02/25/26 01:04:00
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02/25 13:02 CST Penguins captain Sidney Crosby placed on injured reserve after
getting hurt at the Olympics
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby placed on injured reserve after getting hurt at
the Olympics
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- The Pittsburgh Penguins will have to start their playoff
push without Sidney Crosby.
The club placed its longtime captain on injured reserve on Wednesday. The move
comes after Crosby sustained a lower-body injury during the Olympic hockey
tournament at the Milan Cortina Games.
The 38-year-old three-time Stanley Cup winner went down in the second period of
Canada's quarterfinal win over Czechia. The Canadians held out hope Crosby
would be able to return, but he sat out a semifinal win over Sweden and a loss
to the United States in the gold medal game.
Crosby, who is expected to miss at least four weeks, does not regret his
decision to play in Milan.
"It's the Olympics and it's an amazing experience just as an athlete, not just
as a hockey player," he said, later adding, "obviously injuries are part of the
game."
Crosby did not have an issue with the hit he absorbed from Czechia defenseman
Radko Gudas.
"He was trying to be physical and play hard as any defenseman would and it just
went the wrong way as far as on my end of it," he said.
Crosby credited the medical staff in Italy with helping him have a shot at
playing in the gold medal game. He believes he came "a lot closer" than he
thought he would to suiting up for Team Canada in the final.
Asked if he considered playing in a limited capacity, such as being relegated
to strictly the power play, Crosby shook his head.
"If you can't go out there and do a job and be relied upon ... then you can't
force it and that's really what it came down to," he said.
The injury comes with the surprising Penguins in second place in the
Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is looking to return to the postseason for
the first time since 2022.
Crosby has been his usually productive self this season. He leads the Penguins
in goals (27), assists (32) and points (59) and is on pace to extend his NHL
record of averaging at least a point a game to 21 years and counting.
"Obviously, I want to be back out there as soon as possible," he said. "Just
have to figure out what that looks like and how that's going to be and be at my
best when I come back."
Pittsburgh opens the post-Olympic break at home against New Jersey on Thursday.
The matchup with the Devils is the first of 13 games in a 24-day stretch for
the Penguins.
"All year we've had injuries (and) guys have stepped up," he said. "To get to
where we're at at this point, it's because of our team play."
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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