Morning Skate: Sidney Crosby playing after a concussion is almost not worth it

You love hockey. You love SB Nation. You love reading hockey at SB Nation. Search your feelings. You know these things are true. But life’s too busy to browse the whole network for news. So we’ll send hockey news to your inbox every morning. All you need to do is subscribe.

Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

Big news!

It’s true! The Capitals forced a Game 7 with a dominant victory in Pittsburgh last night.

But let’s talk about the other thing. The Sidney Crosby thing. A week ago today, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain suffered a concussion. It was pretty big news. Everyone wondered if he’d come back for the playoffs. After reliving his recent head injury history, we wondered if he even should.

But then he passed baseline concussion tests and played a few days later in Game 5. OK. That’s what those tests are for, right? He couldn’t play without them. At least the Penguins are doing their due diligence there, even if we’re still a little skeptical about how above-board all of this is. But sure.

And then Game 6 last night. Crosby flew head-first into the end boards. Violently. He kept playing. We raised an eyebrow. But surely they checked him, right? Well, no. Kind of. Maybe?

Two conflicting statements about player safety commitments after the whole world just watched said star player ram his recently concussed head into a wall at high speed.

Maybe it doesn’t matter now. Maybe Crosby feels fine. I am not Crosby, so you’ll have to ask him. But lately I keep wondering about the troubling health stories we’ll hear about “former NHL superstar Sidney Crosby” 40 years from now.

Crosby’s the kind of intelligent guy you want to hear from years and years after he retires. The thought of him struggling like so many other pro athletes in his retirement just ... sucks.

And if the Penguins lose Game 7 on Wednesday ... how much was it worth it, really?

New York heads home to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden on the brink of elimination.

By the way: we could be headed toward a 2007 Cup Final rematch. Senators-Predators. Get hype.

A Maple Leafs rookie defenseman dunked on Don Cherry. Bless him.