The Return of the Kid

Playoffs are just around the corner, and as the NHL season winds down, the importance of the games kicks up. This is true even for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 14 games left. Of the Penguins 68 games thus far, they have only played a total of 10 with all 3 of their star centres, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby. Even with Malkin ripping up the scoring charts, Crosby's name has come up just as often in the hockey world. Tonight, Crosby will make his second major comeback of the season. The last one was a great success, as he had a 4 point night against the lowly New York Islanders. Tonight, Crosby returns on a much bigger stage, with much bigger risks. Crosby will come back tonight as his Penguins face the number 1 team in the Eastern conference, the New York Rangers. Not only are the Rangers a highly skilled team with great goal tending, they are also known for their toughness. Head coach John Tortorella ensures that the Rangers do not get pushed around. This could be bad news for Sid. While Sid was rarely faced with any physical challenges in his return against the Islanders, tonight's match up will likely be very different. The Rangers will likely challenge Crosby hard, let by physical defensemen such as Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. For Crosby's sake, I hope his concussion is fully healed and I hope he is not rushing back for the playoffs. He is certainly a huge part of the NHL, and if Sid gets hurt again, it would be a huge blow to the entire world of hockey.

Concussion Epidemic: Kronwalled

Niklas Kronwall has struck again. The Red Wings star defender has one again shown the league why he might be the most feared hitter in the NHL since the days of Scott Stevens. Kronwall destroyed the Philadelphia Flyer's Jakub Voracek with an open ice hit last night in a 3-2 Wings loss. This is not the first time Kronwall has put an opponent out cold, and it surely won't be the last. We touched on Kronwall a little bit during our podcast session after his devastating hit on  Oilers star Ales Hemsky. In the past, Kronwall has saved these hits for the playoffs, but it seems as if he is lining up opponents more frequently then ever. With all the concussion talk in the NHL, and all the talk of Kronwall's hits, you would assume that he would have faced a suspension or 2 by now right? Wrong. Not only is Kronwall a feared hitter, he is also one of the cleanest hitters of all time. Standing at just 6'0'' and 190lbs, Kronwall is not a large, overpowering man that many expect him to be. He has used his outstanding timing to leave opponents wondering what hit them. It often appears that Kronwall is backing out of the zone, but just as the opposing player looks down for the puck, Kronwall levels him with a clean, feet on the ice, shoulder check. If all players in the NHL hit like Kronwall did, suspensions would be far and few between. While his hits are huge, they often do not cause concussion problems for his victims. This is because he always has his elbow down, and targets the opponents chest rather then their head. More often then not, Kronwall is backing into opponents and hitting them with his rear. I just want to say thank you Niklas Kronwall, for keeping hockey exciting with your outstanding open ice hits, but keeping the game clean at the same time. To show you some examples, I have posted a video from TSN showing the Top 10 Nik Kronwall hits. So remember everyone, keep your stick on the ice and your head up, or you might just get Kronwalled.