The stars of the National Hockey League are being sidelined for significant amounts of time thanks to concussions. It was reported on Monday that Sidney Crosby will miss his third straight game due to concussion like symptoms. Crosby will be out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms eight games into his comeback. There is no timetable for his return. Crosby just returned to the ice after a ten month absence due a concussion suffered back in January. In eight games, Crosby had two goals and 10 assists. Crosby was suffering from headaches after a 3-1 loss to Boston.
In a press conference held on Monday in Pittsburgh Crosby said,” Frustrating, I don’t think even describes it. I would rather be playing than watching.” Arguably the NHL’s biggest star is on the sidelines again. Crosby will be held out of practice until the symptoms go away. “It’s much different than previously going through that stuff. I’m way better off than I was dealing with this stuff 10 months or what it was.” While Crosby is experiencing headaches, his symptoms are a lot better than when he received back to back hits to the head in January.
During the game against the Bruins, he received numerous checks to the head and body. Crosby received an elbow from David Krejci, but it did not appear to be that bad. Earlier in the game Crosby collided with teammate Chris Kunitz. The next day Crosby passed all of his concussions tests, but during practice last Wednesday his headaches started to come back. Crosby was held out of the last two games against Philadelphia and New York Islanders. Crosby was supposed to return to practice on Monday, but his symptoms persisted.
Not even halfway through the season and the Penguins already had five players sidelined with concussions: Crosby, Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek, Tyler Kennedy, and Robert Bortozzo. Letang was injured during the Canadiens game on November 26. Letang received a hard hit from Max Pacioretty. The recovery time from this type of injury varies from player to player. But these Penguins players know what Sidney Crosby had to go through before he came back to the ice.
Across the state in Philadelphia, the Flyers have announced star players Claude Giroux and Chris Pronger will be sidelined indefinitely with a concussion. General Manager Paul Holmgren announced that Giroux’s symptoms have gotten worse since his head injury last week against Tampa Bay. Giroux took a knee to the head from teammate Wayne Simmonds. Giroux leads the NHL with 39 pints and he has propelled the Flyers to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Pronger took a stick to the eye from Mikhail Grabovski that caused him to miss six games.
The NHL has been cracking down on hit to the head, but it seems that the league still has more work to do.
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