Today we see some more of the unfortunate part of extra hockey. Of course we get more goals, more saves, more bone-jarring hits, more champions, but we will also get…more injuries. The Pittsburgh Penguins released an update on the status of their captain today. Sidney Crosby , who had also been captain for Team Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics , will miss a minimum of four weeks with a lower-body injury.
Crosby is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks. https://t.co/K3WB2aQa9y
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) February 25, 2026
Sidney Crosby Will Miss At Least 4 Weeks with Injury
Crosby has been putting on an all-time performance, really for the past 21 years, if not longer. But this year in particular, at age 38, he had been flirting with the all-time record for goals in a single season of a player his age . It does seem like that record will be safe now, given the amount of time Crosby is estimated to miss. His 27 goals to this point has him tied for sixth most all time for a player of his age. Simply incredible.
As a note, Alex Ovechkin had 31 in his 38-year-old season, but 44 last year, at 39. Gordie Howe is probably the standard, still to this day, as he netted 44 in 1968-69, at age 40. One record that Crosby won’t see disappear, is his consecutive point-per-game streak . That is set to hit 21, assuming he can maintain his 59 points in 56 games rate, when and if he returns before the start of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
What Happened and is Happening
Team Canada fans are familiar with when the injury took place. It was in Canada’s quarterfinal against Team Czechia. Radko Gudas had made a couple physical plays on Crosby in quick succession. We then saw Crosby walking very slowly to the dressing room. Furthermore, we knew the injury must be somewhat substantial, as Crosby was unable to lace them up in either of Canada’s final two playoff games. That included the Gold Medal finale versus Team USA that saw the US capture their first Gold Medal in men’s ice hockey at the Olympics in some 46 years.
Now, as we shift back to NHL reality, there are many injuries players will have to contend with. Pittsburgh is still in a fight for a playoff spot, but does have some cushion. Hopefully others, like Benjamin Kindel and Thomas Novak will be able to elevate their play down the middle, in Sid’s absence. Otherwise, Pittsburgh’s current five-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets in fourth in the Metropolitan Division standings, might not be so comforting.
In some positive news for Pittsburgh, they do activate defenceman Kris Letang from injured reserve. He had missed Pittsburgh’s final four games before the Olympic break with a foot issue. However, he practiced with the club recently, and should be good to go.
Main Photo Geoff Burke Imagn Images