Sidney Crosby will no longer wear the extra shield on his mask as the Pittsburgh Penguins advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Bruins. Crosby was forced to wear the shield after returning from a broken jaw at the start of the NHL playoffs.
The star center for the Penguins was hit by a puck in the face on March 30th in a 2-0 win over the New York Islanders . He was immediately sent to the hospital for facial surgery and he went on to miss the remainder of the regular season.
Crosby returned in Game 2 of the quarterfinals against none other than the team who sent him to the hospital in the first place. The Penguins would go on to beat the Islanders in six games and have since knocked out the Ottawa Senators in the following round.
They will now move on to face the Boston Bruins in the conference finals in hopes of advancing to the Stanley Cup. Sidney Crosby will be a major factor in their success, or failure, against the Bruins and he will do it without the protective shield.
Though Crosby isn’t the biggest and baddest hockey player, he’s still aggressive on the ice and is certainly no pushover. The highly talented skater is regularly taking big hits, but wearing an extra shield just isn’t his style.
“They’re comfortable with it coming off, being hit and things like that,” Crosby said about the team doctors’ response to removing the extra shield. “That’s what it came down to. It doesn’t really change anything. It’s nice to see a little bit better.”
Though he won’t be wearing the extra shield, Crosby will continue to sport his classic visor when he takes the ice against the Bruins.
Do you think Sidney Crosby can play any better by removing the extra shield from his helmet, or is the Penguins’ leader set to dominate in the conference finals no matter what he’s wearing?
[Image via Creative Commons | Elliot ]