Hedman saw 21 minutes of ice time and recorded one hit, four penalty minutes and five blocked shots in just his second game back from an upper-body injury. And well this is a feat in itself there is no surprise that the media didn’t want to talk about his great comeback to the game of hockey.
What did everyone want to talk about? The hit that Hedman had on Crosby into the end boards back on Jan. 5 which was the last game that Sidney Crosby played in before the extensive time off to recover from the concussion heard around the world.
Now why does this involve Hedman you may be asking? Well the great debate that has been circulating throughout the league since Crosby’s last game is whether or not Hedman’s hit or the Steckel hit did the damage to Crosby. Though most have to believe that the combination of both hits did Crosby in and well Hedman hasn’t been able to get out of that shadow.
“I finished my hit, and he was out for the season,” Hedman told Dave Molinari of the Post-Gazette. “That’s always tough. I told him, too, [that] I hope he recovers fast because hockey needs him. He’s a hell of a player, and it’s a lot of fun to play against him. That’s a big challenge, every night. It’s going to be a lot of fun when he’s back on the ice.”
Hedman went on to say this: “Everyone wants to see Sidney back on the ice, me included.” And well why wouldn’t he want to see Crosby back on the ice? That way the media would be able to focus on how well Hedman has been playing since his return to the ice.