Crosby hopes to return Wednesday for Penguins

Jan 27, 2009 - 9:55 PM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby practiced for the second straight day Tuesday and hopes to return to the lineup for Wednesday's game against the New York Rangers.

Crosby missed this past weekend's All-Star Game with an injured left knee and admitted that he would have remained sidelined if the Penguins had a game Monday.

But after participating in practice on both Monday and Tuesday, the 21-year-old Crosby sounded optimistic regarding his status for Wednesday's contest against the Rangers.

"I hope (to be able to play) - that's the way it looks," Crosby said. "Everything is pretty much the same. Hopefully, it stays that way and I'll be good to go. Hopefully everything stays good and keeps improving. That's all I can really hope for. I just don't want to go backwards."

The 2006-07 Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner, Crosby received the most votes ever in fan balloting (1,713,021), smashing Jaromir Jagr's previous record.

But despite attending the festivities in Montreal, the Penguins' captain did not play in the Eastern Conference's 12-11 shootout victory.

The first overall pick of the 2005 draft, Crosby is second in the NHL in scoring with 60 points, trailing only teammate Evgeni Malkin (70).