Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Penguins rally again but Crosby leaves with injury

PITTSBURGH -- For the second game in a row the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to come back from a multiple goal deficit to take two points in the standings, erasing a two-goal deficit to pick up a 3-2 shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

This latest win came with a potentially big cost, however, as Sidney Crosby exited the game early in the third period after a tough shift that saw him get tangled up with Blackhawks’ defenseman Erik Gustafsson, and then later block a shot with his foot.

That was his only shift of the period and it is not clear what exactly caused the injury.

The only update Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had after the game was that Crosby was in the process of being evaluated for a “lower-body injury” and that an update is expected on Monday. The Penguins’ next game will be on Tuesday night against the New York Rangers.

Crosby is the engine that drives the Penguins’ team and he has been his usual dominant self this season in all phases of the game. Losing him would be a pretty significant blow, especially as the team is already playing without No. 1 defenseman Kris Letang and forward Patric Hornqvist.

The season is not even a quarter of the way old and injuries have been a constant issue for the Penguins from the very beginning. At various times they have been without Evgeni Malkin, Alex Galchenyuk, Bryan Rust, Jared McCann, Nick Bjugstad, Brian Dumoulin, Letang, Hornqvist, and now -- potentially -- Crosby. They have only had their full roster as it was intended to look for a handful of games. They have dominated in those rare instances where they have been fully healthy, they have just not had a chance to see it very often.

Even with the injuries Saturday’s win improved the Penguins to 10-6-1 on the season. They are currently on a 4-1-1 run over their past six games. The only regulation loss came on Monday night in Boston when they erased a 3-0 deficit only to lose late in the third period.

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.