Sidney Crosby: Pittsburgh Penguins Announce Thursday Return vs. New York Rangers

The wait is over for the Penguins and Sidney Crosby as the team officially announced his return to the lineup against the New York Rangers in New York on Thursday evening.

This was according to the team's official website and Twitter account.

Crosby has been sidelined for 40 games since a collision with teammate Chris Kunitz against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 5 re-aggravated his concussion-like symptoms.

Crosby, 24, missed the final 41 games of the 2010-11 season and the initial 20 games of the 2011-12 season due to the concussion he suffered at last year's Winter Classic when he collided with the Capitals' David Steckel.

Then, he returned for eight games this season beginning Nov. 21, notching 12 points. The Penguins were 5-2-1 during that stretch before Crosby re-injured himself against Boston.

In Crosby's latest absence, the Penguins are 37-19-4 and are riding a nine-game winning streak.

The Penguins (89) sit just four points behind the New York Rangers (93) for the top spot in both the Atlantic Division and the entire Eastern Conference standings with two more games scheduled between the two teams—the first of which comes Thursday evening in Crosby's return.

Ryan O'Leary is a researcher and writer for Bleacher Report's Video Production Department with seven years experience in the sports industry. Ryan covered the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Hockey Tournament with CTV and has spent time covering the IIHF World Championships, NHL and Collegiate Hockey during his career.