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 Crosby 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 will have to miss at least a week, though it’s likely he will be out for considerably longer.
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.
