PensFan: Members of the Canadian media seemed to jump the gun today--reporting that Crosby wouldn't play tomorrow. However, a few minutes later Dan Bylsma refused to rule Sid out of tomorrow's game. Is Sid really a possibility or was Bylsma just being vague? Seems odd that he would play coy when it'd just be easier to rule him out and be done with it.

Shelly Anderson: There's no reason to believe that Sidney Crosby or the Penguis are being coy about when Crosby might return from the concussion that has held him out of games since Jan. 5. The belief here is that Crosby will be honest about it when he knows he's going to play. In the meantime, he has stopped talking to reporters, apparently because he doesn't have anything new to say. Nothing wrong with that, from where I sit. Coach Dan Bylsma, then, has become the voice for daily updates. And those updates have been to say that there are no updates, save for last week when Bylsma said Crosby had been ruled out for two weekend games. Crosby continues to look great in practice. We don't know what his medical staff is using to decide when it's OK for him to play. We're not sure Crosby knows exactly, either. We aren't ready to report that Crosby is out for Tuesday's game against Colorado. If some Canadian outlets have locked down that information, good for them. But if we had to guess, we would say Crosby won't play. Maybe during the trip to Florida later this week. He has made two returns from injury -- a high ankle sprain and a groin problem -- in Tampa in his career. Stay tuned.

PensFan: How is Zbynek Michalek doing in his recovery? He's a few weeks away from a return, no? And Steve Sullivan...any rumblings that his injury is serious?

Shelly Anderson: Defenseman Zbynek Michalek got a broken finger Oct. 22. The timetable was four to six weeks. He has been skating separately from the team and seems to be able to hold his stick better than last week. It's possible we will see him at practice soon, particularly if it's going to be the shorter end of that timetable.

mike: there seemed to be an unusual amount of dmen out of place allowing the canes to go in 1-0 on johnson....tired legs? or is that a product of the canes scheming on our Dmen pinching down alot?

Shelly Anderson: Have to beg off this one. I wasn't in Carolina, and I don't recall the events immediatley prior to that goal -- assuming you could see enough of the ice on TV to make a fair judgment.

Ryan: Shelly - How long are the core of Crosby/Malkin/Staal locked up for? And do you see the Pens resigning all three eventually?

Shelly Anderson: Sidney Crosby has this and one more season, but he is eligible to re-sign starting July 1. Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal are one year behind him, with their contracts expiring after the 2013-14 season. The NHL collective bargaining agreement expires in September. It's impossible to know how that might affect negotiations for any of those three, but you can expect the Penguins to make every possible attempt to re-sign all three.

Mark: What do you see as the lines when Crosby comes back (assuming everyone is healthy)?

Shelly Anderson: Forgot to answer the Steve Sullivan question earlier. He did not practice today after leaving Saturday's game early. The belief here is that this is not something serious and he could well play Tuesday.

If he and everyone else is healthy, which is your premise, I would like to see the line of Sullivan, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal stay intact because they have so obviously developed great chemistry. I would then like to see Sidney Crosby centering long-time left winger Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis or Tyler Kennedy.

JamesinNYC: Just a note, people in NY are still saying Sid won't ever play again. Who is your Pre-Sid MVP?

Shelly Anderson: People have been saying a lot of things about Sidney Crosby since the day he got hurt. Barring some sort of major setback, he will play again, and it shouldn't be too long. Not sure what the second part of your question is asking.

Ryan: Do you see Crosby playing with Neal when he returns? Seems like Geno/Neal/Sullivan have some good chemistry going right now.

Shelly Anderson: Answered this pretty much a couple of questions ago. Yes, James Neal was brought in from Dallas with an eye toward him being a winger for Sidney Crosby, and maybe at some point we will see that and they will be like toast and jam, but for now why mess with that is working?

Ryan: Anything you can about what is causing Martin's disappointing play this year?

Shelly Anderson: In fact, defenseman Paul Martin is the subject of my story for the Tuesday Post-Gazette. Martin is disappointed with his bloated plus-minus, but he doesn't feel as if his game has fallen apart. If you look at the numbers, there is a downturn right at the point where his normal partner, Zbynek Michalek, got hurt. That's probably not coincidence. Martin has had to try to maintain his defensive integrity while playing with Kris Letang, a highly skilled and very different player from Michalek. Today, Martin was paired with Deryk Engelland in practice. Not sure if that will stick, but it might help.

mike: pens seem to be doing a great job shooting the puck in most instances, but each time i've seen a 5 on 3 this year they seem to try to tic tac toe to a goal, why not put it on net?

Shelly Anderson: I can hear the echoes from old Civic Arena -- "Shoot the puck!" That's been a cricitism of just about every team's power play at times. It seems to be aimed specifically at the Penguins when they have a two-man advantage this season. With that kind of lopsided advantage, it's probably easy to fall into the notion of trying to work the puck around for a perfect, uncontested shot.

mike: tangradi seemed to play with more confidence than i've seen from him, seeing him parked in front of the net a lot was a welcome site....any chance he skates with malkin and neal if sullivan can't go?

Shelly Anderson: Interesting idea. Sidney Crosby filled in for Sullivan at practice today, but that's not a line for a game. If Sullivan and Crosby and Tyler Kennedy can't play, the Penguins will have to call up a forward. It will be interesting to see who that might be and whether it affects Tangradi. I agree that he is showing more glimpses of the power forward he might well become in the NHL, but he's limited now by playing on the fourth line.

Ryan: Do you see them sitting Martin down when all of our blue liners are healthy? His play has been very disappointing this year.

Shelly Anderson: We have a ways to go before that. Ben Lovejoy will be out many more weeks. They could send Alexandre Picard back to Wilkes-Barre at some point, too. And when Zbynek Michalek comes back, you probably want to see if reuniting him and Martin would help Martin.

JamesinNYC: Who is your MVP at this point of the season---before Sid gets back?

Shelly Anderson: Oh, OK. Tough question, because I hadn't thought about it. How about James Neal? Too homerish? How about Phil Kessel?

mike: did sid get hit today?

Shelly Anderson: There was no real contact in practice, which has been the case many more times that not. At one point, he dove and slid, maybe some sort of shot-blocking effort or just a gag. He popped up smiling, as usual.

Mike: I read an article where it seemed like Jordan Staal was bit annoyed about all the questions concerning Crosby and who can blame him or anyone else for that matter. With the team playing so well without Sid why can't he be a bit more forthcoming about when he even anticipates coming back? Is his relationships with players inside the room starting to get a bit strained due to this whole ordeal?

Shelly Anderson: I haven't picked up on anything like that. Some players get on the reporters who hover around Crosby's stall so they can be front and center should he do an interview session. If Crosby's absence or any attention that has caused has led to friction, it isn't showing in the room or, obviously, in games.

Mark: Shelly - Give us your best bet on when Sid comes back. I know you have no knowledge of when and it is completely a guess but enquiring minds want to know.

Shelly Anderson: That's a very popular question. Honestly, I have no idea. How could I? I don't think Sidney himself knows. My only feeling is that itwill be sooner rather than later. In other words, this probably won't drag on until Christmas.

Mark: Any chance we see Morrow at all this year or did him being sent down basically signal a wait until next year? And how about Depres?

Shelly Anderson: The next in line among defensemen seems to be Robert Bortuzzo, who got a one game shot in Los Angeles. The Penguins, though, have shown a desire to give different prospects a look-see when the need arises, so we could see others. I would think Simon Despres might get a shot this season. Brian Strait could see more NHL time when recovers from an elbow injury. I believe Morrow would have to be called up on an emergency basis because he's back in juniors.

Chris: Who would you rank as the top 3 Cup Contenders from each conference?

Shelly Anderson: East -- Penguins, Tampa and Philadelphia, contingent on the Flyers getting decent goaltending

West -- San Jose, Vancouver and Dallas

Shelly Anderson: Thanks, everyone. We went a little long because there were good questions. Come back next week.Members of the Canadian media seemed to jump the gun today--reporting that Crosby wouldn't play tomorrow. However, a few minutes later Dan Bylsma refused to rule Sid out of tomorrow's game. Is Sid really a possibility or was Bylsma just being vague? Seems odd that he would play coy when it'd just be easier to rule him out and be done with it. 

Shelly Anderson: There's no reason to believe that Sidney Crosby or the Penguins are being coy about when Crosby might return from the concussion that has held him out of games since Jan. 5. The belief here is that Crosby will be honest about it when he knows he's going to play. In the meantime, he has stopped talking to reporters, apparently because he doesn't have anything new to say. Nothing wrong with that, from where I sit. Coach Dan Bylsma, then, has become the voice for daily updates. And those updates have been to say that there are no updates, save for last week when Bylsma said Crosby had been ruled out for two weekend games. Crosby continues to look great in practice. We don't know what his medical staff is using to decide when it's OK for him to play. We're not sure Crosby knows exactly, either. We aren't ready to report that Crosby is out for Tuesday's game against Colorado. If some Canadian outlets have locked down that information, good for them. But if we had to guess, we would say Crosby won't play. Maybe during the trip to Florida later this week. He has made two returns from injury -- a high ankle sprain and a groin problem -- in Tampa in his career. Stay tuned.

PensFan: How is Zbynek Michalek doing in his recovery? He's a few weeks away from a return, no? And Steve Sullivan...any rumblings that his injury is serious?

Shelly Anderson: Defenseman Zbynek Michalek got a broken finger Oct. 22. The timetable was four to six weeks. He has been skating separately from the team and seems to be able to hold his stick better than last week. It's possible we will see him at practice soon, particularly if it's going to be the shorter end of that timetable.

mike: there seemed to be an unusual amount of dmen out of place allowing the canes to go in 1-0 on johnson....tired legs? or is that a product of the canes scheming on our Dmen pinching down alot?

Shelly Anderson: Have to beg off this one. I wasn't in Carolina, and I don't recall the events immediatley prior to that goal -- assuming you could see enough of the ice on TV to make a fair judgment.

Ryan: Shelly - How long are the core of Crosby/Malkin/Staal locked up for? And do you see the Pens resigning all three eventually?

Shelly Anderson: Sidney Crosby has this and one more season, but he is eligible to re-sign starting July 1. Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal are one year behind him, with their contracts expiring after the 2013-14 season. The NHL collective bargaining agreement expires in September. It's impossible to know how that might affect negotiations for any of those three, but you can expect the Penguins to make every possible attempt to re-sign all three.

Mark: What do you see as the lines when Crosby comes back (assuming everyone is healthy)?

Shelly Anderson: Forgot to answer the Steve Sullivan question earlier. He did not practice today after leaving Saturday's game early. The belief here is that this is not something serious and he could well play Tuesday.
If he and everyone else is healthy, which is your premise, I would like to see the line of Sullivan, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal stay intact because they have so obviously developed great chemistry. I would then like to see Sidney Crosby centering long-time left winger Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis or Tyler Kennedy.

JamesinNYC: Just a note, people in NY are still saying Sid won't ever play again. Who is your Pre-Sid MVP?

Shelly Anderson: People have been saying a lot of things about Sidney Crosby since the day he got hurt. Barring some sort of major setback, he will play again, and it shouldn't be too long. Not sure what the second part of your question is asking.

Ryan: Do you see Crosby playing with Neal when he returns? Seems like Geno/Neal/Sullivan have some good chemistry going right now.

Shelly Anderson: Answered this pretty much a couple of questions ago. Yes, James Neal was brought in from Dallas with an eye toward him being a winger for Sidney Crosby, and maybe at some point we will see that and they will be like toast and jam, but for now why mess with that is working?

Ryan: Anything you can about what is causing Martin's disappointing play this year?

Shelly Anderson: In fact, defenseman Paul Martin is the subject of my story for the Tuesday Post-Gazette. Martin is disappointed with his bloated plus-minus, but he doesn't feel as if his game has fallen apart. If you look at the numbers, there is a downturn right at the point where his normal partner, Zbynek Michalek, got hurt. That's probably not coincidence. Martin has had to try to maintain his defensive integrity while playing with Kris Letang, a highly skilled and very different player from Michalek. Today, Martin was paired with Deryk Engelland in practice. Not sure if that will stick, but it might help.

mike: pens seem to be doing a great job shooting the puck in most instances, but each time i've seen a 5 on 3 this year they seem to try to tic tac toe to a goal, why not put it on net?

Shelly Anderson: I can hear the echoes from old Civic Arena -- "Shoot the puck!" That's been a cricitism of just about every team's power play at times. It seems to be aimed specifically at the Penguins when they have a two-man advantage this season. With that kind of lopsided advantage, it's probably easy to fall into the notion of trying to work the puck around for a perfect, uncontested shot.

mike: tangradi seemed to play with more confidence than i've seen from him, seeing him parked in front of the net a lot was a welcome site....any chance he skates with malkin and neal if sullivan can't go?

Shelly Anderson: Interesting idea. Sidney Crosby filled in for Sullivan at practice today, but that's not a line for a game. If Sullivan and Crosby and Tyler Kennedy can't play, the Penguins will have to call up a forward. It will be interesting to see who that might be and whether it affects Tangradi. I agree that he is showing more glimpses of the power forward he might well become in the NHL, but he's limited now by playing on the fourth line.

Ryan: Do you see them sitting Martin down when all of our blue liners are healthy? His play has been very disappointing this year.

Shelly Anderson: We have a ways to go before that. Ben Lovejoy will be out many more weeks. They could send Alexandre Picard back to Wilkes-Barre at some point, too. And when Zbynek Michalek comes back, you probably want to see if reuniting him and Martin would help Martin.

JamesinNYC: Who is your MVP at this point of the season---before Sid gets back?

Shelly Anderson: Oh, OK. Tough question, because I hadn't thought about it. How about James Neal? Too homerish? How about Phil Kessel?

mike: did sid get hit today?

Shelly Anderson: There was no real contact in practice, which has been the case many more times that not. At one point, he dove and slid, maybe some sort of shot-blocking effort or just a gag. He popped up smiling, as usual.

Mike: I read an article where it seemed like Jordan Staal was bit annoyed about all the questions concerning Crosby and who can blame him or anyone else for that matter. With the team playing so well without Sid why can't he be a bit more forthcoming about when he even anticipates coming back? Is his relationships with players inside the room starting to get a bit strained due to this whole ordeal?

Shelly Anderson: I haven't picked up on anything like that. Some players get on the reporters who hover around Crosby's stall so they can be front and center should he do an interview session. If Crosby's absence or any attention that has caused has led to friction, it isn't showing in the room or, obviously, in games.

Mark: Shelly - Give us your best bet on when Sid comes back. I know you have no knowledge of when and it is completely a guess but enquiring minds want to know.

Shelly Anderson: That's a very popular question. Honestly, I have no idea. How could I? I don't think Sidney himself knows. My only feeling is that itwill be sooner rather than later. In other words, this probably won't drag on until Christmas.

Mark: Any chance we see Morrow at all this year or did him being sent down basically signal a wait until next year? And how about Depres?

Shelly Anderson: The next in line among defensemen seems to be Robert Bortuzzo, who got a one game shot in Los Angeles. The Penguins, though, have shown a desire to give different prospects a look-see when the need arises, so we could see others. I would think Simon Despres might get a shot this season. Brian Strait could see more NHL time when recovers from an elbow injury. I believe Morrow would have to be called up on an emergency basis because he's back in juniors.

Chris: Who would you rank as the top 3 Cup Contenders from each conference?

Shelly Anderson: East -- Penguins, Tampa and Philadelphia, contingent on the Flyers getting decent goaltending
West -- San Jose, Vancouver and Dallas

Shelly Anderson: Thanks, everyone. We went a little long because there were good questions. Come back next week.

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