Sidney Crosby Says He Feels ‘Fine’ After Concussion, Head-First Crash Into Boards In Game 6

Sidney Crosby has clarified confusion about his health by confirming he received a medical evaluation and was cleared to play after he collided head-first into the boards during the first period of Pittsburgh’s Game 6 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.

Sidney Crosby Feels ‘Fine’ After Game 6 Head-First Crash Into Boards

The Penguins star completely participated in the team’s Tuesday practice, and said he simply had the wind knocked out of him by the crash.

Crosby slowly skated off the ice after being tripped by Capitals goalie Braden Holtby with just over two minutes remaining in the opening period, which caused the Penguins scorer to go flying and crash violently into the end-boards behind the net-minder. Pittsburgh right wing Patric Hornqvist and Washington defenseman John Carlson also slammed into the boards and fell on top of Crosby.

Crosby said he was “checked out” by a trainer and was assessed ok to play for the next playoff game.

“Any guy who goes into the boards like that, the first thing is the trainer and then the doctor,” Crosby said.

The Penguins’ top scorer said he went into the boards awkwardly. “But I felt fine,” he added, saying he didn’t know whether he was “tripped up by a stick” or something else.

Part of the confusion over whether Crosby needed to enter concussion protocol was caused by Mike Sullivan. When asked during a post-game press conference if the forward had been evaluated, the Pittsburgh coach said “no.” Sullivan said he believed the question was about whether or not Crosby had officially entered concussion protocol.

“The medical staff and (concussion) spotters are responsible for identifying players to go through protocol,” Sullivan said. “If they go through protocol, I usually get notified by our medical staff. I did not. That’s the process. It’s completely out of our control as coaches.”

Concussion spotters were not authorized to pull Crosby following his crash into the boards on Monday because his collision was not deemed a “mechanism of injury” that merits removal from the game under NHL guidelines.

Under the NHL’s current concussion rules, the league’s primary concussion spotter would only have been able to remove Crosby from the game if his head had struck another player or the ice. The boards are not considered a means of injury.

“Depending on the mechanism of injury, ‘slow to get up’ does not trigger mandatory removal,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA TODAY Sports. “The protocol has to be interpreted literally to mandate a removal. ‘Ice’ as compared to ‘boards’ is in there for a reason. It’s the result of a study on our actual experiences over a number of years. ‘Ice’ has been found to be a predictor of concussions — ‘boards’ has not been.”

Daly added that concussion spotters don’t take a player’s concussion history into account.

Chris Nowinski, the co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, stated that the NHL has a “poorly written rule” with regards to this type of injury that “must be amended” as soon as possible.

“Any head contact is a possible mechanism of injury,” Nowinski said. “I can’t believe we have to say that in 2017.”

Crosby was diagnosed with a concussion after being struck in the head by a cross-check from Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen in Game 3 on May 1, and missed the rest of the matchup and all of Game 4 as a result. The Eastern Conference Semifinal series is tied 3-3, with Game 7 set for Wednesday at 7:30 pm EST in Washington.

PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 01: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins leaves the ice with trainer Chris Stewart after taking a hit in the first period while playing the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena on May 1, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)