Penguins captain Sidney Crosby did not practice with the team this morning due to head coach Dan Bylsma conducting a full contact practice.
Crosby though did skate this morning going through individual workouts with strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar. He continues to look extremely sharp with his skating, stick handling and shooting ability.
Since being cleared to skate in game-day skates (no contact) last Thursday, Crosby has been on the ice in 4 of the last 5 days and three of those skates with the team.
The important step Crosby took during the Florida road trip of skating with the team was significant in his progression.
The “motions” of participating in live drills with no issues was big for Crosby.
The next big step is obviously Crosby getting cleared for contact.
Prior to Crosby being cleared to skate with the team last Wednesday, the thought process in Penguin circles is that Crosby would have to go through about a week of non-contact practices with the team before being cleared for contact.
Therefore, based on how things are progressing, the possibility exists where Crosby gets medical clearance for contact drills by Thursday or Friday of this week. By the way, there is some chatter that timeline hasn’t been ruled out.
From there (cleared for contact), a timeline of another 7-10 days would certainly be in place by team doctors.
The playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 13-14.
Crosby being cleared for the first game of round 1 is looking unlikely but my feel on the situation and the vibe I get is that Crosby is moving forward to being cleared (of course, barring any setbacks) following the first weekend of playoff games, therefore, at somepoint during the week of 18th-24th.