Sidney Crosby made a spectacular return to NHL action Wednesday night, showing absolutely no signs of rust despite missing nearly a month with a knee injury.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ star center hadn’t played since getting hurt during Team Canada’s Olympic quarterfinal win over Czechia on February 18. While the injury looked scary at first, it wasn’t as bad as everyone feared.
Still, it kept him out of 11 Penguins games and crushed Canada’s hopes for gold in Milan Cortina.
But the 38-year-old looked like his old self against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. Crosby didn’t waste much time making his presence felt.
Nearly 10 minutes into the second period, he found the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. It was his first NHL goal since January 22.
The goal at the Lenovo Center showed exactly what Team Canada missed after losing their captain – that trademark Crosby magic that’s made him one of hockey’s greatest players for almost two decades.
It’s the kind of performance that makes you wonder how different things might have been for Canada at the Olympics if he’d stayed healthy. But for Penguins fans, just having him back and playing at this level is what matters most.
