4:11 PM:

Getty Images

After going missing for 10 days, the gloves and stick Sidney Crosby used to score the dramatic overtime game-winning goal for Team Canada in a 3-2 Gold Medal Game victory over Team USA have been located.

"I'm grateful to everyone who took the time and effort to get my equipment back for me," Crosby said. "These items are irreplaceable and I'm happy to have them back."

Yahoo! Sports reported the story on their site a little bit before 4 p.m. Click here to read more details.
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3:10 PM:
The Natonal Hockey League has determined that Penguins forward Matt Cooke will not be suspended for his hit on the Boston Bruins Marc Savard on Sunday. Cooke will be in the lineup for the Penguins on Thursday night when the team takes on the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center. Click here to read more.
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2:33 PM:
Here are some of the sounds from around the Penguins locker room:

Head Coach Dan Bylsma

On getting an answer on whether or not Cooke will be suspended for a period of time:
We’ll have a 12:30 phone call.
On if he has kept in touch with Ray Shero while he has been in Florida:
I think I talk to Ray more than his wife does. I’ve talked to him a couple of times since he’s been in Florida.
On if Shero has told him anything that the general managers are talking about in Florida:
I’ve watched the news coverage and we’ve talked a little bit about the groups that he’s been in. He’s also not in all the groups. They don’t discuss all of the same topics. There are some different things that he is not a part of or aware of.
On if the 12:30 phone call will give Cooke a chance to defend himself for his hit against Savard:
That’s my understanding.
On ruling on shots to the head during games:
I think there needs to be some clarification. I also know that the head shots that have been in the game for the last three games, you guys aren’t talking about them. You’re talking about one of them. It’s not as clear as we’d like to make it sound. There are many times in the game where in the course of going to the net in the corners, playing the puck and checking a guy that there is contact with the head. It’s not as clear in analyzing one situation, and that’s the difficult thing about it. That’s why there are gray areas. It’s not on every play. Every time there is some contact with the head and some serious contact with the head, it’s not talked about. There are not penalties. It’s a very tough situation, and clarification is important as we go forward trying to protect the players and trying to be conscious of heads and head shots. It’s also a fast game at a fast pace, and it’s a difficult one for the rulebook to decide.
On if there is any danger in making rules pertaining to the physicality of the game:
I think the game is happening really fast at a really fast speed. Quick decisions are made and commitments both to shoot pucks and to go into corners and play pucks are happening at a fast speed. That’s a difficult one. I know the aspect of getting hit. Being aware of getting hit is certainly an important thing about being on the ice. Being aware of situations that you have guys in is also an important part of safety on the ice with blind sides and icing plays. There are different areas where we certainly need to be a little bit clearer of situations. That would help make it easier for the players to identify with what the rulebook says and what it doesn’t say.
On if a different situation would have arisen had Cooke hit another player instead of Savard:
I think no one likes to see the severity of that injury. Nobody likes to see a player down on the ground like that. I hope that I go the rest of my games on the bench not seeing something like that again. It’s a difficult situation for players to be in. I know Savard is going to try and score a goal, and Matt Cooke is going to try and go out and stop a guy from scoring a goal when there is five minutes left to go in the game, and you’re up 2-1. That’s the nature of our game and at the speed we play, it’s the physicality of our game. Those are great things about our game, and it’s tough. I think we’ve tried to do it in the past and it’s still gray. It’s just something that we’ve talked about for a while now. We’re still working on it and still trying to come up with verbiage that is clarified for players with the puck and players without the puck.

Sidney Crosby

On how the team will keep up their good play going into the road trip:
We know we’re doing well, so we need to keep doing it. The last few days have been good for us. We got to practice a bit and got some days off. We have to keep building obviously. Everyone else is just getting better at this time of the year. The games are getting tougher and our level of play has to be higher, and the last few games, it has been. We have to stay focused on that.
On facing teams that are trying to make the playoffs:
At this point, we expect all of them to be tough. We play desperate teams, and we should want to play those kinds of games. We need the points, too. There’s no question that both teams are going to be desperate every night that we play from here on out. We have to raise our level with that.
On playing Carolina after their players have become healthy again:
It’s a big difference when you have your full lineup. It’s not easy. We’ve all been through that, and you try to hang on, and sometimes you’re not able to. They’ve gotten themselves back in the picture here, and they’re playing some good hockey. They’re playing a fast game. When they’re at their best, they’re always quick. They play an up-tempo game, and we’ve seen a lot of that last year. We haven’t seen them a lot this year, so that’s to be expected.
On if the situation with Cooke wears the team down at all:
Not really. We care about him obviously. He’s our teammate. We know that’s something that is kind of out of our control at this point. I don’t think that it’s anything that will affect us as a group. We’ve been there for him as we always will be. I don’t think that’s something that will affect our focus.

Evgeni Malkin

On how he thinks his line has performed:
It has been a good line with a lot of Russian talk, which I like. Poni (Alexei Ponikarovsky) is a big guy who likes to skate. I like what I see of him.
On what Ponikarovsky does for him:
We do a lot of talking and we understand what each other does. We have played just two games together but I think we played better (against Boston). I like how he is strong and likes to play.
On Ponikarovsky driving the net:
When we play in the offensive zone he likes to stay in front of the net and not allow the goalie to see the puck. He’s helping create a lot of traffic and a lot of scoring chances.
On how he is playing:
I am playing OK. I am trying to help the team and trying to score. Everyone is playing really well now after the break. We are trying to play better every game. My game hasn’t been bad either.

Matt Cooke

On getting in touch with Savard:
I made efforts to contact him. I did as much as I could.
On having prior meetings with (NHL disciplinarian) Colin Campbell:
Anytime you get suspended you have one.
On what you talk about in that meeting:
He asks you to describe the play the way you saw it.
On having black and white rules concerning hits to the head:
I think there needs to be black and white rules because my hit was technically within the rulebook. No one likes to see anybody get hurt, whether it is your team or somebody else’s. It’s an unfortunate part of our game with the speed it is played at now. I think (general managers) are having a meeting right now. The important thing is finding out what the right wording or rule is. Hopefully something comes out of it.
On getting punished possibly despite following the rules:
I think there is a lot of gray area with these types of hits. Hopefully we can come to a solution.
On watching the hit:
I didn’t see anything different than the way it happened in the game. I tried to finish my check.
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11:35 AM:


Brooks Orpik (left) stretchs while Jordan Staal (right) glides along


Sergei Gonchar (left); Sidney Crosby (right)


Marc-Andre Fleuy (left) chats with an assistant coach, before making a save on Jay McKee (right)
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11:00 AM: The Penguins are holding a Wednesday afternoon practice at Southpointe before embarking on a five-game road trip (although the team will return to a Pittsburgh at one point during the stretch). Pittsburgh has destination stops in Carolina, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, (a quick stop back in Pittsburgh then...), New Jersey again and Boston.