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Sidney Crosby gets the OK for full contact in practice

Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, right, and Jordan Staal look on during hockey practice in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 13, 2011. Crosby has not been cleared to play in tonight’s first-round NHL playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Pittsburgh Penguins fans were elated and then deflated by the tease on Tuesday. Now it looks like it’s coming to fruition, though: Sidney Crosby has been cleared for full contact in practices as of today, according to Alan Robinson of NHL.com.

Jeremy Roenick and others might be tired of the Crosby updates, but this is a promising sign that Crosby could be back in the near future. Here’s what Crosby told reporters after participating in that first full contact practice today.

“Yeah, it’s full contact, so it’s a good step in the right direction,” Crosby said. “It’s a big step ... it’s a big one and we’ll see how things go.”

Robinson points out that the Penguins have a crowded October schedule of 13 games, so it might be difficult to test Crosby enough to prove that he’s ready to return. That’s a better problem to have than Crosby being unable to take any hits in scrimmages, though.

Speaking of injured Penguins stars, Evgeni Malkin was involved in the morning skate today, which brings optimism that he might play against the Washington Capitals tonight. That’s far from a guarantee, though, so we’ll keep our eyes open for updates.