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Crosby won’t rule out playing Game 5

Toronto Mapleleafs v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 17: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on against the Toronto Mapleleafs during the game at Consol Energy Center on October 17, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images)

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After returning to practice on Friday and participating in full contact drills, Sidney Crosby looked like a guy ready to resume playing.

Then, he talked like one.

Despite suffering a concussion in Game 3 of Pittsburgh’s series against Washington and sitting out Game 4, Crosby wouldn’t rule out returning for Saturday’s potential series clincher.

“I feel good. You know, right now just kind of following what I’m told to do,” Crosby said of his recovery and plans for Game 5, per TSN. “We’ll see. I don’t want to rule it out. It’s not really up to me.”

Pens head coach Mike Sullivan was, not surprisingly, very non-committal about Crosby’ availability. He said the team would wait to see how the captain responds to today’s practice, noting that Crosby’s day-to-day status “hasn’t changed at all.”

Further to his health, Crosby said there was no knee or other lower-body injury on the controversial play that concussed him. There was some concern when he twisted awkwardly while falling after Alex Ovechkin’s slash, then got knocked to the ice by Matt Niskanen’s crosscheck.

No. 87 then addressed the incidents that led to his concussion.

He called the Ovechkin slash “a pretty common play” but stopped sort of classifying Niskanen’s in a similar fashion.

“It’s hard to say,” Crosby said. “I’m not going to sit here and guess, but it’s not one that happens often.”

In other Penguins news, fellow forward Conor Sheary -- also currently sidelined with a concussion -- made his return to practice today, and also took full contact. Like Crosby, Sheary wasn’t ruling out a return for Game 5.

“Mentally, I just have to be prepared to play if I get that call,” he told the Tribune-Review.