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Crosby (broken jaw) out of hospital, still unable to speak

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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was released from UPMC Presbyterian hospital on Monday afternoon following surgery to repair a broken jaw, but not before reaching out to his teammates.

Crosby reportedly wrote the Pens via email prior to leaving UPMC and sounded in good spirits, though clearly still dealing with the severity of his injury.

Here’s more, from Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Crosby wrote that he’s resigned to a diet of “soup and shakes for a while” and that verbal communication is pretty much out of the question “for another couple days” because he is “pretty swollen right now.”

Crosby was struck in the face by a puck in the second minute of the Penguins’ 2-0 victory Saturday against the New York Islanders, and subsequently was hospitalized so that he could undergo extensive dental work and have his fractured jaw surgically repaired.

Crosby, who could be discharged as early as today, has been receiving visitors since Sunday.

“People have been awesome at the hospital and guys have been in to visit,” Crosby wrote.

Couple things to note:

-- Crosby’s jaw wasn’t wired shut. His inability to speak (and the liquid diet) is due to the aforementioned swelling.

-- The Post-Gazette has a follow-up story claiming Crosby’s injury is similar to what Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered in 2006. Check out the link here.

-- Pens GM Ray Shero said he hopes to have a clearer time frame for Crosby’s return later this week.

-- The Penguins were going to wear their blue uniforms on Tuesday night against Buffalo, but have scrapped the idea. Whether it’s related or not, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that Crosby has twice been injured wearing the blue unis, and Evgeni Malkin was injured wearing them earlier this season.

-- The decision to scrap the blues, the Tribune reports, was not made by Pens players.

Finally, it should be noted that NBC will be showcasing Pittsburgh’s chase to break the NHL record for consecutive wins -- the current incarnation of the Pens have won 15 games, the 1992-93 edition won 17 straight.

Tonight’s game against Buffalo will be on NBC Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. ET, with Dave Strader and Brian Engblom on the call.