Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby left the ice early during Game 5 against the New York Rangers after taking a hit in the head courtesy of defenseman Jacob Trouba. He missed most of the second period and all of the third period in the Penguins’ loss.
On Thursday, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan head coach announced that Crosby has been diagnosed with an upper-body injury. The Pittsburgh star’s status for Game 6 on Friday is unknown, but he will undergo further evaluation before then.
The incident happened with 10:45 left in the second period as Crosby had possession of the puck and three defenders close to him. Defenseman Jacob Trouba hit Crosby’s face with his left arm, which caused Crosby to fail. Instead of chasing the puck again, I skated toward the bench.
At that point the Penguins held a 2-0 lead. The center attempted to continue the game but then headed to the locker room with 5:43 remaining in the second period. He did not return for the third.
New York rallied from behind and ended the night with a 5-3 win to avoid elimination, though the Penguins still hold a 3-2 lead in the series.
Crosby does have a long history of concussions. I have missed a total of 108 games from 2010 to 2012, and then six more during the 2016-17 season. However, the consequences of Wednesday’s hit are not known yet.
Sullivan was asked about the incident during the postgame press conference and if he felt Trouba did it with intent. He had little to say about it, responding in a non-concrete manner.
“Did you see the hit? You probably have the same opinion I do,” Sullivan said.