Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby skated for the third time since suffering a high ankle sprain, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Before his fantasy owners get excited, Crosby is not ahead of schedule as this skating routine is just part of the rehab process. The young center is still not expected back for another month.

Crosby will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks with a high ankle sprain, reports TSN. The Penguins were hopeful that he would only miss about 3-4 weeks, but a diagnosis on Tuesday morning confirmed a worse scenario. Bench the young superstar and hope that he is a quick healer but it will now be next to impossible for him to capture the Art Ross Trophy for a second straight year.

I apologize for the absence of updates here. I too was shocked to find out I was the last to post. I have been quite busy but will do my best to update more often. Encourage HI to hire me to do this full time eh? Haha, anyway, as predicted, the Penguins have been going off since Malkin's last hat trick. The team hasn’t lost in regulation since the Toronto drubbing. It is a great time to own Pittsburgh players again... especially Mr. Malkin who, with his second career hat trick tonight, has put up 11 points in his last six games. Petr Sykora has also woken up with seven points in that span. Finally, Conklin continues to silence doubters with another brillant 43-save performance tonight. Looks like a bit of a goalie controversy could be in the future after all.

Pittsburgh just scored 3 goals in 48 seconds. Wow. That isn't even the record, but watch out! This may be the beginning of a Pittsburgh offensive resurgence. First, rookie Kennedy scored a patient, impressive goal to start it off. Then, Crosby made a beautiful pass to Malkin for the second. Finally, Sykora capped it off. An amazing accomplishment in under a minute. Following that, the Penguins willed their way to Malkin's first career hat trick. It looked like Pittsburgh could do whatever they wanted on that power play.

Conklin was sensational in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Sabres on Tuesday, reports the AP. He stopped 36 of 37 shots to record his fifth consecutive victory. With Marc-Andre Fleury still sidelined, Conklin has taken grasp of the starting duties away from Dany Sabourin and doesn't appear interested in looking back. While Conklin is a better goalie that he has shown over the last couple of years, he will still have his ups and downs so we only recommend him for desperate fantasy owners.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will be out 6-8 weeks with a high ankle sprain. Fleury suffered the injury in last week's win over the Flames after stumbling awkwardly. Fleury was having a below average year from a fantasy perspective, but had put together a string of solid games before the injury. Dany Sabourin will continue to get the majority of the starts.

Fleury left the game with an ankle injury after falling awkwardly. He only made two saves in the game. This has been a tough year for M-A, with slumps and injury. Still, this may be the perfect time to acquire the tender in keeper leagues. Even though he seems like an NHL vet, Fleury just turned 23 on November 28th.

Prospect watch: Here is another Penguin who is melting the ice. Though not as noticeable as Armstrong, 5 points in 11 games isn't a bad start. He started the year hot with the Baby Pens and has put up 4 points in his last 3 with the big club. Keep him on the radar!

Everyone's favorite fantasy sleeper of 2006 is back! Armstrong is looking like a spectacular FA add if you can still snag him. With his 5 points in 3 games, he isn't going to be available for long. When you look back at his numbers in 05-06, it is a shame he wasn't given a longer leash with Crosby last year. With Recchi on his way out, this may be the prefect time for Colby to take the cheese. Get it? Haha... ha... hmm.

Crosby returned to practice today after missing a session on Monday with a bruised right foot, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Crosby was injured when he blocked a shot against Anaheim on Saturday but is expected to play against the Canadiens on Wednesday. He's not too bad of a player so you might want him in your lineup.