PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens captain Sidney Crosby was knocked out of Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and had to miss Game 6 due to a concussion. Monday a report Crosby was actually cleared for Game 6 but held back by Pens management.
“The report is false,” said Pens Head Coach Mike Sullivan. “Sid was not cleared for Game 6 by our team doctors.”
“I was cleared Sunday morning after I went through the morning skate,” Crosby said. “How I felt that day leading up to it. Sunday before the game is when I was cleared.”
Crosby was one of the leading scorers in the playoffs with nine points in the first four games and nearly half of a fifth. He had to leave Game 5 after being elbowed by New York’s Jacob Trouba in the second period with the Pens leading 2-0. The team ended up losing that lead and the game.
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“Our team doctors always have the last say in a player’s health and ability to return to the lineup before a coach’s decision is made,” Sullivan explained. “The reason it is what it is, we have a player’s health first and foremost.”
“There is a process you have to go through,” Crosby said. “I went through that process. Wasn’t cleared for Game 6, but was cleared for Game 7. That was all there was to it.”