• Pens’ Crosby to play Thursday: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will return to the ice Thursday night, when Pittsburgh faces the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Crosby, battling concussion problems, hasn’t played since Dec. 5, and has only played in eight games this season. He also missed the final 41 games of last season, as well as a first-round, seven-game playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with the same issues.

• NHL may get new icing rule: NHL general managers moved a step closer to changing the league’s icing rule in an effort to make the game safer. After the second day of their three-day meetings, the GMs on Tuesday said they were united in a rule being called hybrid icing. NHL rules currently allow players to chase the puck to the end boards, which can create full-speed races in an effort to get to the puck first. Under hybrid icing, the race for the puck would end at the faceoff dots, allowing players to battle for possession more safely at 30 feet away from the boards instead of 3 feet away.