Filed Under » Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins star Sidney Crosby may return to the ice from a broken jaw for Game 1 of Pittsburgh's first round series against the New York Islanders, but there is concern he will not be able to produce at 100-percent.

"We haven't yet found a bubble that allows him to hold his stick outside of the bubble to stickhandle the puck," said head coach Dan Bylsma. "That is usually a big aspect of Sid's game. Right now he can only push the puck along the ice with his bubble as he rolls it. He's still making plays that way in practice, but it's not quite the same thing."

The Penguins have also struggled to keeps Crosby's bubble inflated, as his razor-sharp skates have repeatedly sliced through it, leaving him in nothing but a hockey helmet, protective face shield, shoulder pads and chest protector, elbow pads, padded gloves, padded hockey pants, knee/shin guards and reinforced skates — essentially unprotected.

"I don't think we can risk that happening in a game," said Bylsma. "Sure, he might be able to last a shift or two, but eventually he's going to get hurt. And hurt bad. He'll take a slap shot off the neck or 400-pound speaker from the arena ceiling will break loose, fall and land on him. It's just his luck."

Former Boston Bruins star Cam Neely got in touch with Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero today to ask about the possibility of joining the loaded Penguins for a shot at his first Stanley Cup.

"I realize I'm 47 years old and haven't played in 17 years," said Neely, who was forced to retire in 1996 due to injuries, "but Chris Chelios was still a serviceable player at this age and I'm nothing if not rested. Plus, whatever I might be lacking in speed or skill, I'll make up for it in wanting it more than anyone else."

Neely's career was cut short by a chronic injury to a hip that was initially damaged on a check by Penguins defenseman Ulf Samuelsson. But Neely says he has no hard feelings.

"Ulf isn't on the team anymore. And I simply want to win a Cup," he said. "I always was jealous of how Ray Bourque got to go to the Avalanche to win a championship. This is my shot to do that."

Shero says he is not sure he has a place for Neely.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their 13th game in a row Tuesday night, tops in the NHL this season, putting them just four short of the NHL record for consecutive wins set by the 1993 Penguins. But the Penguins are just one game away from an even greater accomplishment.

"I got word tonight that if we win our 14th in a row on Thursday against Winnipeg, LeBron — or at least LeBron's marketing rep who posts some of his tweets — will tweet: 'Wow. 14 in a row Pengins. Congrats,'" said Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma. "I told the guys and they're obviously thrilled. I just hope they can keep their attention on the ice and don't think ahead to LeBron's tweet."

Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero has known for days that a LeBron tweet about the Penguins was in the works if the team could keep winning and has been actively making trades to improve his team in hopes of earning that recognition.

"It was the talk of hockey a few weeks ago when LeBron mentioned Chicago's points streak on Twitter, which in turn got the Blackhawks noticed by national media," said Shero. "We made it our goal that day as an organization to get noticed by him."

If Pittsburgh can increase its win streak to 14 games, team owner Mario Lemieux has said he will have the tweet placed on a banner, which will be raised to the Consol Energy Center rafters alongside the team's three Stanley Cup championship banners.