The return of Sidney Crosby

Emma and I like to use the phrase “vomiting rainbows” when something makes us deliriously happy. Trust me, I think that was happening all over western PA this weekend.

It’d been speculated since he was cleared for contact and had been taking hits in practice – when would Sidney Crosby return to the ice? It got so bad that some reporters stopped asking him how he felt and when he thought he’d come back because the answers were always the same with no updates. But then CrosbyWatch went into hyperdrive when Coach Dan Bylsma began announcing that Sid wouldn’t be playing certain games. Hmm, was his return imminent?

Yesterday came the news from the Pens themselves:

And then the entire Penguins fanbase shrieked and flailed in unison.

This news was so big, Versus shoved aside their coverage of the Bruins-Canadiens match in favor of the Pens-Islanders game. This rightly angered quite a few fans including Emma, who had planned on watching that game knowing that it wouldn’t be on Center Ice. All was righted when she checked late last night and saw that the Bruins game was indeed on Center Ice. (Thank God! I didn’t pay good money for Center Ice to, uh, not get my games! -Emma)

So, what happened?

As expected, the press fell all over themselves to report this. The Pittsburgh station I get on cable even opened with the story above stories like a guy who was trapped in a crane that had fallen off a bridge or a multi-unit fire in an retirement complex. I was surprised that schools in the city weren’t shut down for the day.

Seven o’clock came. You probably heard the roof blow off Consol Energy Center from, say, Fargo when Sid was introduced. I didn’t get to see it because I happen to be in the Pittsburgh market area,  so it was blacked out for me (I’m staring at you, Time Warner Cable, for not giving digital customers Root Sports Pittsburgh on your basic lineup). I had to rely on tweets and NHL.com’s Ice Tracker for updates.

If anyone was worried about rust on the Golden Boy, they were quickly dismissed because he scored a goal five minutes into the game:

Yep, rainbows vomited all over the Steel City.

Then he got an assist on a Brooks Orpik goal. And an assist on an Evgeni Malkin assist. And another goal. In the end, he had two goals, two assists and a plus-3 for the night, and the Penguins beat the New York Islanders 5-0.

As for me, I’m probably one of the few who drafted Sid to their fantasy team knowing he’d return sometime this season. For my patience, I got a little boost in my points tonight.

Good to have you back, Sid. Hockey’s missed you.

– Krista

P.S. While we’re oohing and ahhing over Crosby’s return, let’s not forget guys like Marc Savard, who was scratched for this season and is in danger of never playing hockey again. For every player who returns to the ice after a concussion, there’s one who won’t.