Penguins’ Crosby not worried about 2011

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Sidney Crosby acknowledged he recently had a setback and experienced symptoms during his recovery from a concussion, but the Pittsburgh Penguins star said he isn’t worried that he won’t be ready for the start of next season.

Crosby addressed reporters on Friday for the first time in weeks, on the day the Penguins packed up and dispersed after being eliminated from the NHL playoffs. He admitted that the reason he hasn’t been on the ice for non-contact drills or practices for the past two weeks was because he had experienced headaches and other symptoms.

“I started trying to ramp things up a bit as far as working out and skating, and I got a little bit of symptoms,” Crosby said. “So, I had to take a step back. The progression had gone pretty well, but at the same time, I still wasn’t ready.”

Crosby didn’t play since Jan. 5, sitting out the final 48 games, including all of Pittsburgh’s 4-3 series loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.

Training camp is less than five months away. Crosby said he will be ready.

“I feel like, from where I was a couple months ago, things were a lot better,” he said. “Just being able to skate was encouraging. Hopefully, the next step doesn’t have any hurdles and I can get ready for next season as usual.”

The Penguins are hoping next season is business as usual, as most of the past campaign was anything but. In addition to Crosby — who was by far leading the league in scoring at the time of his injury — Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal also each missed roughly half a season with injuries.

The three star centers — Crosby and Malkin each are former scoring champions, and Staal a former Selke Trophy finalist — were the faces of the franchise coming into the year. But somehow, the Penguins still managed to finish with the second-most points in franchise history (106). They even contended for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed down to the final week without them.

“The way we’re built has been down the middle, and it’s been that way since I got here,” general manager Ray Shero said. “And when you’ve got Staal, Crosby and Malkin that all only play half a season, other guys had to step up. That says a lot about the team.

“It made for a story, and these guys were a story every night.”

They were, right up until Wednesday, when Pittsburgh was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for the first time since 2007.

That was a disappointing end for a franchise that won a Stanley Cup only two years ago and entered this season with the goal of adding another. But considering the circumstances of Crosby’s concussion, Malkin being out for the year with a torn ACL and MCL, and Staal missing 40 games due to a foot injury, finishing with the second-most wins in the NHL was quite an accomplishment.