Crosby discusses concussion; Wild recall Khudobin - 01-08-11

After countless HBO subscribers got their degrees in neurology by watching one episode of "24/7," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby cleared the air, somewhat, over when he suffered his concussion.

Crosby received a well publicized hit to the head during the second period of last Saturday's Winter Classic when he collided with Capitals forward David Steckel:

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On Wednesday's episode of "24/7," Crosby appeared somewhat groggy after the hit in the locker room but returned to the game in the third period.

During Wednesday's game against the Lightning, Crosby was boarded by Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. His head struck the glass:

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After flying to Montreal that night for the team's game against the Canadiens Thursday. He felt ill that morning and returned to Pittsburgh to be examined by team doctors. He was then diagnosed with a mild concussion.

Today, Crosby admitted to feeling ill before the hit by Hedman saying, ""Wednesday during the game I just didn't feel right. Throughout the game, I didn't feel right. Does that mean I had all these huge symptoms? No. There are times when you play and you know there's a difference."

After "24/7," the Penguins were criticized for allowing Crosby to play after it was presumed he suffered the concusson against the Capitals. Bylsma responded to that criticism today by saying, "After the Winter Classic game, he had neck symptoms. He did not have concussion symptoms."

Added Crosby, "Looking back, I wouldn't have changed anything we did. It's maybe easy to [be critical] now, but I didn't have any head [issues]. It didn't feel like a concussion. It seemed to be all neck-related."

In other news:

Matt Cooke will return to the lineup after missing the game in Montreal to attend to a family illness. As a result, he was elevated to second line at this morning's skate. The team's lines looked like this:

Chris Kunitz - Mark Letestu - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Evgeni Malkin
Chris Conner - Maxime Talbot - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Arron Asham

With goaltender Niklas Backstrom dealing with a groin injury, the Wild recalled goaltender Anton Khudobin from Houston of the AHL. He will back up starter Jose Theodore.

Wild forward Antti Miettinen will not play due to an illness.