Sidney Crosby will not be playing

I can’t say I’m feeling great about this. Though I will attempt to be optimistic. However on Friday, after the Penguins’ practice ahead of tonight’s matchup against the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan announced that captain Sidney Crosby will not be playing tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Per team insider Josh Yohe, this marks the first time Sidney Crosby has missed a game since 2022, when a Jacob Trouba hit kept him out of Game 6 against the Rangers, ending a streak of 229 consecutive games played.

The Penguins will play without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin tonight at MSG. It's the first time since Nov. 13, 2021 that they have played without both of them.

Coach Sullivan, who gave a few additional details on his captain taking the ice in the morning, said that skating “is encouraging from our standpoint."

As for Team Canada, Pierre LeBrun reports that they're waiting just like everybody else to see where things go with Crosby: 

" It's a day to day situation. They've got until Monday at 5 pm ET, the deadline for roster replacements, to get more clarity on it.

"I think everyone involved remains hopeful 87 will play. But won't know for sure for a few more days."

On Tuesday night, Crosby appeared to suffer an injury to his left arm in the game against the New Jersey Devils. During the third period of the contest, Crosby awkwardly collided with Devils defenseman Luke Hughes and forward Erik Haula, and sort of got sandwiched between them. Crosby looked in visible pain as he skated off the ice and into the dressing room.

When speaking with reporters, Crosby downplayed any injury and said he “just got tangled up”, but went on to miss Wednesday’s practice.

On Thursday, Sid was on the ice early before practice and took part in a few drills, did not shoot the puck at any point. Penguins announced that he is being evaluated for an upper body injury, leaving everyone wondering if it means he will miss upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

Earlier, Crosby's agent Pat Brisson mentioned to Rob Rossi how he too was unsure about his client's status for the upcoming tournament. 

Crosby leads the Penguins with 58 points in 55 games so far this season. He is expected to captain Team Canada, with whom he’s already won gold medals for Canada at the 2005 World Juniors, 2010 and 2014 Olympics, 2015 World Championship and 2016 World Cup.