Crosby: "Things are Moving in the Right Direction"

Sidney Crosby spoke with the media on Saturday before the Penguins leave for Toronto on Sunday to begin Phase 4 of the NHL's Return to Play.

The captain said that while he hopes to practice with the team on Monday and play in their lone exhibition game versus Philadelphia on Tuesday before the qualifying round against Montreal begins on Saturday, nothing is set in stone.

"I'm hoping that I can skate with the team Monday and take it from there, but ideally I'd be able to play in that game," Crosby said. "If not, just kind of go a day at a time from there."

No specific injury update has been provided per the current NHL Return to Play protocol - which says clubs are not permitted to disclose player injury and/or illness information - after Crosby left in the second and final period of the Penguins' first intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, July 18.

He began skating on his own this Wednesday, and Video: SIdney crosby Media Availability on 7/25 on Friday.

"I felt pretty good," Crosby said of that session. "I had skated on my own for a good amount of time, so it was just good to get out there with the guys and have a little bit more game-situation stuff going on."

Crosby did not participate in today's fourth and final intra-squad scrimmage, instead skating on his own on the Covestro Innovation Rink while his teammates played on the FedExRink. He thinks all the time he's spent doing that - not only these past few days, but since Phase 2 began - will benefit him.

"I think the fact that I've been able to skate for a good chunk of time will help kind of getting through that," Crosby said before adding with a wry grin, "But it's one of those things that I've skated on my own a long time, didn't really feel like I needed another week of it. But that being said, things are moving in the right direction, so hopefully get in that exhibition game."

While Crosby wasn't on the ice with his teammates a whole lot during Phase 3, he was around them off the ice. And what stands out to him about the group is the excitement and eagerness, as he couldn't help but smile when talking about the intensity of today's scrimmage.

"It's a different situation, there's a lot of new things that we're going to have to deal with," he said. "But I think that being said, guys just seem really passionate and have put in a lot of work when it probably wasn't the easiest thing to do with the layoff. That's probably the biggest thing. I think for any team, including us, it's just something where you're going to have to get better as things go along here. With every game, you have to get better, so that will be the big challenge."