Maybe all Sidney Crosby needed to break out of his 2015 slump was some time off.

The Hockey News

Maybe all Sidney Crosby needed to break out of his 2015 slump was some time off. Crosby missed the Penguins game on Monday against the Blue Jackets due to a lower body injury.

He returned on Saturday night after the three-day holiday break and it appears the seven days in between games did him some good. Crosby looked like his old self against the Wild, scoring a goal early in the second period and adding an assist later in the period.

Crosby looked like he had an extra step on the shift, winning races to the puck and buzzing around the offensive zone. The goal was Crosby’s first since Dec. 5, and just his seventh of the season. But the two points give him five in his last three games. Is this the beginning of a Crosby comeback?

As colleague Mike Brophy noted earlier on Saturday, Crosby has looked exhausted for much of the season. He had been held pointless in 17 of his 32 games as the Penguins flounder in the standings.

Maybe the week off and a breath of fresh air under new head coach Mike Sullivan is just what Crosby needed to be rejuvenated? Here’s hoping he can get going again and silence the critics that have rushed to right him off this season.