Sidney Crosby: sidney crosby out for Olympic gold-medal game
sidney crosby has been ruled out of Canada’s Olympic gold-medal game against the United States, the team announced about an hour before the start of the game in Milan. The 38-year-old Canadian captain did not recover from a lower-body injury sustained in Canada’s quarterfinal win over Czechia.
Milan timeline and practices
Crosby suffered the injury in the quarterfinal victory over Czechia and skated in practice on both Friday and Saturday in Milan, but made no public statements because both practices were closed to media. His status for Sunday’s game had been in doubt until the official announcement came roughly an hour before puck drop.
How the injury happened
In the game against Czechia, Crosby was hit along the boards in the second period by Czechia's Martin Nečas and Radko Gudas; that was the third major hit he’d taken that period. He exited the ice soon afterward, limped toward the locker room, and was soon ruled out of that quarterfinal game.
Sidney Crosby out for Canada
Canada head coach Jon Cooper said on Friday that he believed Crosby had a chance to play in the gold-medal game, but clearly the 38-year-old Canadian captain did not recover in time to be in Canada’s active lineup. The decision leaves Connor McDavid to continue as the playing captain for Team Canada, as he has been since Crosby’s injury.
Coach and captain reactions
Connor McDavid responded directly to Crosby’s injury shortly after it happened, saying: "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. " Jon Cooper had expressed optimism on Friday about Crosby’s chances to play, but the final roster did not include him for the gold-medal game.
Crosby's Olympic record and stats
Crosby, the oldest player on Canada’s roster, has played in three Olympic Games for Canada and has won two golds, 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 recorded two goals and four assists, and he holds the Canadian NHL-era Olympic record with 16 total points.
The sequence is clear: a lower-body injury in the quarterfinal against Czechia after multiple heavy hits, exit and immediate ruling out of that quarterfinal game, practices on Friday and Saturday closed to media, uncertainty about his status leading up to the final announcement, and the official ruling about an hour before the gold-medal game that Crosby would not be in Canada’s active lineup.
Unclear in the provided context: the precise timing of the quarterfinal game, the exact medical diagnosis, and specific recovery steps taken after the injury.
