One of the NHL’s top stars will miss time because of an injury suffered in Milan — one of the owners’ big fears before the league agreed to let its players play in the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss at least a month with a lower-body injury he suffered during Canada’s quarterfinal win over Czechia, Pittsburgh announced Wednesday morning as they put him on injured reserve.
Crosby, 38, had his right leg fold underneath him on a hit by Radko Gudas, and shortly thereafter, he was sandwiched into the boards by Gudas and Martin Necas.
Canada’s captain missed the rest of the tournament, including Sunday’s overtime loss to Team USA in the gold-medal game, which likely was his last chance at Olympic gold after being part of Canada’s winning teams in 2010 and ’14.
“It was a tough decision,” Crosby said Sunday after missing the final. “Obviously, in your head, you always want to be out there and find every way possible but not at the expense of what needs to be done. And then watching how we played today, the guys played incredible.”
The news marks a brutal twist for the Penguins, who are in second place in the Metropolitan Division and five points ahead of the Blue Jackets and Capitals, the first two teams out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
The Penguins are trying to end a three-year playoff drought after qualifying in each of the previous 16 seasons.
Crosby has appeared in all 56 of Pittsburgh’s games this season, scoring 27 goals and recording 32 assists.
If Crosby can return to action in four weeks, he’d be back for approximately the Penguins’ final 10 games.
Pittsburgh entered the Olympic break with a 14-3-3 mark in its last 20 games to turn its season around.
Now they’ll have to try to stay afloat for at least a month without their longtime leader.