Sidney Crosby was unable to finish a Pittsburgh Penguins scrimmage on Saturday. The Penguins captain left the game after scoring a goal for Team Black in the first period of the game.
The injury is unknown.
Here’s a summary of what happened in real-time from NHL.com’s Wes Crosby.
Team Black 2 – Team Gold 0. Sheary sets up Crosby from behind the net. Malkin and Crosby are on the board.
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 18, 2020
Sam Lafferty was told to switch jerseys and join Team Black. He's been really impressive on Team Gold today.
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 18, 2020
Lafferty is in with Guentzel and Sheary. No Crosby. Not sure what might have happened.
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 18, 2020
The SB Nation Penguins blog, Pensburgh, has more details of the incident.
Captain Sidney Crosby left the bench early in the “second period” of an inter-team scrimmage on Saturday morning. Crosby looked strong in the first portion of the practice along with linemates Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel. Then the team left the ice for about 15 minutes for the ice to be resurfaced.
When they returned, Crosby didn’t stay long. With no real apparent or obvious incident, Crosby removed himself from the bench and went back into the locker-room. He was done for the day and wouldn’t return for the last 25ish minutes of practice.
After practice, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan would not comment on the issue due to the NHL/NHLPA agreement that injuries must be concealed.
Coach Sullivan on Sidney Crosby leaving the scrimmage early: "As the league has put forth these rules, we're not permitted to comment."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 18, 2020
Later, in a Zoom interview with reporters, Crosby’s linemate Conor Sheary suggested that it was a “maintenance thing.”
Sheary says he thinks Crosby leaving was just a "maintenance thing." #Pens
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 18, 2020
Since returning for Phase 3 Training Camp, Crosby has been the first player out on the ice for practice at times.
Sidney Crosby is on the ice alone about 25 minutes before Day 2 of camp starts. #Pens pic.twitter.com/aW2GLF9UEN
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 14, 2020
#Penguins Sidney Crosby first player on the ice pic.twitter.com/pWFPyQ4NaK
— @WPXImasahysteria (@masahysteria) July 14, 2020
And he’s looked very sharp.
Crosby doesnt need to look but you should look at this. pic.twitter.com/ouwmFHvPOG
— Pavel Barber (@HeyBarber) July 7, 2020
Crosby, who seems especially motivated, has said to media that the 2020 playoffs mark a great and unique “opportunity” to win a fourth Stanley Cup.
Sidney Crosby: "You have a career, or a short window in your career, to be able to [win the Stanley Cup]. Anytime you get an opportunity to play, play for the Stanley Cup, you want to try to take advantage of it. It’s not easy, but certainly, it’s a great feeling." #Pens
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) July 13, 2020
According to The Athletic, Crosby put pressure on players to return early for Phase 2 workouts and ran the practices in the absence of coaches on the ice.
yikes no one on this team is opting out pic.twitter.com/mKevEH4HTf
— gay mac rules (@Theradkey) July 11, 2020
The Penguins will take on the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five series during the play-in round.
Sidney Crosby (@penguins) can become the seventh player in NHL history to captain one franchise to four or more Stanley Cups and first since Wayne Gretzky from 1983-84 to 1987-88 (4x w/ EDM).
MTL vs PIT #NHLStats: https://t.co/U6E1v5Qjjl pic.twitter.com/dXjtc2M1l2
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) July 18, 2020
Screenshot courtesy of the @Penguins/Zoom
