Rangers Drop Hockey Night In Canada Contest, Crosby Returns To NHL

I'm not going to analyze that Rangers loss Saturday night, except to say that it seemed like a fluke. 7 games was a good ride, but you know what will be better? Not dropping 2 in a row.

Since the Rangers are off tonight, the best thing on TV besides a 2 hr. long string of It's Always Sunny... reruns on Comedy Central has to be the return of Sidney Crosby when the Penguins take on the Islanders. With concussion injuries, there is always the worry that the player will take another hit to the head as a result of slowed reaction time, and symptoms will recur and possibly worsen. My personal interest lies not so much with Crosby (though I think it's a shame, if not a crime, that someone with his talent would be forced out of the game early due to an injury), but with Marc Staal, who as you know is still out with post-concussion syndrome and there is no listed timetable for his return. I am interested to see how Crosby physically handles the game tonight and in the next few weeks, to provide something positive for Staal to use as motivation. We've seen players come back from concussions and be shadows of the players they once were, and/or be unable to continue in the NHL (Pat Lafontaine, Eric Lindros, Marc Savard). The severity of each case is different obviously, but I'd like to see a player in today's concussion monitored league who followed doctor's orders and rested for significantly longer periods than were initially expected come back and be the same player they were.



As a Ranger fan I say Good Luck to Sid, and good luck to all the players dealing with Concussion injuries. We want you all back in the league.