Sid The Kid Is Back!

There were 18,571 people that walked through the turnstiles at Consol Energy Center on Monday night. They probably ought to put their ticket stubs in safe places. Sidney Crosby's return to the NHL after a 10-and-a-half-month layoff turned into the kind of night that hockey fans everywhere will tell their grandkids about I must say. Crosby came back and put up 4 points in a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders on Monday night. He scored a goal in his third shift and picked up a primary assist on his fifth shift. He added a secondary assist on his 10th shift and added another goal shortly after coming onto the ice for his 16th shift, his first of only five in the third period. He finished with 21 shifts in total against the Islanders. Crosby showed his speed burst and wicked backhander in scoring his first goal last night. When he was about to score, he knew the Islanders were caught flat-footed and he went right around their defense, motoring past Andrew MacDonald before he used the backhand to beat rookie goalie Anders Nilsson. Throughout the amazing night in Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center, Crosby used a backhanded pass from the left-wing wall to set up Brooks Orpik with a one-timer from the point that sailed past Nilsson 16:29 into the first period. Crosby helped set up Evgeni Malkin's power-play goal 3:17 into the second period by finding Kris Letang at the point. Letang's slap-pass went to Malkin, who shoveled the puck past Nilsson. With Crosby back in the lineup now, I can see this being a really really good season for the Penguins.