Crosby's still on Ice, Jeffrey with possible ligament damage and the Test tube is fully repaired.

Some injury updates for everyone regarding Sidney Crosby, Dustin Jeffrey, and Mark Letestu. Letestu who's been out with some shoulder soreness is going to be back in the line up with the first line between Kovalev and Neal. In even strength situations this line combination has scored three points in the short time they've been together, as well as two points on the powerplay while sharing center duties with Jordan Staal. The last time Letestu came back from injury after missing an entire month he had a goal and an assist on February 26th against the Maple Leafs during the 6-5 slugfest.

Letestu is hoping to come out and have a repeat of that performance putting points on the board for the Pens; "I just talked to coach and he's throwing me out there," Letestu said during an interview after the morning skate. "It's like Groundhog Day for me. I've been through this once before. Hopefully, I'll have the same kind of game that I had coming back from the other injury tonight." Letestu was recently awarded with the Penguins Rookie of the Year honors, despite missing 18 games. So far for the year he has 12G and 12A in 58 games played.

In this edition of what seems like Injured Centers Weekly, we also have Dustin Jeffrey who underwent an MRI recently. Bylsma had this to say about the knee ailment: "Jeffrey had an MRI yesterday and there is some damage to his knee. It needs further evaluation to determine how much it is at this point and time. There's no timetable right now, but it did show some damage. They need to do further investigation to as much as it is." I would wager to guess that Jeffrey probably has some ligament damage and won't be returning unless it's in the deep rounds of the playoffs.  Jeffrey will be sorely missed for moments like these:

Beating two of the best goaltenders in the game with virtually the same shot? That will be missed indeed. Jeffrey added a lot of value to this team during it's injury ridden season. Jeffrey produced 7goals and 5assists in the 25games he played, ending at a +5 and averaging 13:19 TOI in games, his longest night was a 17:14 minute run against Montreal where he was held scoreless. His best performance was against Boston where he scored  2 goals off 4 shots in 14:51 total ice time., including the game winner above on Tim Thomas. Jeffrey's play this year most likely has earned him a permanent spot on the roster depending on how contracts and training camp go next offseason.

Now for the big Bing, Sidney Crosby. He's been practicing more and more, with more intense skating session each time and it is rumored he will be out on the ice in full practices with the team within the next week or so. It's possible he could get time in before the start of the Playoffs but might be unlikely in order to preserve him for the first round. While it would be ideal to have him out with Neal and Kovalev as soon as possible to gel with these two very big and very different forwards, we will only have practice to look forward to for now. Take a look at the most recent video from Crosby's practice this morning 3/29:


Up and down both ends of the ice balancing the puck on the stick between the two goals and trying to set up for a shot off the faceoff circle. Having just hit the ice, literally (only once!), recently I can tell you that doing that isn't easy, and it's good to see his hand eye coordination isn't affected all too terribly much. His shots look much more accurate than ever, but it could be a byproduct of not having seen him play in so long. Penguins nation and the rest of the hockey world are waiting with bated breath and mixed emotions on the return of Sidney Crosby. Will the young phenom return at the dominating pace he was at before the injury? Scoring 66points (32goals 34assists) in 44 games, or will his timing and shots be off? From the looks of the video, I'd say a 75% healthy Crosby is going to dominate anyone who gets in his way.

A concussion may have knocked him down a peg and sent him back to reality after the punishment he was dishing out, but don't expect him to be afraid of players, playing away from the dangerous situations anymore than he already does or missing too many shots wide or over the net. He definitely still has the accuracy, the will and determination to win, so the other 15 teams going to the playoffs will need to start preparing for a Penguins team that once again has it's shining star on the ice.

To be sure we're not discussing only our centers, Brent Johnson was healthy and back out on the ice today for the Penguins, and as a result of that the Pens have sent Thiessen back to the AHL and the baby Pens. WBS beat the Hershey Bears yesterday to continue their dominance of the AHL, even without the best goaltender in the league. Johnson will not be in net tonight against the Flyers, as newly coined MVP Marc Andre-Fleury will be in net tonight facing off against them in his 5th straight game. Unlike the others however, this one cannot go into overtime and must end in regulation.

"If I had to vote for the Hart Trophy, the Hart in my heart would be 'Flower.'"- Max Talbot after this mornings skate.