Sidney Crosby ruled out of Olympic gold-medal game against U.S.
sidney crosby has been ruled out of Canada’s Olympic gold-medal game against the United States, an announcement that arrived in Milan about an hour before the scheduled start of the game. The 38-year-old captain’s lower-body injury, sustained in the quarterfinal win over Czechia, left his status uncertain until the final call.
Sidney Crosby out an hour before puck drop
The notice that Sidney Crosby would not be in Canada’s active lineup came roughly an hour before the gold-medal game was set to begin. Crosby is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the oldest player on Canada’s roster; his availability had been in doubt through the weekend following the quarterfinal injury against Czechia.
How the injury happened in the Czechia quarterfinal
Crosby suffered a lower-body injury during Canada’s quarterfinal victory over Czechia. In that game, he was hit along the boards in the second period by Martin Nečas and Radko Gudas — the third major hit he’d taken that period — and he exited the ice soon afterward, limped toward the locker room, and was soon ruled out of that game.
Coach Cooper and McDavid on Crosby's status
Canada head coach Jon Cooper said on Friday he believed Crosby had a chance to play in the gold-medal game, but the 38-year-old captain did not recover in time to be in Canada’s active lineup. After the injury, Connor McDavid said, “He’s Sidney Crosby. He’s going to have a big influence no matter what. In the lineup, not in the lineup, he’s going to have a big influence. That’s what he does. ” McDavid will again be the playing captain for Team Canada, as he has been since Crosby’s injury.
Crosby’s Olympic resume and Milan performance
Sidney Crosby has played in three Olympic Games for Canada and has won two gold medals, in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. He scored Canada’s golden overtime goal in 2010 that sent Canada past the United States. While in Milan, Crosby scored two goals and four assists, and he holds the Canadian NHL-era Olympic record with 16 total points.
Practices, media access and what comes next
Crosby skated in practice on both Friday and Saturday but made no public statements, as both practices were closed to media. The announcement that he would not play came about an hour before the gold-medal game against the United States, and Team Canada proceeded with Connor McDavid serving as the on-ice captain for the game.
The immediate next event is the Olympic gold-medal game between Canada and the United States, which was set to begin about an hour after the announcement that Crosby would not play.
