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Good news on the injury front has been filtering in all morning for the Pittsburgh Penguins via the twitter machine.
Crosby Is on the ice at Consol Energy Center with conditioning coach Mike Kadar.
— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPG) April 15, 2013
#TribHKY >> Crosby wearing face shield and clear jaw protector for his individual workout. #pens
— Rob Rossi (@RobRossi_Trib) April 15, 2013
Paul Martin has just joined Crosby and Kadar on the ice. He began skating on his own last week.
— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPG) April 15, 2013
James Neal (concussion) has joined Crosby and Martin.
— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPG) April 15, 2013
#TribHKY >> Crosby (jaw) and Neal (concussion) in full gear. Martin (hand) in track suit. All doing on-ice work before #pens practice.
— Rob Rossi (@RobRossi_Trib) April 15, 2013
All welcome sights to see back. Given the status updates from Sidney Crosby last week, you figured that he might be able to take a spin on the ice sooner than later, and the unofficial word of Sid looking to return for the last week of the regular season (next week) seems to be a possibility.
Martin has been skating for a while now as a bone in his hand heals from surgery, caoch Dan Bylsma last week said the 4-6 week initial timeline was still in effect, which means an early May return could be at..hand. (Bad pun).
Neal was the wild-card, as all concussion sufferers are. He hasn't skated since appearing to be knocked out on April 5th in a game against the Rangers. There haven't been many updates since the team is on the road, but as we've learned from too many concussions, that Neal is skating must mean that he hasn't had any symtptoms for a while and has progressed enough in off the ice workouts to be able to take this step. If he's back skating again tomorrow, it'll be a good sign.
The Pens have a few more days off before there next game, none of these players will likely play, but with the playoffs a little more than 2 weeks away, the focus on returning to health is clear and took a positive, tangible sign today for three of the team's most important players.