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Sidney Crosby leaves scrimmage early with possible injury

By Ian Oland

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July 18, 2020 2:21 pm

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.

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.

Later, in a Zoom interview with reporters, Crosby’s linemate Conor Sheary suggested that it was a “maintenance thing.”

Since returning for Phase 3 Training Camp, Crosby has been the first player out on the ice for practice at times.

And he’s looked very sharp.

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.

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.

The Penguins will take on the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five series during the play-in round.

Screenshot courtesy of the @Penguins/Zoom

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