Sidney Crosby Returns Monday Night vs. Isles

Pittsburgh Penguins' center Sidney Crosby is finally set to return to the ice. He will play Monday night in Pittsburgh vs. the New York Islanders. I called him the Justin Bieber of hockey last week, and the hype lived up to it once again. The mere announcement of his return had my Twitter feed clogged up with words like 'Sid' and 'finally' and 'returns'.

I'll start off by saying I am glad to hear that Crosby is cleared to play. I don't wish for any player to be sidelined due to injury, so I'm glad for him. We all know he's pretty much a lock for the All-Star game, so hopefully he does really well in order to keep us fans (or at least me) happy with his ASG appearance.

It's been nearly a year since the Penguins have seen Crosby on the ice. The Pens havent played badly though. Despite a round one loss in the playoffs last year to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Penguins have continued to be a top team in the NHL. They are once again competing for a top spot in the Eastern Conference, even without the phenom named Sid. The Penguins hope to have even more success with Crosby's return, but I think there could be a brief negative effect. The Penguins have developed a system, a chemistry, that works without Crosby. After such a long period of time, Crosby's return will be a shock to the team's systems. The Penguins hope it will be a positive shock, a spark if you will. It is possible, however, that an adjustment period could occur where the Penguins play not badly, but with less flow, because of Crosby's lack of playing time in the past months. Of course, that is unlikely, as Crosby is one of the top players in the league. It's possible that Crosby's return could have a very short-term negative effect. Of course, only time will tell.

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