The Pittsburgh Penguins are set to be without Sidney Crosby for the next four weeks.
Crosby was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday after suffering a lower-body injury while playing for Team Canada at the Olympics in Milan. The 38-year-old center sustained the injury to his right leg in Canada’s 4-3 overtime win against Czechia in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament.
The Canadians then played without their captain in the semifinals against Finland and the Gold Medal Game against the United States.
“I was a lot closer than I thought to playing in the Gold Medal game,” Crosby told SportsNet Pittsburgh’s Josh Getzoff on Wednesday. “Didn’t think it was necessarily going to be an option. The chance that I had a chance and was close to it – the staff was unbelievable.”
Crosby is Pittsburgh’s leading scorer this season with 59 points (27g, 32a) from 56 games. The Penguins currently sit second in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division with a 29-25-12 record, only five points clear of fellow Metro teams, the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets, who are just on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The Penguins have not qualified for the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
If Crosby were to stay out of the lineup for the minimum four weeks, he would miss the team’s next 15 games. The Capitals and Penguins next play twice at the end of the regular season, in a home-and-home, back-to-back on April 11 and 12.
“I’m confident we can play well in my absence,” Crosby added. “We’re at this point because of our team play. It’s not because of any one person. We’ve done it as a group. Different guys have stepped up. It’s going to be an important stretch here, but I’m confident.”
A big hit from Czech defenseman Radko Gudas caused Crosby’s injury. As Gudas stepped up to hit Crosby, the latter seemed to try to duck out of the contact, which put his legs in an awkward bind as Gudas fell on top of him. Crosby tried to take one stride on the injured leg and immediately returned to Canada’s bench, then departed down the tunnel.
“I found out the severity of the injury the night of the game I got hurt,” Crosby told Getzoff. “As far as the timeline, you’re just trying to wrap your head around each day and giving yourself a chance to play. Don’t really know what to expect, haven’t had this type of injury before.”
During the tournament, Crosby was one of Canada’s top players, recording six points (2g, 4a) in four games.
