Huge update on injured Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been without their captain and arguably their best player in Sidney Crosby for over a month and a half now, but in spite of that the team has managed to do pretty well for themselves, currently sitting in 2nd place in the National Hockey League's Metropolitan Division.

In spite of the team's success during his absence there has been some concern surrounding Crosby due to the fact that he has gone well over the projected recovery time that the Penguins had originally set at around six weeks. When you consider that Crosby underwhent the surgical procedure to repair the damage to his groin all the way back on the 14th of November, it is fair to say that this process has taken considerably longer than would have been expected. Thankfully on Monday the Penguins gave their fans some good news, although they did so in a relatively subtle manner. 

There was no official announcement from the Penguins and no statement from Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, but on Monday the Penguins published a picture on social media that left little doubt as to what the message was. The picture shows Crosby, all decked out in a suit and tie, but it is where he is during the shooting of this picture that is most relevant. In the photo Crosby can be seen boarding what appears to be the Penguins team plane and when you consider that the team is headed out for a Western road trip this has to be considered an excellent sign for the Penguins. 

The team is set to play 3 straight games on the road and they will be holding practices in between those contests and the obvious conclusion here is that the Penguins expect Crosby will be ready at some point over the course of those next 3 games. The earliest he could possibly return would be Tuesday over the Las Vegas Golden Knights, however that may still be too early for Crosby to return. The 2 other games on this road trip however come much later in the week with the Penguins face the Colorado AValanche on Friday and the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday and if I was a betting man I would wager he likely returns for one of those games.