Sidney Crosby Diagnosed With Concussion, Out for Game 4 vs. Capitals

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center Sidney Crosby will miss at least Game 4 of the team's second-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals due to a concussion.

Dave Molinari‏ of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette passed along the update on Crosby's status Tuesday from Pens head coach Mike Sullivan.

The NHL's gold standard for the past 12 years was on the receiving end of a pair of questionable shots in quick succession from the Caps in the first period Monday night.

Crosby was attacking the front of the net when fellow superstar Alexander Ovechkin appeared to whack him twice, once on the arm and once on the head. As the forward began to fall to the ice, Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen delivered a vicious cross-check to his head.

The situation is even more concerning given the playmaker's concussion history.

The Capitals won Game 3 in overtime courtesy of a power-play goal by Kevin Shattenkirk to cut Pittsburgh's series lead to 2-1.

Afterward, Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic provided comments from Niskanen, who received a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play, and he denied any intent to injure.

"Absolutely not," Niskanen said. "It wasn't intentional. I've seen the replay. In super slow-mo, it looks really bad. I caught him high. He's coming across trying to score. As he's doing that, he's getting lower and lower. And when it's happening that fast, you know, my stick and his head collided. I wasn't extending, trying to hit him in the head."

Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post confirmed earlier Tuesday the Capitals blueliner wouldn't face any additional discipline from the NHL for the hit.

Although the Penguins do feature plenty of offensive depth, led by Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, trying to keep pace with the Caps without Crosby will be an uphill battle. The center has tallied 11 points in seven games so far during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The series then shifts back to Washington, D.C., for Game 5 on Saturday. It's unclear when Crosby could be available.