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 Finland 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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This story has been corrected to say Canada played Finland in the Olympic hockey semifinals.
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