Penguins C Sidney Crosby last night returned to NHL play for the first time since suffering a concussion in January with a "mesmerizing four-point masterpiece" in a 5-0 win at home against the Islanders. Penguins co-Owner Mario Lemieux had the "idea to give all fans 'SID' placards reminiscent of those 'MARIO' models held up for No. 66's many comebacks" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 11/22). The game was "witnessed by 250 reporters in the press box, a number similar to that for a Stanley Cup finals game" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/22).
ESPN led off its “SportsCenter” immediately after Chiefs-Patriots not with highlights from the "MNF" game but by going straight to Pittsburgh, where analyst Barry Melrose briefly highlighted Crosby’s return to action. Coverage then shifted back to the studio for highlights from Foxboro. Melrose said, “If you’re a hockey fan, you have to love what happened in Pittsburgh. Christmas came early. ... The place was unbelievable; it was like a playoff game” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 11/21).
The GLOBE & MAIL's Michael Posner writes for Crosby, "for his team, for the entire NHL roster of players, coaches, managers and owners, for the agents, lawyers, merchandisers and TV networks that feed at the league’s extended groaning board, indeed, for Canada itself, where nothing has more cultural resonance than hockey, perhaps no single game in recent memory has had more importance." The L.A. TIMES' Helene Elliott writes, "The NHL is the better for his return." The GLOBE & MAIL's Roy MacGregor writes under the headline, "Crosby Gives Hockey A Much-Needed Boost."
