Post-Morning Skate Buzz: Crosby officially out tonight

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby confirmed after the morning skate that he will not be in the lineup tonight. Crosby would not put a timetable on when he will return to the lineup.

Crosby said that the doctor told him everything looks good but he does not feel comfortable for Crosby to play tonight. Crosby said said he doesn’t know when the next appointment will be.

“I would have loved the chance to play tonight,” Crosby said. “Doctor said everything looks good, he just wasn’t prepared to clear me to play,” Crosby said.

Crosby being out of the lineup won’t change the Islanders game plan. “To me they have tremendous depth in their organization,” Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said. “We need to stick to our gameplan. We have to play within our framework, structure to be successful,” Capuano said.

The Islanders are a team that has caught Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma’s eye since the start of season. “I think they’re a good team,” Bylsma said of the Islanders. “Start of season, overlooked {by media, pundits}, they have a good group of young players. They have skill and player {John Tavares} candidate for MVP of League.”

Islanders coach Jack Capuano on Tavares. “Very mature for his age, relishes the opportunity to be in this situation.”

Dan Bylsma would not confirm his lineup tonight, which wasn’t unexpected, but all indications are Beau Bennett will play over Tyler Kennedy tonight. Bennett was all smiles this morning and very excited about playing in his first NHL game. It’s a decision that I’m sure isn’t easy for Bylsma to make, despite Kennedy struggling this season. Kennedy has appeared in 67 career playoff games with the Penguins, Bennett 0.

“In a 4th line role, he added a dimension to our 4th line we did not have,” Bylsma said today of Bennett’s play on the 4th line.

With Brooks Orpik out tonight, Paul Martin is expected to be paired with Deryk Engelland and it’s an interesting pairing because of Martin’s ability to log 25-28 minutes a game and Engelland seeing third pairing minutes all year.

Engelland is looking forward to the opportunity of being paired with Martin tonight. “It’s great, played a little bit with him before,” Engelland said. “He’s easy to play with, doesn’t get caught, talks a lot and make it a lot easier on me to my job.”

Engelland on the Islanders:

“They’re definitely a team that thrives on turnovers, ” Engelland said. Engelland feels with the Islanders being a skilled team, they are vulnerable to being pushed around in front of the net and down low. “Need to make it tough on them to get to the areas in front of the net,” Engelland said.

Chris Kunitz – Evgeni Malkin – James Neal

Pascal Dupuis – Jussi Jokinen – Jarome Iginla

Brenden Morrow – Brandon Sutter – Matt Cooke

Tanner Glass – Craig Adams – Beau Bennett

Paul Martin – Deryk Engelland

Mark Eaton – Kris Letang

Douglas Murray – Matt Niskanen