Maybe it was David Krejci who put Sidney Crosby on the shelf
By Joe YerdonDec 8, 2011, 9:51 AM EST
We know that Sidney Crosby is going to be out of action for the Penguins' next two games, but what was the hit that got Crosby back on the Pens' watch list? Seems that his collision with teammate Chris Kunitz is the one that everyone has paid attention to, but Mike Colligan of The Hockey Writers found another one that might've done the trick.
Colligan points out a battle near the Pittsburgh bench early in the game between Crosby and David Krejci that saw Krejci innocently play the puck and spin to pass it, accidentally catching Crosby right in the face with his elbow.
There's no ill intent, no purpose to hurt anyone, it was just a hockey play. Not one of those Colin Campbell hockey plays where a guy misses months of action, just your regular run-of-the-mill turn and fire with the puck. Colligan notes that Crosby went right after Krejci later in the period to voice his displeasure.
Here's video of the play in question.
Crosby stayed in the game after this and later ran into Kunitz making the whole game a bit of a mess for Pittsburgh. With how much the Penguins have riding on Crosby's health and the nervousness about seeing him sustain another head injury, holding him out of action this weekend makes sense.
Could something as innocuous as this be the sort of thing that undoes all the months of rehab though? Let's hope not.