surgery. The Penguins will most likely open the playoffs at home on Wednesday, which would give Crosby a few days to get back into playing shape. He told media he has lost a lot of weight since the injury.
Crosby no longer has a chance at winning the NHL scoring title since missing a large number of games. He was considered the runaway leader of the title prior to injury. However, Martin St. Louis caught up to him on Wednesday with 58 points. Steven Stamkos is tied for second with Crosby as both have 56 points. While he may not be able to win that or even the MVP Hart Trophy, he still has a chance at helping lead Pittsburgh to a Stanley Cup win, something the fans would like even better.
