Sidney Crosby Returns to Lineup After Being Diagnosed with Mumps

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby will return to the team's lineup on Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche after overcoming a case of the mumps.

Veteran Penguins beat writer Shelly Anderson had the report:

Crosby is one of a growing number of players around the NHL who've been diagnosed with the contagious disease. The Penguins originally kept him sidelined as a precaution while awaiting further test results before it was confirmed he was infected.

Kevin Allen of USA Today passed along comments from Pittsburgh team doctor Dharmesh Vyas, who said it was an abnormal situation. He pointed out the league's biggest star was current with his immunizations and also received a booster shot while getting ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Furthermore, he didn't display the typical appearance of a mumps patient.

"He didn't have the classic presentation of mumps," Vyas said. "The majority of mumps is bilateral. It's on both sides of the face, and again, at that time when we saw him and tested him, it was just one-sided."

By Monday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provided word from Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford that Crosby had moved past the infectious period. Another case involving Beau Bennett was discovered, however, and later confirmed:

Now Crosby is ready for competitive action.

The offensive dynamo has scored 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 27 games this season. That elite production is one of the major reasons, along with the similar success of Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are once again one of the best teams in the league.

In the bigger picture, the NHL needs to examine the situation to see if it can determine how it started and was then allowed to spread so quickly, thus causing the outbreak. The fact that several big names have been involved, highlighted by the Penguins captain, is a worrisome ordeal.

For now, Pittsburgh is just happy Crosby is healthy and ready to play hockey again.