Thursday night was an important night for the Pittsburgh Penguins as Sidney Crosby made his return to the lineup.
Crosby as you may recall suffered a concussion during last year's Winter classic and ended up missing the rest of the 2010-2011 after receiving a hit from Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman.
Crosby did return earlier this season against the New York Islanders scoring two goals and assisting on two others in the Penguins 5-0 over the Islanders.
Crosby had 2 goals and 10 assists on the season before suffering another hit against Boston that knocked him out of the lineup again after only playing eight games.
But Crosby did finally return on Thursday and while his return wasn't has dramatic as it was back on November 21 he did play a solid game assisting on two goals and getting sixteen minutes of ice time in the Penguins 5-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Crosby then came back on Saturday against New Jersey with three assists in the Penguins 5-2 win over the Devils.
What does Crosby's return to the lineup mean for Pittsburgh?
The Penguins are the hottest team in the NHL having won eleven in a row before losing in overtime yesterday in Philadelphia. They currently are 4th in the East with 94 points and trail the Rangers by one point for the lead in the Atlantic Division and first in the Eastern Conference.
Pittsburgh is already deep at center with Evgeni Malkin (41G, 47A), Jordan Staal (22G, 18A), and Tyler Kennedy (6G, 20A). Adding Crosby to the lineup give the Penguins depth at center that no NHL team can match.
Just as important for Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang returned to the lineup as well after missing five games due to a hit he received against the Dallas Stars back on February 29th.
Letang (9G, 25A, +13) is the Penguins best defenseman. You could make the argument that having Letang on the ice is almost as important as having Crosby on the ice.
Pittsburgh is getting healthy at just the right time. That's good news for Penguins fans and bad news for the rest of the NHL.
Here is the Power Poll for Week 22.
1. St. Louis 46-19-8 100 points
Blues are the 1st team to 100 points and to clinch a playoff berth.
2. Pittsburgh 44-21-6 94 points
Despite the loss to Philadelphia, the Penguins have earned a point in 12 straight games.
3. N.Y. Rangers 44-20-7 95 points
What once looked to be the best team in the East, the Rangers have lost 5 of their last 7 games.
4. Detroit 44-24-4 92 points
Red Wings return home after going 0-2-1 on their California road trip.
5. Vancouver 43-20-8 94 points
Canucks finish their seven game homestand 3-4. They now hit the road for a four game trip.
6. Nashville 42-22-8 92 points
Good news for Predators fans. Alexander Radulov will rejoin the team for their playoff push.
7. Philadelphia 42-22-8 92 points
With all the focus in the Atlantic being on the Penguins and Rangers, the Flyers are lurking only three points out of first overall in the East.
8. Boston 41-27-3 85 points
Bruins go for a season sweep of the Maple Leafs tonight when they host Toronto.
9. New Jersey 41-26-5 87 points
Ilya Kovalchuk have 5 goals and 5 assists in his last 7 games for the Devils.
10 Chicago 40-25-8 88 points
Blackhawks are getting back on track going 7-1-1 in their last nine games.
11. Dallas 39-28-5 83 points
Despite losing two in a row the Stars are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games and are still on top in the Pacific Division.
12. Colorado 39-30-5 81 points
Avalanche have been a big winner at the trade deadline with the acquisition of Jamie McGinn (7G, 3A)
13. Ottawa 37-26-10 84 points
Only one point behind Boston, there is a good chance the Senators could win the Northeast.
14. San Jose 36-25-10 82 points
Logan Couture has 30 goals in back to back seasons. I can see why the Sharks didn't want to trade him for Rick Nash.
15. Washington 36-30-6 78 points
Alex Ovechkin becomes the 9th player in NHL history to score 30 goals in his first seven seasons.
16. Phoenix 36-26-11 83 points
Congrats to Dave Tippett on win number 400 as head coach.
17. Los Angeles 35-25-12 82 points
Kings have scored 18 1st period goals in their last 11 games
18. Florida 35-23-13 83 points
Left Wing Tomas Fleischmann records a career high for most points in a season with 52. (22G, 30A)
19. Calgary 34-26-13 81 points
You can't seriously consider yourself to be a playoff team if you can't take two points from Columbus during this time of year.
20. Winnipeg 34-30-8 76 points
Loss to Carolina ends the Jets home win streak at four games.
21. Buffalo 33-29-10 76 points
Sabres have earned at least one point in 13 of their last 15 games as they make a late push to the playoffs.
22. Tampa Bay 32-31-7 71 points
The Lightning's AHL affiliate in Norfolk has won 18 games in a row. So they have that going for them.
23. Toronto 32-32-8 72 points
Even though they have won two straight the Maple Leafs are 3-61 in their last 10 games.
24. Anaheim 30-32-11 71 points
Magic number for the Ducks being eliminated from the playoff race is 7.
25. Carolina 29-29-5 73 points
Having had a chance to watch defenseman Justin Faulk this past Saturday he should be a fixture on the Hurricanes blueline for many years to come.
26. N.Y. Islanders 29-32-11 69 points
Forward Jay Pandolfo nominated for the Bill Masterson Award.
27. Minnesota 29-32-10 68 points
If there is a silver lining for Wild fans it's that some of their young NHL prospects should be here next season and they should make an impact.
28. Montreal 28-32-13 69 points
One bright spot for Montreal this season, they have the bast penalty kill in the NHL (89.5%)
29. Edmonton 28-36-8 64 points
Craziest rumor of the weekend: Brent Sutter is a candidate to be the next head coach of the Edmonton Oilers according to Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Something tells me Calgary may have something to say about this.
30. Columbus 23-42-7 53 points
Win over Calgary snaps a four game winless skid on the road.
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