Rangers glad to see Sidney Crosby return
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- You better believe the Rangers are aware of what Sidney Crosby did against the Islanders on Monday night.
Brad Richards Tuesday teased a teammate by asking whether Crosby has already passed him in goals scored this season after the Penguins star netted two in his first game back from a 10-month concussion absence.
Oh, and Crosby also had two assists in the Penguins' 5-0 win in Pittsburgh.
The Rangers face the first-place Penguins on Tuesday at the Garden and five more times this season. But they know the NHL is a better league with Sid the Kid active, even if it makes the Rangers' road to success more difficult.
"He's the best player in the league," Richards said before the Rangers flew to Florida to play the Panthers Wednesday. "The best player in the league doesn't always win the Stanley Cup. They're beatable. It'll be tougher with him. It's good for him, especially. Forget about the game. If he's happy, which obviously he is that he's back on the ice, and he's healthy, that's what's important. He's a good guy."
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who should start Wednesday after a seven-day layoff, said "there's no question" opposing players wanted to see Crosby return.
"It's great to have him back," Lundqvist said. "It's real impressive to see how he came back in his first game. He'll be the difference in a lot of games. Overall, it's good for everybody to have him back. You want the best players to play."
And you want the best players to stay healthy. The NHL, which is trying to be proactive about limiting concussions, has put an emphasis on preventing hits to the head. But that didn't help Crosby, 24, from enduring a longer-than-expected recovery time after he was first injured in January.
Is the league -- which needs the exposure a star such as Crosby can bring -- going to have its officials call games a little tighter when the former MVP is on the ice? Richards doesn't think so.
"That's opening a new can of worms," Richards said, "if they're going to call games differently if he's in them.
Notes & quotes: Coach John Tortorella had the Rangers work on the power play at practice with D Anton Stralman on with the first unit. Stralman, who was signed Nov. 5, has yet to make his Rangers debut . . . Marc Staal, who has been riding a stationary bike following a monthlong shutdown in an attempt to relieve headaches and concussion symptoms, flew to Florida with the club, according to Jim Cerny, who writes for the team website and travels with the team.
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